my $pid = `ps ax | awk '/programname/ && !/awk/ {print \$1}`; # ;-)

##</code><code>##

open my $ps => "ps ax |" or die;
my $pid;
while (<$ps>) {
    if (/^\s*(\d+).*\bprogramname\b/) {
        $pid = $1;
        last;
    }
}
close $ps or die;