I even checked the Perl Cookbook and it reports that this is a valid function.

What version of the module is used in the book?

I would greatly question any claims made in some book about some module.

I would sugguest you take the advice of tilly (a rather knowledgable monk, who advises wisely often) and rely on your local documentation for definitive information.

Open up AnyDBM_File.pm in your favorite editor or pod viewer and read to see what the module actually does.

Which database module are you actually using? (NDBM_File, DB_File, GDBM_File, SDBM_File, ODBM_File ...)

The Perl Cookbook is probably speaking about the existence of the perl built-in function exists, in any case, rely on your local documentation, and be as explicit and specific as possible when asking questions, and provide sample data.

Does your database key your are looking for actually exist in the database?

 

______crazyinsomniac_____________________________ Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. perl -e "$q=$_;map({chr unpack qq;H*;,$_}split(q;;,q*H*));print;$q/$q;"