This paper is an expository survey of results on integral representations and discrete sum expansions of functions in $L^2 ({\bf R})$ in terms of coherent states. Two types of coherent states are considered: Weyl–Heisenberg coherent states, which arise from translations and modulations of a single function, and affine coherent states, called ’wavelets,’ which arise as translations and dilations of a single function. In each case it is shown how to represent any function in $L^2 ({\bf R})$ as a sum or integral of these states. Most of the paper is a survey of literature, most notably the work of I. Daubechies, A. Grossmann, and J. Morlet. A few results of the authors are included.