#!/usr/bin/perl
#by Zaxo of perlmonks

my @apps = (
   [qw(/path/to/foo args of foo)],
   [qw(/path/to/bar args of it here)]
);

#to avoid Zombies
$SIG{CHLD} = 'IGNORE';

for (@apps) {
   defined(my $cpid = fork) or die $!;
   $cpid or exec {$_->[0]} @$_ or die $!;
}
exit 0; # the parent

#If the apps don't run as daemons, you may need to have 
#them ignore SIGHUP or else call &POSIX::setsid so that 
#the parent's exit doesn't trigger an early demise of the kids.