if ($myfile =~ /\.gz$/)
{
    open(MYFILE, "/bin/zcat $myfile |") || die("ERROR: Cannot open $myfile for read: $!\n");
}

else
{
    open(MYFILE, "$myfile") || die("ERROR: Cannot open $myfile for read: $!\n");
}

my $myfile_timestamp = (stat(MYFILE))[9];

close(MYFILE);