I don't think I understand your reply, so I'm wondering if I wasn't clear.

What I meant was that if I write a module like the one I was looking for (which does with fork what you demonstrate with threads), I could use methods with the same names and calling conventions as threads (e.g., Foo->create( { context => 'list' }, \&foo ), $child->is_running(), etc.). The interface already defined for it looks nicer than what I had in mind before I read about it. Using it would also mean that someone who becomes familiar with one will have an easier time switching over to using the other one if circumstances warrant it.