  This is the first in a series of articles on the numerical solution of
Friedrich's conformal field equations for Einstein's theory of gravity. We will
discuss in this paper why one should be interested in applying the conformal
method to physical problems and why there is good hope that this might even be
a good idea from the numerical point of view. We describe in detail the
derivation of the conformal field equations in the spinor formalism which we
use for the implementation of the equations, and present all the equations as a
reference for future work. Finally, we discuss the implications of the
assumptions of a continuous symmetry.
