Fundamental approaches to software engineering

ETAPS 2004 was the seventh instance of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software. ETAPS is an annual federated conference that was established in 1998 by combining a number of existing and new conferences. This year it comprised ? ve conferences (FOSSACS, FASE, ESOP, CC, TACAS), 23 satellite workshops, 1 tutorial, and 7 invited lectures (not including those that are speci? c to the satellite events). The events that comprise ETAPS address various aspects of the system - velopment process, including speci? cation, design, implementation, analysis and improvement. The languages, methodologies and tools that support these act- ities are all well within its scope. Di? erent blends of theory and practice are r- resented, with an inclination towards theory with a practical motivation on the one hand and soundly based practice on the other. Many of the issues involved in software design apply to systems in general, including hardware systems, and theemphasisonsoftwareisnotintendedtobeexclusive.