#!/usr/bin/perl

use strict;
use warnings;

$ENV{PATH}="/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/bin";
system("firefox http://www.perlmonks.org");

[download]

If you want a default browser, and its under your control you could have users set an environmental var like export BROWSER='/usr/bin/firefox' Other than that, certain distros may have some facility for getting at that, but it would most likely be distro specific. Your mileage may vary.

Untested, but you could also try something such as 
#!/usr/bin/perl
#
use strict;
use warnings;

$ENV{PATH}="/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/bin";

my @browsers = qq|firefox lynx|;

USEBROWSER: {
    for (@browsers) {
        my $status = (system("$_ http://www.perlmonks.org") == 0 ) ? 0
+ : 1;
        last USEBROWSER if $status == 0;
    }

    print "No suitable browser was found...\n";
}

[download]
Ted
--
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved."
  --Ralph Waldo Emerson

In reply to Re: Is there a system command in Linux by tcf03
in thread Is there a system command in Linux by mikasue

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