The difference is whether the output (STDOUT) is captured or now. Backticks return what was printed to STDOUT, while system does not.

From the docs, it sounds like backticks always pass the command to a subshell, while it's possible to avoid running a subshell with system.

In reply to Re: help needede in backticks(``) and system function by ikegami
in thread help needede in backticks(``) and system function by uva

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