Does Java Kernel actually exist?

In a Java update FAQ it mentions a new thing called Java Kernel: http://java.sun.com/javase/6/6u10faq.jsp#JKernel

It basically lets you install just the bare minimum components to run a Java program. I wanted to use this with my web applet so that people without Java could get up and running really fast.

However, I can't find any information on it anywhere. There are no examples or tutorials that show how to use it. Does this still exist or am I missing something?

Yes. See this section on the Java RIA Deployment Advice page. It shows how to trigger the installation of the Java kernel for an applet.

Yes, of course it exists. Those release notes are not lying...

However, it probably doesn't work like you think it does. It will first download the bare minimum to run simple applets (in a webbrowser), so that the applet can start running quickly. But in the background it will proceed to download and install the rest of the JRE.

It is not so that you can choose yourself what modules you want to install, or that you want to install only the bare minimum and nothing else.

Also, whether your applet will really benefit from this depends on what APIs your applet uses. If it uses Swing, for example, then your applet obviously can't start running before Swing and everything that it needs is installed.

The Java Kernel is an idea that's meant to accelerate installing Java when a user doesn't have it installed yet, and it's meant to be invisible to users and applet developers.

I couldn't find more information about what exactly is and is not in the kernel and what modules it will download.