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[[!meta title="Plots with ROOTs: Resilient data visualization with Emacs, Org and gnuplot"]]
[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2026 Lukas C. Bossert"]]
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# Plots with ROOTs: Resilient data visualization with Emacs, Org and gnuplot
Lukas C. Bossert (he/him) - <mailto:bossert@itc.rwth-aachen.de>
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A figure in a report is easy to copy—and surprisingly easy to detach
from the data, decisions and code that produced it. What would change if
the plot were a reproducible result of the document rather than an image
pasted into it?
This talk develops a small report in Org mode, moving from a named table
to gnuplot figures and publication outputs. Working in Doom Emacs, I
will demonstrate direct table plotting, explicit plotting code with Org
Babel, and reusable figure styles through Noweb references. A single
corrected value provides the central demonstration: after re-execution,
the figure and calculated summary change together, while the
interpretation still requires human review.
The workflow is guided by ROOT [1] —Robust, Open, Ongoing and
Time-tested— my framework for thinking about resilient technologies.
Rather than equating resilience with the age of a tool, I ask whether a
workflow can be inspected, understood, repaired and handed over. Keeping
data, plotting instructions and explanation connected is one practical
response.
The talk also addresses the less glamorous parts of reproducibility:
hidden session state, stale results, external dependencies, output
formats and the difference between regenerating a figure and exporting a
document.
Participants will leave with a small Org-based example and a pattern
they can adapt for research reports, teaching materials or personal
data. Basic familiarity with Org mode is helpful; no prior experience
with gnuplot is required. The demonstration uses Doom Emacs, but the
underlying workflow is not Doom-specific.
[1] <https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17157587>
About the speaker:
Lukas C. Bossert works in research data management at RWTH Aachen
University’s IT Center. The ROOT concept—Robust, Open, Ongoing and
Time-tested—asks how digital workflows can remain understandable,
maintainable and reusable. In “Plots with ROOTs,” Lukas demonstrates a
report-building workflow that keeps data, plotting instructions and
explanations connected through Emacs, Org and gnuplot.
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