sub greet {
    my $name = shift;
    print "Hello, $name\n";
}

greet('dev2000');
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In mod_perl, with Apache::Registry, your script is cached in a sub, and that sub gets the Apache object as its argument. You could of course write this:

$_[0]->send_http_header('text/plain');
$_[0]->print("mod_perl rules!\n");
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But it's easier to have a named variable for that, especially when you use other subs and your @_ gets overwritten.

Back to the point, your script:

my $r = shift;
...
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is wrapped in a sub so it can be cached:

package Some::URL::Based::Package::Name;use Apache qw(exit);sub handle
+r {
#line 1 script.pl
my $r = shift;
...

}
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And suddenly, it all makes sense.

- Yes, I reinvent wheels.
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