I think perlrun explains it pretty well: 
       -x
       -x directory
            tells Perl that the program is embedded in a larger chunk 
+of unrelated ASCII text, such as in a mail message.  Leading garbage 
+will be discarded until the first line that starts
            with #! and contains the string "perl".  Any meaningful sw
+itches on that line will be applied.  If a directory name is specifie
+d, Perl will switch to that directory before running
            the program.  The -x switch controls only the disposal of 
+leading garbage.  The program must be terminated with "__END__" if th
+ere is trailing garbage to be ignored (the program
            can process any or all of the trailing garbage via the DAT
+A filehandle if desired).

[download]
Example: 
cducdsgcsdcyvdsctydwcfvsc
rubbish
.....
more rubbish...
blah blah blah

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;
print "Hello World\n";

__END__
more garbage here ignored.

[download]
Output: 
darren@barney:~/perlmonks$ perl -x garbage.pl
Hello World

[download]

Cheers,
Darren :)

In reply to Re: perl command line option - ( -x ) by McDarren
in thread perl command line option - ( -x ) by jesuashok

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