Contrary to regular PostScript (PS) files, some comments in Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file have a special meaning. For example, they must start with %!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0 and have a special %%BoundingBox: ... comment.
Now I've noticed that most EPS files, including the examples given in the EPS specification, end with a %%EOF comment. Yet, that same specification does not mention EOF anywhere else.
Is this just a convention, or will bad things happen if my self-generated EPS files do not have a final %%EOF line?
Answer by KenS:
EPS files are required to be DSC compliant; DSC compliant files must end with a %%EOF. Any consumer of EPS files which relies on a %%EOF (and relying on it is legal, because its a requirement) will fail if you don't include it. These are not 'special meanings' they are requirements of the DSC specification.
From the point of view of a PostScript interpreter, however, they are just comments. Only EPS consumers which are not PostScript interpreters require the comments but that's pretty much everything. Tech note 5001 contains the DSC specification.