#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my $delay = shift @ARGV || 1; # parameter
my $timeout = 3; # seconds
eval {
  ## Turn on timer.
  local $SIG{"__DIE__"};
  local $SIG{CHLD};
  local $SIG{ALRM} = sub { die "timed-out\n" };
  alarm $timeout;
  my $verylongprocess = `sleep $delay`;
  alarm 0; # disable alarm
};
die $@ if $@ eq "timed-out\n";
print "No timeout\n";

##</code><code>##

  my $verylongprocess = `timeout $delay`;