Java BufferedReader filepath issue
<p>I'm trying to use a text file to populate a 2D array for a game board. I can't seem to get the reader to actually read the file though. I keep getting the following error: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Unable to open file 'C://git/cse116f16/src/boardpieces/board.txt'Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException".</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I know it's because I'm not using the correct syntax for the filepath, but I can't for the life of me figure out what that should be. I have it stored at <code>C:\Users\myname\git\cse116f16\src\boardpieces\board.txt</code>.</p>

<p>What is the string I would need to pass into FileReader to read this file?</p>

<hr>

<p><strong>EDIT</strong>: Here's the method, maybe the problem isn't what I think it is.</p>

<p>Also it should be noted this is on a git repository so I need to be sure it can be read by everyone who pulls it.</p>

<pre><code>    public Character[][] populateArray(String fileName){
        String line = null;
        Character[][] retVal = new Character[26][28];
        int lineNum = 0;
        try {
            FileReader fileReader = new FileReader(fileName);
            BufferedReader bufferedReader = new BufferedReader(fileReader);

            //Assigns each character to it's corresponding place in the array
            while((line = bufferedReader.readLine()) != null) {
                for (int i = 0; i &lt; 26; i++){
                    retVal[lineNum][i] = line.charAt(i);
                }                   
            }   
            bufferedReader.close();         
        }
        catch(FileNotFoundException ex) {
            System.out.println("Unable to open file '" + fileName + "'");                
        }
        catch(IOException ex) {
            System.out.println("Error reading file '" + fileName + "'");                  
        }
        return retVal;
    }

    public void populateBoard(){
        String path = "C:\\Users\\myname\\git\\cse116f16\\src\\boardpieces\\board.txt";

        Character[][] arr = populateArray(path);

        //the rest of the method...
</code></pre>