Perl q/STRING/ Function
singly quote a string.
q is rather an operator than a function. You can use it instead of single quotes. Because it returns a single quoted string, the interpolation is not allowed. Instead of slashes you can use any set of delimiters you want. If you use parentheses as delimiters, its syntax looks like a function, where string is the argument:
Single quotes are used to enclose data you want taken literally. See the following example:
The output:
The pencil is mine.
The pencil is mine.
The pencil is mine.