Upgrade to Perl 5.8.0. ActiveState does support Perl 5.8.0. The problem is that the mode specified in the open() call is available only in Perl 5.8.0 and higher.

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We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age.

The idea is a little like C++ templates, except not quite so brain-meltingly complicated. -- TheDamian, Exegesis 6

Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.