  We set up a framework for using algebraic geometry to study the generalised
cohomology rings that occur in algebraic topology. This idea was probably first
introduced by Quillen and it underlies much of our understanding of complex
oriented cohomology theories, exemplified by the work of Morava. Most of the
results have close and well-known analogues in the algebro-geometric
literature, but with different definitions or technical assumptions that are
often inconvenient for topological applications. We merely put everything
together in a systematic and convenient way.
