Essentially, you're printing it to OUTPUT1 unless it's found in %hash2, in which case you print to OUTPUT2.

Also, your description is confusing, as you mention %hash3, but %hash3 never shows up in the code.

This is how I would change your script, given my understanding of your problem. 

while ($line = <MAIN_FILE1>){
chomp $line;

  if (exists $hash2{$entry}) {
        print OUTPUT2 "$filename\n";
        next;
    }
  # either exists in %hash1,
  # or not in either,
  # so output to OUTPUT1
  print OUTPUT1 "$filename\n";
  next;
}

close(MAIN_FILE1)

[download]

-QM
--
Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of

In reply to Re: next statement logic by QM
in thread next statement logic by Anonymous Monk

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