Over the past many years, x-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) has developed into a very mature field. The Plenary Session at this, the 35th Annual Denver Conference on Applications of X-Ray Analysis, deals with an evaluation of developments around the world, as viewed by experts from the three major areas, North America, Europe and the Far East. In this brief report, I would like to convey that which I consider to be the state-of-the-art at the present time, and make some prognostications, which may or may not be dignified as predictions. Many of the specifics that I mention will refer to work in which we, at the Naval Research Laboratory, have been involved. To be fair, I will also deal with some areas in which others have worked. In my mind, the field divides itself naturally into four areas: Sources, Dispersion Devices, Detectors and Data Reduction, I would like to deal with each of these in turn.