This article reviews some of the salient features of the piecewiseuniform Shishkin mesh. The central analytical techniques involved in the associated numerical analysis are explained via a particular class of singularly perturbed differential equations. A detailed discussion of the Shishkin solution decomposition is included. The generality of the numerical approach introduced by Shishkin is highlighted. The impact of Shishkin's ideas on the field of singularly perturbed differential is assessed in this selective review of his research output over the past thirty years. © 2010 Institute for Scientific Computing and Information.