What is Java used for?

[Linux on Unix Action Hero]

I've got an older server running FileMaker Sever 9. It's under the necessary spec for FMS9. However, I've got little choice but to use it until the new server requisition comes in.

So, I'm wondering what I can do to help improve the performance. As essentially everything important can be performed from the fmsadmin console tool, I was wondering if Java could be disabled: it's using 800+ Mb of swap and 100Mb of resident private memory, amongst other things. I'm not able to see how FMS actually uses it, directly.

So, can I disable/shut down the java process, and if so, is there a 'clean' way to do so?