use XML::XPath;
use XML::Parser;
my ($xml, $xp);
$xml = “not xml”;
eval {
 my $po = new XML::Parser;
 $po->parse($xml);
};
if ($@) {
 print “Parsing failed\n”;	#handle error
} else {
 $xp = XML::XPath->new(xml => $xml);
}
…..