You can read up on the BigDecimal.add() method in the API javadocs. It's an extremely important skill to learn to read the API and become familiar with the tools you will use to program Java. Java has an extensive set of documentation that you can even download for your convenience. These "javadocs" are indexed and categorized so you can quickly look up any class or method. Take the time to consult this resource whenever you have a question - you'll find they typically contain very detailed descriptions and possibly some code examples.