My first thought is "Get over it! Use an array." This seriously is the idiomatic way of doing what you want to do.

Barring that, take a look at IO::File and open a handle to STDIN that way. I would avoid using glob references, just cause their behavior may or may not be fully intuitive. Objects behave the same way in all instances. (Barring when they don't, of course! *grins*)

------
We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age.

Don't go borrowing trouble. For programmers, this means Worry only about what you need to implement.