John Aycock is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary, Canada. He is the author of Retrogame Archeology: Exploring Old Computer Games (Springer, 2016). His research interests include studying the implementation of "retro" computer games and technology, which he has been doing in collaboration with archaeologists and others.

“Highly recommended. All readers” • Choice"This is a fascinating exploration of a single digital artefact. It reminds the reader that digital ‘things’ are still physical – and from those physical fluctuations representing ones and zeros the book walks the reader through the process of reconstructing what the code actually was, what it did, why it did it, and why it matters.” • Shawn Graham, Carleton University

• List of FiguresList of TablesPrefacePart I:Pre-ExcavationIntroductionChapter 1. ReconnaissanceChapter 2. EvaluationChapter 3. Strategy and Research QuestionsPart II: ExcavationChapter 4. FragmentsChapter 5. Publisher LogoChapter 6. Text EncodingChapter 7. InterpreterChapter 8. Text Encoding, RevisitedChapter 9. ParserChapter 10. Finding LocationsChapter 11. Copy ProtectionPart III: Post-ExcavationChapter 12. AnalysisConclusionIndex