Resolution:
When compiling for managed code, you must change the length of the nonnumeric literal to a value greater than zero. Do the same when compiling for native code unless you intend that the zero-length literal be converted to a single space character.
Example:
In the following example, the move statement contains a zero-length literal. When compiling for native code, a single-space character is moved to the X1 data item. If this is not the desired behavior, you must change the code.
identification division. program-id. err1178. data division. working-storage section. 01 x1 pic x(10). procedure division. p1. move "" to x1 if x1 = space display "Pass" end-if .