in reply to System substitution2

I don't have perl 5.005 to verify my speculation but have you tried using the other form of the system command?

This allows you to avoid interpolation both within Perl and by the shell which greatly simplifies the quoting you need. The following works as is under 5.6.1 and may be better under 5.005? 

#!perl -w

$ENV{TYPE}='c:\scotts test\type me';
$new_debug_log='c:\scotts test\type me.bat';
my $rc = system('cmd.exe', '/c', $ENV{TYPE}, $new_debug_log );

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Okay you lot, get your wings on the left, halos on the right. It's one size fits all, and "No!", you can't have a different color.
Pick up your cloud down the end and "Yes" if you get allocated a grey one they are a bit damp under foot, but someone has to get them.
Get used to the wings fast cos its an 8 hour day...unless the Govenor calls for a cyclone or hurricane, in which case 16 hour shifts are mandatory.
Just be grateful that you arrived just as the tornado season finished. Them buggers are real work.

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom