Collet P., Eckmann J.-P. space-time behavior in problems of hydrodynamic type: a case study (648K, postscript) ABSTRACT. We review results concerning normal forms, fronts, pattern formation, and convergence for certain 1-dimensional partial differential equations. The relationship between these results is put into perspective and is supplemented by a series of unpublished results on the convergence problem for parabolic PDE's. The paper does not require special prerequisites and we hope to interest the non-specialist for this nice subject.