#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

# Pipe the output of tail -f
open TAIL, "tail -f @ARGV |" or die "Failed to pipe to 'tail -f @ARGV'
+. $!";

# Create a handle for SIGALRM that outputs a line of '=', 80 width.
$SIG{ALRM}=sub{
    printf "\n%s\n", '='x80;
};

# Read from TAIL
# Print output
# Set the alarm timer to 2 seconds.
#
# By setting the alarm to 2 seconds with each line processed we can de
+tect
# the first 2 second silent period, and trigger $SIG{ALRM}.
# After the alarm is triggered no further separators will be output un
+til the
#
# This will not trigger multiple separator lines, since alarm will not
+ be reset
# to 2 seconds until the next line is read.
#
print && alarm(2) while<TAIL>


__END__

=head1 NAME

tf - script for tailing a file and outputting a separator line when in
+active

=head1 SYNOPSIS

 tf /var/log/messages

=cut
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