Which Perl function can be used to launch a child process to run a program?
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split
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spin
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fork
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system
The system function in Perl executes a command in a subshell or child process and waits for it to complete. While fork clones the process, system is the standard way to run an external program.
To answer this question, you need to understand how Perl can launch a child process to run a program.
Option A) split - This option is incorrect because the split function in Perl is used to split a string into an array or a list based on a specified delimiter. It is not used for launching child processes.
Option B) spin - This option is incorrect because there is no built-in Perl function called spin. It is not used for launching child processes.
Option C) fork - This option is incorrect because the fork function in Perl is used to create a new process that is a copy of the current process. It is commonly used to create child processes, but it does not directly launch a program. The child process created by fork can then use exec or system to launch a program.
Option D) system - This option is correct because the system function in Perl is used to execute an external program. It launches a child process to run the specified program.
The correct answer is D) system. This option is correct because the system function in Perl can be used to launch a child process to run a program.