The problem arises when a bash associative array attempts to look up a key of `.'. If the key is set, all is good; however if not, it turns into a syntax error which is difficult to work with:
bash: .: syntax error: operand expected (error token is ".")
The problem arises when a bash associative array attempts to look up a key of `.'. If the key is set, all is good; however if not, it turns into a syntax error which is difficult to work with: