open(FH, "datebook") or die; # Open a file for reading
open(SORT, "|sort") or die; # Open a pipe to sort output
$field1="<" x 18; # Create format strings
$field2="<" x 12;
$field3="|" x 10;
$field4="#" x 6 . ".##";
# Create the format template
$format=qq(
format SORT=
\@$field1\@$field2\@$field3\@$field4
\$name, \$phone, \$birth, \$sal
.
);
eval $format;
while(){
($name,$phone,$address,$birth,$sal)=split(":");
($first, $last)=split(" ", $name);
$name=$last.", ". $first;
write SORT;
}
close(FH);
close(SORT);