Proc::ParallelLoop This is a perl module, along with an executable shell interface, that provides looping constructs similar to "for" and "foreach", except that the loop bodies can be executed in parallel. The number of child processes is controlled to not exceed a maximum. The module also serializes both the exit status of the child processes and the standard output and standard error, so it is practical to use it in most places where a normal foreach loop would go. There is a small perl program called "pardo" that you will find in the bin directory. It provides Proc::ParallelLoop's functionality to shell programmers. You can use it from shell scripts, or right from the command line. A man page for it is in the man/man1 directory of this module. NOTES ----- When running "make test", you should make sure that your user file handle limit is at least 400, and your maximum number of user processes is at least 150 or so, and you are not doing too much else at the time. If you are using bourne shell, you can view and set your limits with the ulimit command. If you use csh, use the limit command. If you don't have privileges to set your limits that high, then the nesting test and/or the biglist test may fail. At least for now, this is not likely to work with Active Perl for Windows. If you can get it to work without harming the unix functionality, I would love to hear from you. Enjoy, -- Byron C. Darrah bdarrah@pacbell.net