In this paper we review cataclysmic variables (CVs) discussing several hot points about the renewing interest of today astrophysics about these sources. We will briefly discuss also about classical and recurrent novae, as well as the intriguing problem of progenitors of the Type Ia supernovae. This paper is an extended and updated version of the review by Giovannelli (2008). Because of limited length of the paper and our knowledge, this review does not pretend to be complete. However, we would like to demonstrate that the improvement on knowledge of the physics of our Universe is strictly related also with the multifrequency behaviour of CVs, which apparently in the recent past lost to have a leading position in modern astrophysics.
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