Do I break it into a separate item for each argument?

Yes, it is  system "/usr/bin/foobar", "arg", "arg", "--arg=arg" ...

Any need for quotes?

No. Quotes are for the shell.

See system/exec.., kinda dense/long, but essentially  system q{single "st" "ri" "ng"} could be open to shell interpolation/invoke the shell, while  system "single", "st", "ri", "ng" will avoid the shell

So list is preferable because you don't have to quote to a particular shell , just quote for perl

perlop#Quote and Quote like Operators discusses making a list with qw" st ri ng ";

While you're in a learning mood, get a free copy of Modern Perl

See also

In reply to Re^3: Strange system call failure in OS X by Anonymous Monk
in thread Strange system call failure in OS X by endor-moon

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