Pre-White Dwarf Evolution: Up to Planetary Nebulae

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Abstract
The main evolutionary phases having some interest for the formation of the remnant white dwarf are discussed, starting from the core helium burning phase, in the attempt of evaluating a theoretical relation between initial main sequence mass and final white dwarf mass. Several difficulties, mainly due (but not only) to uncertainties in the theory of mass loss, have been met, so that only a fiducial bona fide correlation can be drawn. The mass function of population I white dwarfs has probably a secondary maximum at M = 0.9 – 1 Me.