# bitfield format: xxxMMMxx

my @msgs = ( 'a' .. 'i' );
my $msg = $msgs[ ( $bitfield >> 2 ) && 7 ];

##</code><code>##

bit15         bit0
|                |
v                v
C SSSSSSS EEEEEEEE

C = Core dumped?
S = Signal that caused program to exit
E = Process's exit code.

##</code><code>##

$core_dumped = ($? >> 15) & 1;
$signal      = ($? >> 8) & 127;
$exit_code   = $? & 255