It's slightly OT, but you probably want to avoid using $a and $b (even as metasyntax), as they are used in sort code blocks. As such, they are exempted from strict checking, and could introduce subtle bugs.

In reply to Re: Shortcut operator for $a->{'b'}=$b if $b; by polypompholyx
in thread Shortcut operator for $a->{'b'}=$b if $b; by rokadave

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