P:\test>perl5.8.4 -v This is perl, v5.8.4 built for MSWin32-x86-multi-thread Copyright 1987-2004, Larry Wall Perl may be copied only under the terms of either the Artistic License or the GNU General Public License, which may be found in the Perl 5 source kit. Complete documentation for Perl, including FAQ lists, should be found on this system using `man perl' or `perldoc perl'. If you have access to the Internet, point your browser at http://www.perl.com/, the Perl Home Page. P:\test>for /l %i in (1,1,100) do perl5.8.4 367162.pl P:\test>perl5.8.4 367162.pl parent 1980: continue parent 1980: continue parent 1980: waiting for join kid 1 before sort kid 1 after sort parent 1980: thread exited parent 1980: waiting for join kid 2 before sort kid 2 after sort parent 1980: thread exited P:\test>perl5.8.4 367162.pl parent 1396: continue kid 1 before sort kid 1 after sort parent 1396: continue parent 1396: waiting for join kid 2 before sort kid 2 after sort parent 1396: thread exited parent 1396: waiting for join parent 1396: thread exited P:\test>perl5.8.4 367162.pl ...