http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=380748


in reply to system() vs `backtick`

backticks send the executed program's STDOUT to a variable, and system sends it to your main program's STDOUT. So it could depend on what your main program's STDOUT is connected to. If it's connected to something that blocks, for example, or something that returns an error when you write to it, that could explain the problem.