sub openOut {
    my $filename = shift;
    open my $fh, '>', $filename or die $!;
    select $fh;
    return $fh;
};

##</code><code>##

# void context, no handle to close
openOut ("file1");
print "foo\n";

# scalar context, handle stored so can be closed, printed to explicitly, etc.
my $handle = openOut ("file2");
print "bar\n";
closeOut ($handle);