So when are "< file", "file", and "<file" all the same string? When I use them in the second-argument-to-open context, of course!

My point is that the concept of "context" isn't always the best choice and you have found a case where it isn't. *b and \*b are different (but somewhat similar) scalar values. You can prove that "context" isn't what makes these act the same here:

$b= "B";
*y= *b;
print "$y\n";
*y= \*b;
print "$y\n";
[download]

by noting that they also act the same here:

$b= "B";
$x= *b;
*y= $x;
print "$x: $y\n";
$z= \*b;
*y= $z;
print "$z: $y\n";
__END__
Produces:
*main::b: B
GLOB(0x1bb2b1c): B
[download]

So it isn't that *y= provides some special, magical context that causes *b and \*b to be the same. It is that the act of assigning something to a glob ends up calling some C function inside of perl and that C function decides to do the same things when given a glob or a ref to a glob.

        - tye (but my friends call me "Tye")