#!/usr/bin/perl for (1..10) { $ENV{JUNK} .= "ABC" x 5000; my $begin_load = `cat /proc/loadavg`; warn "cat failed: $!" if $?; print $begin_load; } __END__ 0.56 0.43 0.25 1/219 27522 0.56 0.43 0.25 3/219 27523 0.56 0.43 0.25 2/219 27524 0.56 0.43 0.25 2/219 27525 0.56 0.43 0.25 2/219 27526 0.56 0.43 0.25 2/219 27527 0.56 0.43 0.25 3/219 27528 0.56 0.43 0.25 3/219 27529 cat failed: Argument list too long at ./757540.pl line 7. cat failed: Argument list too long at ./757540.pl line 7.