http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=1092834


in reply to Why does Perl have typeglobs?

Perl has typeglobs because Perl has sigils. A typeglob would make no sense in a language where you write: 

    string s;
    array  a;
    hash   h;

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But a typeglob makes sense in a language where you can say: 

    our( $stuff, @stuff, %stuff );
    open *stuff, ...;
    &stuff();
    write stuff;

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Looking in the symbol table under the single name "stuff", you might find 6 different things. What's an obvious way to implement that?

- tye        

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom