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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.

EOF definition

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)

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