combining data files using Perl

Write a Perl program (call it "combine") to combine the data in several files according to date. For example, if file [login to view URL] contains 20020601 10.0 20020603 11.0 20020604 10.3 and file [login to view URL] contains 20020530 100.0 20020603 110.0 20020604 100.3 then the command "combine [login to view URL] [login to view URL] > [login to view URL]" should create a file [login to view URL] with contents date [login to view URL] [login to view URL] 20020530 ?? 100.0 20020601 10.0 ?? 20020603 11.0 110.0 20020604 10.3 100.3 The program should work for an arbitrary # of files, not just two. It should be able to run from the command line in Windows XP, although the Perl source code should be platform-independent. Store all the data in arrays before printing it, so I can extend the program. Have the dates appear in ascending order on output. The program should also work for dates in mm/dd/yy format. ## Deliverables Complete and fully-functional working program(s) in executable form as well as complete source code of all work done. No copyright needed. You can distribute it. ## Platform Windows NT and XP, but Perl code should be platform-independent. The Perl code should be compliant with Perl 5.6.