Re^2: Perl 6 mini-essay: eqv, ===, =:=, etc.

I was not speaking formally, but the idea is that a symbol is the thing itself (the things in the symbol table), and it may be referred to by different names, or even no name at all if it is anonymous.

More formally, =:= is used to compare item containers, since normally anything you do to an item drops through to the item in the container. $x =:= $y is just a shortcut for VAR($x) === VAR($y).

—John

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Re^3: Perl 6 mini-essay: eqv, ===, =:=, etc. by ysth (Canon) on May 06, 2008 at 04:03 UTC
In perl 5, these were called "thingies". Until the 3rd edition of the Camel, where they became the pedestrian "referents". -- Online Fortune Cookie Search	[reply]
Re^4: Perl 6 mini-essay: eqv, ===, =:=, etc. by Anonymous Monk on May 06, 2008 at 19:40 UTC
Ah. Right. I like "referent". A similar term is "object", but that word most often means an object in the OO sense. "Referent" works well for the generic case. "Object", for the specific (OO) case. The Camel says a "symbol" is a name in a symbol table.	[reply]