If you want same output as from file have a look at File::LibMagic, it uses the same library: 

$ file 1x1.png 
1x1.png: PNG image data, 1 x 1, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced
$ perl -MFile::LibMagic -E'say File::LibMagic->new->describe_filename(
+"1x1.png")'
PNG image data, 1 x 1, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced

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In reply to Re: file command replacement (showing the type of a file with perl) by zwon
in thread file command replacement (showing the type of a file with perl) by pvaldes

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