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The pages on this site contain documentation for very old MS-DOS software, purely for historical purposes. If you're looking for up-to-date documentation, particularly for programming, you should not rely on the information found here, as it will be woefully out of date.

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  Message:      0003
 
  Text:         Illegal format : Literal
 
  Explanation:  The sequence of characters forming a literal within
                your source code does not conform to the rules
                governing the construction of such names. A literal
                can be either nonnumeric or numeric.
 
                If numeric it can be up to 18 digits in length, but it must
                not contain more than one sign character or more than one
                decimal point.
 
                A nonnumeric literal can consist of any allowable character
                in the computer's character set up to a maximum of 160
                characters in the Procedure Division, or 2048 characters in
                the Data Division. A nonnumeric literal must be enclosed
                in quotation marks.
 
                If you have used a figurative constant as the literal make
                sure that it is referenced by an allowable reserved word
                (such as ZERO) which you have spelled correctly. A
                figurative constant and a numeric literal must not be
                enclosed in quotation marks.
 
                You may also have used the wrong class of literal for
                the context of the sentence.
 
                Alternatively, if you have used the figurative constant ALL
                in your code, you have not coded it in accordance with
                the rules governing the use of this constant. ALL must be
                followed by a nonnumeric literal and not by a numeric
                one.
 
  Resolution:   Revise your code to comply with the above rules.
 
                Further details on the use of figurative constants can be
                found in your Language Reference.
                                    -♦-