Yes,

they can be in 5.6.1.

use strict;
my $fh;
open ( $fh, "> /tmp/out") or die $!;
print $fh "hallo";
close($fh);
exit 0;
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Or by using the IO modules.

Which has the advantage of autoclosing when leaving the block.
---------------------------
Dr. Mark Ceulemans
Senior Consultant
IT Masters, Belgium