you can use FileHandle;, if you want to use scalars. then you'll have to follow the rules:

my $file = shift;
my $F = FileHandle->new;
if( defined $F )
{ $F->open($file) or die "can't open file $file: $!" }

# it also lets you do things like
$F->autoflush;
# instead of that whole select() business
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~Particle ;Þ