seeing your code, i assume you're on a unix like machine. Try to set the nice level of your program. If it's the only running process, it still takes a lot of cpu-time, but if another program with a higher nice level gets in, it reduces it's load.

Since you use system commands, you could run them like 
...

if ($nicelevel ne "") {
  $cmd = "nice -$nicelevel " . $cmd;
}
system $cmd;

[download]

Or You could look here

"We all agree on the necessity of compromise. We just can't agree on when it's necessary to compromise." - Larry Wall.

In reply to Re: Resource Hog by jbrugger
in thread Resource Hog by tc1364

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