> If you're bothering to include Linux in your list of Desktop platforms at all you may as well include the BSDs.

I guess, but the amount of people I know that use BSDs are even fewer than the amount that use Linux. Given that Linux is a hard enough sell to support for most apps I doubt that BSD support would be offered even if the framework supports it.

> Besides, Java works fine on BSDs. Why is it that when modern developers reinvent the wheel they so often manage to do it worse than the last time?

Speak for yourself, I would MUCH rather use an Electron app than a Java app. No need to make sure you have a proper JVM installed AND the apps don't look hideous like 99% of the Java apps I've ever used do.

You can quite easily bundle the Java runtime with your application. Many Java applications do this. As a bonus, it will still be smaller than the equivalent Electron application.

Except Java applets are a thing of the past while seamless browser/browser-based software is a convenient thing of the present (and probably future[0]) and prioritizing size more than availability and usability is fighting the last war harder than a stranded Imperial Japanese soldier.

0: http://wasm.continuation-labs.com/d3demo/

Java applets are not a thing of the past thanks WebAssembly.

Plus we are talking about regular Java here.

I doubt that the frameworks (e.g., JavaFX) for creating a GUI in Java work fine on the BSDs.

Portable GUI code is harder than portable code without a GUI.