sub new { my $class_name = shift; my $self = {}; $self->{output_file} = shift; $self->{append} = shift; $self->{file_handle} = undef ; bless ($self,$class_name); # bless ($self); # AHA! How could I have missed that one! Thanks go to [bronto] for pointing that out. No need to bless the thing twice.. one time is enough already! ;> return $self; } #### sub start { my $self = shift; # Get 'reference' to the class instance (aka object)! # use this reference to retrieve object specific attributes! open($self->{filehandle}, " . . . "); # . . . Rest of your code . . . } #### # Under Construction