FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
java version "1.5.0_06"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_06-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_06-b05, mixed mode, sharing)

ADDITIONAL OS VERSION INFORMATION :
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]


A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
When reading a large file using FileInputStream, the available() method returns negative values after a certain point. For example, I created a file 7,405,576,182 bytes long, and seeked 3,110,608,892 bytes into the file. The available() method returned -5. I tried this on 3 different Windows boxes with different versions of Java and I found the exact same problem on all of them.

STEPS TO FOLLOW TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM :
* Create a file 7,405,576,182 bytes long.
* Open the file using FileInputStream.
* Seek 3,110,608,892 bytes into the file.
* Call the available() method and check the result.

EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
I would expect a positive number.
ACTUAL -
The funtion returned -5.

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced always.

---------- BEGIN SOURCE ----------
// WARNING: This program creates a 6.9 GB file. Ensure you have sufficient space before running it.

import java.io.*;

public class Test
{
	public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException
	{
		File file = new File("x");

		RandomAccessFile raf = new RandomAccessFile(file, "rw");
		raf.seek(7405576182L);
		raf.write(1);
		raf.close();

		FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(file);
		fis.skip(3110608882L);
		System.out.println(fis.available());
		fis.skip(10L);
		System.out.println(fis.available());
		fis.close();

		file.delete();
	}
}

---------- END SOURCE ----------

CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :
I worked around this problem by creating a wrapper class for FileInputStream with a different implementation of the available() method which returned the number of bytes between the current file pointer and the end of the file.