This volume contains the proceedings of the First European Software Engineering Conference, held at Strasbourg on September 9-11, 1987. The purpose of ESEC 87 was to provide a European forum for the interchange of ideas, and presentations of the current state of research and development in software engineering. The conference had over 400 participants, and papers were presented from all over Europe, Japan and North America. The book brings together the latest information on software engineering. Not only are working systems described but the latest research topics are also covered. The book will be of interest to all computer professionals as a rapid means of obtaining the state-of-the-art in the subject. The content will be of interest to practitioners and researchers alike. The papers are grouped into topics for easy reference and the whole of software engineering is covered. In particular the book contains much information on the important new topics of support environments. The reader will not only gain a knowledge of the subject but will also find which organisations and institutes are working in particular areas. The reader will gain both industrial and academic perspectives on the subject.