To make the design issues in the balance of the book more clear, we need to look at some the problems that serve as motivation. One of these is using object-oriented programming (OOP) for simulation. Simulation was one of the early problem domains for OOP. This is an area where OOP works out particularly elegantly.
We've chosen a problem domain that's relatively simple: the strategies for playing the game of blackjack. We don't want to endorse gambling; indeed, a bit of study will show that the game is stacked heavily against the player. This should reveal that most casino gambling is little more than a tax on the innumerate.
The first section of this chapter will review the rules of the game of Blackjack. After looking at the card game, the bulk of this chapter will provide some background in tools that are essential for writing...