my $ref;
eval {
  $ref = $x->XMLin(...);
  print STDERR "\nHash dump:\n";
  print STDERR Dumper($ref);

  # this only returns from the eval, not the function
  #make sure we only end up in ... or do {...} if we are dying
  return 1;
} or do {
  #sometimes you can die but $@ is '' or undefined!!!
  my $err=$@
     || "Something bad happened, but I don't know what!";
  print STDERR "Invalid content in file: $@";
}