use IPC::Open2;

         $pid = open2(\*RDRFH, \*WTRFH, 'some cmd and args');
           # or without using the shell
         $pid = open2(\*RDRFH, \*WTRFH, 'some', 'cmd', 'and', 'args');

         # or with handle autovivification
         my($rdrfh, $wtrfh);
         $pid = open2($rdrfh, $wtrfh, 'some cmd and args');
           # or without using the shell
         $pid = open2($rdrfh, $wtrfh, 'some', 'cmd', 'and', 'args');