$pid = `pgrep -f '[a]bc'`; ... until ($i > 60) { if ($pid) { $timestamp = localtime(time); print $fh ("$pid , $timestamp , $msg\n"); }else{ $timestamp = localtime(time); print $fh ("No pid , $timestamp\n"); } $i = $i +1; sleep 10; $pid = `pgrep -f '[a]bc'`; }