Approximable triangulated categories

In this survey we present the relatively new concept of \emph{approximable triangulated categories.} We will show that the definition is natural, that it leads to powerful new results, and that it throws new light on old, familiar objects. In particular: a recent theorem says that the category $D_{\text{qc}}(X)$ is approximable whenever $X$ is a quasicompact separated scheme. As corollaries of this (seemingly technical) statement one can prove striking improvements on old theorems by Bondal, Rickard, Rouquier and Van den Bergh, about the (much smaller) categories $D^{\text{perf}}(X)$ and $D^b_{\text{coh}}(X)$.