[jontz]

JVM stands for Java Virtual Machine. Java is a platform independant execution evironment. In other words, Java will run on any platform and any processor architecture. Most programs compile source code directly into machine code and then run it on the specific platform it was designed for. JVM creates a virtual Java processor and then turns Java bytecode into machine language. Because it creates this virtual processor, it can run on anything. I the snap servers case, you can run things like SSL encryption or even devolp a custom application.

A good example of this would be if you were trying to establish a socket connection between two different computer platforms. Establishing a socket connection requires and operating system call. Obviously, Windows and Mac OS handle sockets in different ways. JVM acts as a translator to allow these two OS's to play nice. That's why you see all this garbage about Java Script on the internet. If it is written in Java, it will run on anything instead of the web site developer having to write different code for each computer type that visits the web site.

Hope this helps a little!