To appear in the procedings of: The Evolution of Galaxies. III: From simple approaches to self-consistent models (Kiel, Gemany, July 2002).
astro-ph/0210371.

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Abstract. I review several of the current issues in the theory of disk galaxy formation. There is still much to be done, observationally and theoretically, before we can expect to approach an understanding of disk galaxies that is reliable enough to make robust predictions about the high redshift universe.

Key words: galaxy, disk, star formation

Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTION
• DISK FORMATION
• GLOBAL STAR FORMATION IN DISKS
• THE DARK SIDE OF DISK FORMATION
• PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
• ANALYTIC DISK GALAXY FORMATION
• SPHEROID FORMATION
• CONCLUSIONS
• REFERENCES