alternatives are all welcomed

perldoc perlipc shows how to setup a timeout; you might try to modify it for your needs (untested).

sub getinput {
    my $default = shift;
    my $value;
    eval { 
        local $SIG{ALRM} = sub { die "alarm clock restart" };
        alarm 10; 

        # your code here, read <STDIN>
        $value = ...

        alarm 0; 
    };
    if ($@ and $@ !~ /alarm clock restart/) { return $default }
    return $value;
}

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In reply to Re: default value after timeout by fglock
in thread default value after timeout by Limbic~Region

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