Use either simple parens and a single expression: 
open (...) or ($errormsg = $!, $status = -1);

[download]
or expressify a block using do: 
open (...) or do {
    $errormsg = $!;
    $status = -1;
}

[download]

Makeshifts last the longest.

In reply to Re: comprehensive error handling by Aristotle
in thread comprehensive error handling by mgibian

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