http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=684332


in reply to Re^3: Default Hash Key
in thread Default Hash Key

Which is where the exists used in the first two original replies to the OP comes in handy...

Because of things like this, I find myself using defined and exists a lot when writing code. It may be more verbose but better safe than sorry... I hope I'm not too much of a Captain Obvious :)