#!/usr/bin/perl -w
$| = 1;

use strict;

my $answer = 'n';

eval {
    local $SIG{ALRM} = sub { die("timed out\n"); };

    print "Invoke script? (y/n) ";
    alarm(10);

    chomp( $answer = <STDIN> );
    alarm(0); # reset the alarm so it won't go off later
};

# user entered text other than 'y' or else the 10s is up
if ($@ eq "timed out\n" or lc($answer) ne 'y') {
    die("No positive answer. Aborting execution.\n");
}

# some other error blew within the eval - best to die()
elsif ($@) {
    die($@);
}

# we got the 'y' answer, so now we continue:
print "Executing remainder of script.\n";