You can do this by assigning a reference to the glob. Here is a sample to get you started. 
#! /usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use vars qw($alpha_state);

my %hash = (alpha => {state => "hello\n"});
*alpha_state = \$hash{alpha}{state};

# See that the variable got the value.
print $alpha_state;

# Show that they are really tied together.
$alpha_state = "goodbye\n";
print $hash{alpha}{state};

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If you need to set up a number of aliases, you can do no strict 'refs'; in a block and then set them up in there.

Of course you should use these techniques as sparingly as possible. Symbolic references really are a quick way to dig yourself a deep pit.

In reply to Re: Mandatory Symbolic References? by tilly
in thread Mandatory Symbolic References? by bfreemer

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