EOF not working in a loop

I used EOF in a C++ program to terminate a loop.. but it is not working.... could someone help me and tell me what im doing wrong.. the code for my program is..:

Code:

#include <iostream.h>
#include <fstream.h>
#include <io.h>
int main(int argc, char * argv[])
{
  if(argc!=2)
  {
    cout<<"Correct input is: filename";
    return 0;
  }
  if(access(argv[1], 00))
  {
    cout<<"File does not exist";
    return 0;
  }
  ifstream the_file;
  the_file.open(argv[1]);
  int x = 0;
  char placeInFile;
  the_file.get(placeInFile);
  while(placeInFile!=EOF)
  {
    if (placeInFile=='\n')
      x++;
    the_file.get(placeInFile);
  }
  cout<<"That file has "<<x<<" lines."<<endl;
  return 0;
}

EOF is an int.
use....

Code:

int placeinfile;
placeinfile = file.get();

then all will be well

Ahhh I see, thank you

... and to understand why:
http://faq.cprogramming.com/cgi-bin/...&id=1043284351