in reply to
If exists (hash)
You're using $xml as a scalar element, but exists requires a hash or array element. Also, remember to declare all of your variables. You forgot to declare $image. Here's the way that
I would do it:
#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use XML::Simple;
use Data::Dumper::Concise;
my %xml;
my $image;
my $web = 'http://my-base-url/';
if(exists $xml{'result'}{'covers'}{1}{'content'}) {
print Dumper($image = "$web$xml{'result'}{'covers'}{1}{'content
+'}");
}
else {
print Dumper($image = "$web$xml{'result'}{'covers'}");
}