# EOF is not a character

DevFeed: [EOF is not a character](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/eof-is-not-a-character-33311.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://ruslanspivak.com/eofnotchar/>)

Author: Ruslan Spivak

Published: 2020-03-01T16:53:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Ruslan Spivak](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/ruslan-spivak.md>)

Topics: [C](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/c.md>), [IO](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/io.md>), [Unix](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/unix.md>), [ASCII](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ascii.md>), [Streams](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/streams.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>)

Tags: [ascii](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ascii.md>), [blog](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/blog.md>), [c](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/c.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [computer](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/computer.md>), [example](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/example.md>), [file](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/file.md>), [function](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/function.md>), [library](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/library.md>), [linux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linux.md>), [mac-os](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mac-os.md>), [python](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python.md>), [standard-library](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/standard-library.md>), [stream](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/stream.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/systems.md>), [text](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/text.md>), [unix](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/unix.md>), [value](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/value.md>)

## AI overview

This tutorial explains that EOF in C is not a character and is not stored at the end of a file. It examines EOF in Unix I/O, its usual value of -1, and why that value cannot represent a character.

## Source excerpt

I was reading Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective the other day and in the chapter on Unix I/O the authors mention that there is no explicit "EOF character" at the end of a file.