Book excerpt: The aim of the present work is twofold. On one hand in the first part, the attention is focalized to give a brief but general idea on (i) the presence and importance of the different materials which surround us, including light alloys and more in details Al-based alloys, on (ii) some features on the actual state of the manufacturing of metallic alloys, and on (iii) some technical hitches appearing when metallic alloys are developed. On the other hand, some indications on how the metallic materials can be structurally characterized using complementary methodologies, namely microstructural analysis and X-Ray diffraction technique, including different real case studies, will be recalled. Additionally, a few aspects on how the data acquired can be managed in order to recognize the highest number of information bits about the investigated material and to holistically use them for finding a suitable application, or vice versa to find the right material for application drive processes, will be discussed. The present book is mainly addressed to students of materials and mechanical sciences, electrical and industrial engineering, and other relevant engineering specializations, where investigations on materials/metallic alloys are important.