  A multi-faceted approach is described to constrain the importance of
bar-driven evolution in disk galaxies, particularly bulge formation. N-body
simulations are used to construct stellar kinematic bar diagnostics for edge-on
systems and to quantify the expected vertical structure of bars, and they are
compared to observations of 30 edge-on spirals, most with a boxy bulge.
Long-slit spectra of the galaxies show characteristic double-hump rotation
curves, dispersion profiles with secondary peaks and/or flat maxima, and
correlated h3 and V profiles, indicating that most of them harbor edge-on bars.
The presence of cold, quasi-axisymmetric central stellar disks is also
suggested, presumably formed through bar-driven gaseous inflow and star
formation. K-band imaging of the same galaxies spectacularly highlights radial
variations of the bars' scaleheights, as expected from vertical disk
instabilities. The light profiles also vary radially in shape but never
approach a classic de Vaucouleurs law. Filtering of the images further isolates
the specific orbit families at the origin of the boxy structure, which can be
directly related to periodic orbit calculations in 3D barred potentials. Bars
are thus shown to contribute substantially to the formation of both large-scale
triaxial bulges and embedded central disks. Relevant results from the SAURON
survey of the stellar/ionized-gas kinematics and stellar populations of
spheroids are also described. Examples are used to illustrate the potential of
coupling stellar kinematics and linestrengths (age and metallicity), here
specifically to unravel the dynamical evolution and related chemical enrichment
history of bars and bulges. [Abridged]
