If the jdk is not being installed, it must prompt the user for this information. It does not show up in the Wizard selection screens. The panels it displays, however, do display in the Wizard mode of install. Your persistent class should contain the following declaration. Constructor is called when the Parser accesses the class, NOT when the persistent object is pulled from the database.
Transient data needs to be initialized some where else.
This involves initialization of transient variables. The existing settings are checked on the system and defaulted accordingly. Note that if the install is a silent install, this method will still be called. However, the settings panel will not be displayed. This method will be called only once in the installation.