An NBM file is a NetBeans module packaged for delivery via the web. The principal differences between it and a module jar are:

• It is compressed
• It can contain more than one JAR file - modules can package any libraries they use into their NBM
• It contains metadata NetBeans will use to display information about it in the update center, such as the manifest contents, the license, etc.
• NBMs are typically signed for security purposes

NBM files are just zip files with a special extension, which use the JDK's mechanism for signing jars. Unless you're doing something unusual, you will not need to worry about the contents of NBMs - just let the standard Ant task for NBM creation take care of it for you.

Source: NetBeans FAQ

 Related Tips

• I have written a module. Can I sell it?
• 2D texture font - NeHe Tutorial JOGL Port
• 3D Human Animation Applet
• 3D lens flare with occlusion testing - NeHe Tutorial JOGL Port
• 3D shapes - NeHe Tutorial JOGL Port
• A model with a light which is moved by a modeling transformation
• A Morph object to animate a shape between two key shapes
• A red sphere using the Sphere utility class