How does the anvil work in minecraft?

Question

I was just reading about the new minecraft 1.4.3 update and I saw something about an anvil, and I don't rely understand how it works with the levels and everything so can someone please explain how it works to me.

Answer 1

An Anvil is a block that uses the new item repair interface to repair, rename, and combine enchantments on items. The Anvil uses a complex XP cost system, where the way the tools are positioned and how many times they are repaired affect their cost. (I got this information from http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Anvil )