Why is the exit code 255 instead of -1 in Perl?

Question

Why is it that when I shift the exit code, $?, in Perl by eight, I get 255 when I expect it to be -1?

Answer 1

Which way are you shifting it? Please provide a code example.

also:

perldoc -f system

gives a very easy to understand example of what to do with $?

Also, http://www.gnu.org/s/libc/manual/html_node/Exit-Status.html

Exit values should be between 0 and 255. Your shifting combined with how negative values are actually stored by the computer should give some insight.