$ perl -we 'for (qw"14/3 03-14") { m"^(?:(?\d\d)-(?\d\d)|(?\d{1,2})/(?\d{1,2}))$" or die; print "$_ => month=$+{m}, day=$+{d}.\n"; }' 14/3 => month=3, day=14. 03-14 => month=03, day=14.