...because the lower 8 bits of the exit code might contain information of interest, too (like the signal number that made the process die, and whether it core dumped — see system).  If Perl returned the high 8 bits only (by dividing the exit code by 256 itself prior to returning it), that info would not be available.

In reply to Re: why divide 256 for the exit code by almut
in thread why divide 256 for the exit code by zhujian0805

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