#opening of working file, which is to be compared with #the reference array(%hash1) open (Local, "stub.c") or die "Can't open stub.c :$!\n"; for $local(){ $local =~ s/\n//; #this is used to compare the 2 variable #if there is no match, assign it as a key to a hash unless ($fish eq $local){ $hash2{$local}++; } close Local; } }