The way you are using them, that is what you use to dereference the scalar $hash_ref. The curly braces are optional.

You could use:

foreach (sort keys %$hash_ref) { print; }
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You use the appropriate symbol to what type of reference the scalar is holding. So...

$foo = \$bar;
print $$foo;

$foo = \@bar;
print for @ref;

$foo = \%bar;
print for sort keys %$bar;
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I would call them dereferencers.

Amel - f.k.a. - kel