Using return was a suggestion.

I wrote:

Having said that, I recommend you read what exit says about exiting from subroutines. Even if the simple fix I described above works for you now, when you next add a little more "complexiy" you may find yourself with problems again. Perhaps you could return with the child PID instead of using exit; then, if the end of &multi_dir is reached, return with zero — that way, you can test the return value of multi_dir() and exit if it's the child or continue with the main script if it's the parent. Here's an example:

Assuming you read the exit doco, you now need to make a decision about whether any of the reasons for not using exit in a subroutine apply to you.

• If none apply, do nothing.
• Otherwise, pick an appropriate alternative:
  • die — discussed in the exit doco
  • POSIX::_exit($status) — discussed in the exit doco
  • return — which I suggested: it takes the subroutine out of the equation; example code supplied
  • or something else of your own devising.