As you mention
Debian (a GNU/Linux distro), I'll throw in my .02$: check out the
Linux namespace on
CPAN.
You'll find lots of Linux specific packages that could leverage your fiddlings.
For instance, one module I personally tend to overuse from time to time is
Linux::Smaps.
Here's a sample usage:
$ perl -MLinux::Smaps -le '$sm = Linux::Smaps->new($$); \
sub psize { $sm->update; print $sm->size; } \
psize(); require POSIX; psize(); POSIX->import; psize();'
6312
6560
7088
If you want something even more
fancy, try
GTop.
Here's a sample usage:
$ perl -MGTop -le '$gtop = GTop->new; \
sub psize { print $gtop->proc_mem($$)->size; } \
psize(); require POSIX; psize(); POSIX->import; psize();'
7839744
7958528
8499200