i know this should be a simple step or two that i'm missing, and i haven't been able to figure it out from reading yet...
i have the following code: $sth = $mysql_dbh->prepare("select subroutine_pointer from $database.equipment_manufacturer where manufacturer=\"$remedy_eqpt_mfgr\""); $sth->execute(); $subroutine_pointer = $sth->fetchrow_array(); no strict "refs"; &$subroutine_pointer() unless $subroutine_pointer eq ""; use strict "refs"; this pulls a phrase from the database that matches a subroutine name that i want to call based on certain other criteria, then displays that sub's output to a web page. this works fine as is but i want to learn how to restructure this so i don't have to use "no strict" and "use strict" around the call. all suggestions welcome *s* joe -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://learn.perl.org/> <http://learn.perl.org/first-response>