diff --git a/bin/arch b/bin/arch
index c477b3fe..5a101c40 100644
--- a/bin/arch
+++ b/bin/arch
@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ License:
 
 =cut
 
-
+use strict;
 use POSIX qw(uname);
-$arch=(uname())[4]; # machine ... (uname -m)
-$system=(uname())[0]; # system ... (uname -s)
+my $arch=(uname())[4]; # machine ... (uname -m)
+my $system=(uname())[0]; # system ... (uname -s)
 
 # sun3.* -> sun3, sun4.* -> sun4, etc. SunOS hooey.
 # looks like `uname -m` eq `arch -k` on suns ...
diff --git a/bin/cmp b/bin/cmp
index 5b3b2758..a0759e19 100644
--- a/bin/cmp
+++ b/bin/cmp
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ License: perl
 # revise how zero-length files are handled ?
 #
 
+use strict;
+
 END {
     close STDOUT || die "$0: can't close stdout: $!\n";
     $? = 1 if $? == 255;  # from die