=over =item readpipe EXPR =item readpipe X<readpipe> EXPR is executed as a system command. The collected standard output of the command is returned. In scalar context, it comes back as a single (potentially multi-line) string. In list context, returns a list of lines (however you've defined lines with L<C<$E<sol>>|perlvar/$E<sol>> (or C<$INPUT_RECORD_SEPARATOR> in L<English>)). This is the internal function implementing the C<qx/EXPR/> operator, but you can use it directly. The C<qx/EXPR/> operator is discussed in more detail in L<perlop/"C<qx/I<STRING>/>">. If EXPR is omitted, uses L<C<$_>|perlvar/$_>. =back