In a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a thin film of some material is deposited onto a surface via the chemical reactions of gaseous molecules that contain the atoms needed for the film material. These chemical reactions take place on the surface and in many cases also in the gas phase. To fully understand the chemistry in the process and thereby also have the best starting point for optimizing the process, theoretical chemical modeling is an invaluable tool for providing atomic-scale detail on surface and gas phase chemistry. This overview briefly introduces to the non-expert the main concepts, history and application of CVD, including the pulsed CVD variant known as atomic layer deposition, and put into perspective the use of theoretical chemistry in modeling these processes.