$ perl -MList::Util=sum -Wle 'printf "sum returns [%s]", sum()' Use of uninitialized value in printf at -e line 1. sum returns [] $ perl -MList::Util=sum -Wle 'printf "sum returns [%s]", sum(undef) Use of uninitialized value in subroutine entry at -e line 1. sum returns [0]