The Potential of Cited Executable State for Software Object Access, Validation, and Research: A Preview of the GISST System
Eric Kaltman Joseph C. Osborn
This paper will examine the potential for retrieving and indexing saved executable states and input replays through web browser integration. It explores the emerging possibilities and limitations of executable citation through a discussion of the current development of the Game and Interactive Software Scholarship Toolkit (GISST). GISST is designed to allow for users to load emulators locally in a web browser and then record and retrieve both emulated system states and input recordings of system interactions. These references can then be embedded as links within scholarly works and online documents, or directed executed as objects running withing standard HTML elements. The goal of this work is to elaborate on how executable citation can enable easier access to emulation for both researchers and practitioners, along with how these types of references can enable new forms of scholarship and clarify aspects of software object description relative to emulated contexts. Keywords – emulation, citation, computational state, software studies, software preservation
managing access from document to data