from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
EOF
/E.O.F/, n.
[abbreviation, `End Of File']
1. [techspeak] The {out-of-band} value returned by C's sequential
character-input functions (and their equivalents in other
environments) when end of file has been reached. This value is usually
-1 under C libraries postdating V6 Unix, but was originally 0. DOS
hackers think EOF is ^Z, and a few Amiga hackers think it's ^\.
2. [Unix] The keyboard character (usually control-D, the ASCII EOT
(End Of Transmission) character) that is mapped by the terminal driver
into an end-of-file condition.
3. Used by extension in non-computer contexts when a human is doing
something that can be modeled as a sequential read and can't go
further. "Yeah, I looked for a list of 360 mnemonics to post as a
joke, but I hit EOF pretty fast; all the library had was a {JCL}
manual." See also {EOL}.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
EOF
End Of File
1. The {out-of-band} value returned by {C}'s sequential
character-input functions (and their equivalents in other
environments) when end of file has been reached. This value
is -1 under {C} libraries postdating V6 Unix, but was
originally 0.
2. The keyboard character (usually control-D, the ASCII EOT
(End Of Transmission) character) that is mapped by the {Unix}
terminal driver into an end-of-file condition.
[{Jargon File}]
(1995-01-18)