Astronomical Observatory of A.Mickiewicz University,
Sloneczna 36, 60-286 Poznan, Poland.
Many attempts have been undertaken in last decades to find methods of solving the equations of motion which reduce the complexity of analytical expressions at the expense of narrowing the domain of initial conditions and parameters. Such quest of a compromise between generality and efficiency is the essence of the methods called semi-analytical or semi-numerical. The efforts of various authors in this domain are presented in a possibly systematic way. A certain anarchy in nomenclature of these methods only reflects the variety of invented stratagems.