Plots with ROOTs and SHAPEs: Resilient data visualization with Emacs, Org and gnuplot

Lukas C. Bossert (he/him) - bossert@itc.rwth-aachen.de

The following image shows where the talk is in the schedule for Sat 2026-12-12. Solid lines show talks with Q&A via BigBlueButton. Dashed lines show talks with Q&A via IRC or Etherpad.

Format: 20-min talk ; Q&A: BigBlueButton conference room https://media.emacsconf.org/2026/current/bbb-plots.html
Etherpad: https://pad.emacsconf.org/2026-plots
Discuss on IRC: #emacsconf
Status: Ready to stream

Description

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

Disclosure: AI was used while making the presentation in order to match the audio recording with the org-notebook steps and create a timeline for video editing.

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.

Questions or comments? Please e-mail bossert@itc.rwth-aachen.de