#this is how I call the sub:
$filename = &uploadcover(param('cover'), upload('cover'), uploadInfo(param('cover'))->{'Content-Type'});

#this is how the sub looks:
sub uploadcover
{
	##############################################################
	# usage: $filename = &upload($filename, $filehandle, $type); #
	# will accept the upload of the file,                        #
	# and return what filename it was assigned                   #
	##############################################################
	
	my ($filename, $filehandle, $type) = ($_[0], $_[1], $_[2]);
	
	#if there exists a file with this name, we give the uploaded file a new name
	while (-e $filename)
	{
		$filename =~ /(\d*)(\w+.\w+)/;
		$filename = ($1+1)."$2";
	}
	
	#if this was not a correct filetype, generate an error
	unless ($type eq "image/jpeg" || $type eq "image/gif")
	{
		die "JPEG or GIF files only!";
	}
	
	#these lines write the filedata to the filename
	open (COVERFILE, ">$filename") or die "$!";
	binmode(COVERFILE);
	while (<$filehandle>)
	{
		print COVERFILE;
	}
	close(COVERFILE);
	
	#returning the filename for storing in the database
	return $filename;
}