This chapter discussed one of the foundational concepts in computer programming: divide and conquer. Just as you could not rip this book in half all at once (again, please do not actually try to rip your book in half), tackling computer programming programs can be a daunting task until you break the problem into manageable pieces. Java enables you to do this by defining methods that solve parts of the problem. Your computer program combines these methods as well as the Java provided methods to solve the actual problem.
This chapter discussed solving computer-science problems iteratively and recursively and the pros and cons of each. Finally, this chapter concluded with a discussion of the classes provided to you in the Java 2 SDK and took a close look at the Math class.
The next chapter leaves the introductory syntax/semantics section of the book and dives into the core concepts of object-orientation that gives Java its true power!
