Apple Java which Browser to use ? Safari throwing NullPointerException with clean Applet code

Hi All,

I am programming for the first time on an Apple platform, and in fact
programming Java for the first time in a while, so forgive me if this
is newbie-ish.

Mac OS X v 10.4.10
Java/JRE /VM 1.50_07-87
Using IDE Creator v 2.1 (which is not the issue)


with the code below (which I think is clean - but to be honest this is
the first attempt at programming in a while, so there could be an
issue - builds clean. My Safari browser is throwing a
NullPointerException.

Q: Is my code incorrect ?
Q: Is it Safari ?
Q: Is it an interaction with Java JVM 1.05 ? Should I downgrade ?
Q: Which browser is optimal to use for Apple ?
Q: Opinions on whether Mac OSX 10.4 is decent for Applet programming.
There was a time when Mac was insufficient.

Thanks All,
Jacqueline
jackiespiegel@optonline.net

Code and Exception follows.
=============== Java Console
===============================================
basic: Referencing classloader: sun.plugin.ClassLoaderInfo@2d0483,
refcount=1
basic: Added progress listener: sun.plugin.util.GrayBoxPainter@c39410
basic: Loading applet ...
basic: Initializing applet ...
basic: Starting applet ...
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at HelloWorld.<init>(HelloWorld.java:22)
    at sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance0(Native
Method)
    at
sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.java:
39)
    at
sun.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:
27)
    at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:494)
    at java.lang.Class.newInstance0(Class.java:350)
    at java.lang.Class.newInstance(Class.java:303)
    at sun.applet.AppletPanel.createApplet(AppletPanel.java:721)
    at sun.plugin.AppletViewer.createApplet(AppletViewer.java:1826)
    at sun.applet.AppletPanel.runLoader(AppletPanel.java:650)
    at sun.applet.AppletPanel.run(AppletPanel.java:324)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:613)

===================== Java Code =============================
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.JApplet;

//No need to extend JApplet, since we don't add any components;
//we just paint.
public class HelloWorldApplet extends JApplet {

    StringBuffer buffer;

    public void init() {
        buffer = new StringBuffer();
        System.out.println("initializing... ");
    }

    public void start() {
        System.out.println("starting... ");
        repaint();
    }

    public void stop() {
        System.out.println("stopping... ");
    }

    public void destroy() {
        System.out.println("preparing for unloading...");
    }

    public void paint(Graphics g) {
    //Draw a Rectangle around the applet's display area.
        g.drawRect(0, 0,
           getWidth() - 1,
           getHeight() - 1);

    //Draw the current string inside the rectangle.
        g.drawString("Hello World", 5, 15);
    }
}