Can't use string ("MODULE") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use

m5m5m has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi there ! I am trying to write a simple program to add some messages to an MBOX. Here is my code:

use strict; use English; use warnings;

use Mail::Box::Mbox;

my $foldername = 'test.mbox';
my $folder = Mail::Box::Mbox->create($foldername, access => 'rw');

my $msg;
my $n =4;

while ($n--) {
    
my $msg = Mail::Box::Message->build(From => 'me', data => "Message $n 
+\n only two\nlines\n---\n");
        $msg->print;
$folder->addMessage( $msg );
}
[download]

Here is the error I get:

Can't use string ("Mail::Box::Mbox") as a HASH ref while "strict refs"
+ in use at I:/Perl/site/lib/Mail/Box.pm line 816.
[download]

Thanks !

Comment on Can't use string ("MODULE") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use Select or Download Code

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Re: Can't use string ("MODULE") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use by Joost (Canon) on Aug 10, 2004 at 18:04 UTC
Line 816 of Mail/Box.pm reads: `$self->{MB_message_type}->coerce($message);` [download] running the code in the debugger reveals that this is called at the `$folder->addMessage($msg);` line. the problem is that create() does not return an object, (even though the docs claim it's a constructor). To work around the problem: `Mail::Box::Mbox->create($foldername, access => 'rw'); my $folder = Mail::Box::Mbox->new(folder => $foldername);` [download] "What should it profit a man, if he should win a flame war, yet lose his cool?"	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Can't use string ("MODULE") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use by markov (Scribe) on Aug 10, 2004 at 20:14 UTC
The method documentation was in the wrong section. For the next release, it will move from "Constructors" to "Internals". The right way to open a file, and create it if is doesn't exist yet is very file-open like: my $mbox = Mail::Box::Mbox->new(folder => $f, access => 'rw', create => 1); Besides, if you create a message, you always create a Mail::Message, not some Mail::Box::Message, because Mail::Box::Message have some knowledge about location in them, where the message you have created has none yet. It gets a location at `$f->addMessage($msg)`, and will change type at that moment (in this case into a `Mail::Box::Mbox::Message`).	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Can't use string ("MODULE") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use by m5m5m (Initiate) on Aug 10, 2004 at 19:11 UTC
Joost, Your solution works. Thanks ! mm.	[reply]
Re: Can't use string ("MODULE") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use by Aristotle (Chancellor) on Aug 10, 2004 at 17:58 UTC
Guessing from the Mail::Box docs, it seems you want to instantiate a `Mail::Message`, not a `Mail::Box::Message`. Makeshifts last the longest.	[reply]
Re: Can't use string ("MODULE") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use by dragonchild (Archbishop) on Aug 10, 2004 at 17:18 UTC
Look at the docs for Mail::Box and Mail::Box::Mbox. Maybe you're messing up? Look at the code at the line specified in the file specified. Maybe you're messing up and the docs are wrong? Create a very simple test case (similar to the on you have) and email it to the author. Be very careful to specify your OS and Perl version. Most bugs in CPAN modules are actually OS differences. ------ We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age. Then there are Damian modules.... sigh* ... that's not about being less-lazy -- that's about being on some really good drugs -- you know, there is no spoon.* - flyingmoose I shouldn't have to say this, but any code, unless otherwise stated, is untested	[reply]