Liked this thread, learned that symbolic refs are Evil...
Note from former PHP pagan, forgive me brothers :-) PHP has only symbolic refs AFAIK,
now I see this is definitely Bad Thing. So, another contribution to popular thread
"Training wheels without the bike", see merlyn's Re: Not Inciting a Holy War.

Jan Stoklasa, Mistaker
"For those about to Perl, we salute you"