Is is possible to: system "cd", $directory; system "cvs", "co", $module; system "tar", "-cvfX", $tar_file, $exclude_file, $module; . . . and have it execute as if it were from a single session?

No. Each system() command runs in its own process. That means that, e.g., system("cd $directory") has no effect on the following commands.

Use the Perl equivalents of these (e.g., chdir(), Cwd, File::Copy, some CVS interface module (see replies above), and what else you need), and you get safety and portability for free.

Christian Lemburg
Brainbench MVP for Perl
http://www.brainbench.com