When you're distributing a real installer with a swing app, including a copy of the JRE is definitely the thing to do. A jnlp app is a file format that defines

When you're distributing a real installer with a swing app, including a copy of the JRE is definitely the thing to do. A jnlp app is a file format that defines how to launch a java executable over the internet. It defines the location where the executable is, and what version of java is required. Opening the jnlp to download and launching the app requires an installed JRE, or there is nothing to interpret the jnlp and go get the application. There is, iirc, a utility that will wrap a jnlp file and go get a jre. I forget what it's called, but it makes jnlp apps more like an auto-updating standard app. The benefit of the jnlp approach is if you can guarantee your users have java installed, then they don't need to install your app. Just click a link, then a java app self-downloads, installs and sets up a shortcut on the desktop. And it updates whenever they open it and a new version is detected.