Doesn't whatis /usr/bin/* do the same thing your script does? Why do you need it then? Is it a part of a larger script?

AFAIK, system does not interpolate wildcards; that means * does not work. You can write an explicit glob: 

$files = join ' ', glob '/usr/bin/*';
system "whatis $files";

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In reply to Re: system call how-to by akho
in thread system call how-to by elsiddik

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