Correction: 
use strict;
open (OUT,">top.log") or die "cannot create: $!\n";
for (;;){
    my $top = `top n 1`;
    print OUT $top;
    sleep 10;

}
close OUT;

[download]
Sorry I was actually abbreviating my original script from memory. The script writes and executes top just fine when I don't run it as a background job. The explanation that top does not run as a background job is very helpful. Thank you.

In reply to Re^2: Running a Background Job by Anonymous Monk
in thread Running a Background Job by Anonymous Monk

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