Can't call method "start_table" without a package or object reference at D:\Perl\tmp\test.pl line 7 (#1) (F) You used the syntax of a method call, but the slot filled by the object reference or package name contains an expression that returns a defined value which is neither an object reference nor a package name. Something like this will reproduce the error: $BADREF = 42; process $BADREF 1,2,3; $BADREF->process(1,2,3); Uncaught exception from user code: Can't call method "start_table" without a package or object reference at D:\Perl\tmp\test.pl line 7.