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The {{char}} type is the only unsigned primitive type in Java. As a result, a signed value cannot be stored and retrieved successfully from a variable of type {{char}}. In particular, comparing a value of type {{char}} with -1 will never yield {{true}}.  However, because the method {{read()}} returns -1 to indicate the End of File ({{EOF}}) condition, it is tempting to compare the character returned by {{read()}} with -1.  This is a common error \[[Pugh 082008|AA. Java References#Pugh 08]\].

\[[API 062006|AA. Java References#API 06]\] Class {{InputStream}}
\[[JLS 052005|AA. Java References#JLS 05]\] 4.2 Primitive Types and Values
\[[Pugh 082008|AA. Java References#Pugh 08]\] "Waiting for the end"