For Banach spaces $X$ and $Y$, we show that if $X^\ast$ and $Y$ are weakly sequentially complete and every weakly compact operator from $X$ to $Y$ is compact then the space of all compact operators from $X$ to $Y$ is weakly sequentially complete. The converse is also true if, in addition, either $X^\ast$ or $Y$ has the bounded compact approximation property.

A vector measure result is used to study the complementation of the space $K(X,Y)$ of compact operators in the spaces $W(X,Y)$ of weakly compact operators, $CC(X,Y)$ of completely continuous operators, and $U(X,Y)$ of unconditionally converging operators. Results of Kalton and Emmanuele concerning the complementation of $K(X,Y)$ in $L(X,Y)$ and in $W(X,Y)$ are generalized. The containment of $c_0$ and $\ell_\infty$ in spaces of operators is also studied.

We study the complementation of the space $W(X,Y)$ of weakly compact operators, the space $K(X,Y)$ of compact operators, the space $U(X,Y)$ of unconditionally converging operators, and the space $CC(X,Y)$ of completely continuous operators in the space $L(X,Y)$ of bounded linear operators from $X$ to $Y$. Feder proved that if $X$ is infinite-dimensional and $c_0 \hookrightarrow Y$, then $K(X,Y)$ is uncomplemented in $L(X,Y)$. Emmanuele and John showed that if $c_0 \hookrightarrow K(X,Y)$, then $K(X,Y)$ is uncomplemented in $L(X,Y)$. Bator and Lewis showed that if $X$ is not a Grothendieck space and $c_0 \hookrightarrow Y$, then $W(X,Y)$ is uncomplemented in $L(X,Y)$. In this paper, classical results of Kalton and separably determined operator ideals with property $(*)$ are used to obtain complementation results that yield these theorems as corollaries.

Classical results of Kalton and techniques of Feder are used to study the complementation of the space $W(X, Y)$ of weakly compact operators and the space $K(X,Y)$ of compact operators in the space $L(X,Y)$ of all bounded linear maps from X to Y.

J. Elton used an application of Ramsey theory to show that if $X$ is an infinite dimensional Banach space, then $c_0$ embeds in $X$, $\ell_1$ embeds in $X$, or there is a subspace of $X$ that fails to have the Dunford--Pettis property. Bessaga and Pelczynski showed that if $c_0$ embeds in $X^*$, then $\ell_\infty$ embeds in $X^*$. Emmanuele and John showed that if $c_0$ embeds in $K(X,Y)$, then $K(X,Y)$ is not complemented in $L(X,Y)$. Classical results from Schauder basis theory are used in a study of Dunford--Pettis sets and strong Dunford--Pettis sets to extend each of the preceding theorems. The space $L_{w^*}(X^* , Y)$ of $w^*-w$ continuous operators is also studied.

New necessary and sufficient conditions are established for Banach spaces to have the approximation property; these conditions are easier to check than the known ones. A shorter proof of a result of Grothendieck is presented, and some properties of a weak version of the approximation property are addressed.