---
name: "Symbol"
section: "3pm"
platform: "linux"
package: "perl-5.004-doc"
version: "5.004.05-6"
release: "Debian 2.2 (Potato)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/Symbol/3pm"
---

# Symbol(3pm)

manipulate Perl symbols and their names

## NAME

Symbol - manipulate Perl symbols and their names

## SYNOPSIS

```
    use Symbol;
```

```
    $sym = gensym;
    open($sym, "filename");
    $_ = <$sym>;
    # etc.
```

```
    ungensym $sym;      # no effect
```

```
    print qualify("x"), "\n";              # "Test::x"
    print qualify("x", "FOO"), "\n"        # "FOO::x"
    print qualify("BAR::x"), "\n";         # "BAR::x"
    print qualify("BAR::x", "FOO"), "\n";  # "BAR::x"
    print qualify("STDOUT", "FOO"), "\n";  # "main::STDOUT" (global)
    print qualify(\*x), "\n";              # returns \*x
    print qualify(\*x, "FOO"), "\n";       # returns \*x
```

```
    use strict refs;
    print { qualify_to_ref $fh } "foo!\n";
    $ref = qualify_to_ref $name, $pkg;
```

```
    use Symbol qw(delete_package);
    delete_package('Foo::Bar');
    print "deleted\n" unless exists $Foo::{'Bar::'};
```

## DESCRIPTION

`Symbol::gensym` creates an anonymous glob and returns a reference to it.  Such a glob reference can be used as a file or directory handle.

For backward compatibility with older implementations that didn't support anonymous globs, `Symbol::ungensym` is also provided. But it doesn't do anything.

`Symbol::qualify` turns unqualified symbol names into qualified variable names (e.g. "myvar" -\> "MyPackage::myvar").  If it is given a second parameter, `qualify` uses it as the default package; otherwise, it uses the package of its caller.  Regardless, global variable names (e.g. "STDOUT", "ENV", "SIG") are always qualfied with "main::".

Qualification applies only to symbol names (strings).  References are left unchanged under the assumption that they are glob references, which are qualified by their nature.

`Symbol::qualify_to_ref` is just like `Symbol::qualify` except that it returns a glob ref rather than a symbol name, so you can use the result even if `use strict 'refs'` is in effect.

`Symbol::delete_package` wipes out a whole package namespace.  Note this routine is not exported by default--you may want to import it explicitly.