null pointer exception

I cannot for the life of me figure out why I am getting a null pointer exception here.

Code:

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        public void boardBuilder(){               
        String[][] gameBoard = new String[Variables.getBoardSize()][Variables.getBoardSize()];  // board size is returned by this call as 3, so this is a 3 by 3 array
        int buttonLocator = 0;
        for(int i = 0; i < Variables.getBoardSize(); i++){ // row
        for(int k = 0; k < Variables.getBoardSize(); k++){  // column
        gameBoard[i][k] =  Variables.getButtons()[buttonLocator].getText(); // error is here. I am wanting to get the text of a JButton in a 1D array and set it equal to a location in the 2D array
        buttonLocator++;

        } // end inner for
        } // end outer for
        checkBoard(gameBoard);
        boardDismantler(gameBoard);

        } // end boardBuilder

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Quote:

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I cannot for the life of me figure out why I am getting a null pointer exception here.

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Code:

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gameBoard[i][k] =  Variables.getButtons()[buttonLocator].getText();

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There are quite a few things that could be null:

gameBoard
gameBoard[i]
gameBoard[i][k]
Variables.getButtons()
Variables.getButtons()[buttonLocator]

(Basically the NPE arises because you cannot "dereference" with [] or . something that has the value null.)

Use System.out.println() to display the value of each just before you get the NullPointerException.

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I'm assuming Variables is a class, otherwise you would have to check if it was null. Using static methods and variables is just asking for NPE and other troubles because anywhere in the code can clobber a perfectly good value with null thereby making looking for the *cause* of the NPE rather hard work.

[Edit] On second thoughts, it is static variables that are particularly nasty in this regard. But still, things shouldn't be static without some good reason.