Data exploration tools based on code can access any data source, result in reproducible scripts and encourage users to verify, reuse and modify existing code. Unfortunately, they are hard to use and require expert coding skills. Can we make data exploration tools based on code accessible to non-experts?

We present The Gamma, a novel text-based data exploration environment that answers the question in the affirmative. The Gamma takes the idea of code completion to the limit. Users create transparent and reproducible scripts without writing code, by repeatedly choosing from offered code completions.

The Gamma is motivated by the needs of data journalists and shows that we may not need to shy away from code for building accessible, reproducible and transparent tools that allow a broad public to benefit from the rise of open data.

Tomas is a Lecturer at University of Kent and a Collaborating Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute in London. He is building programming tools that integrate with modern data sources (open government data, data published by citizen initiatives) and let users easily create analyses and visualizations that are linked to the original data source, making the analyses more transparent, reproducible, but also easy to adapt. His early work on the project can be found at http://thegamma.net.

Tomas’ many other interests include open-source and functional programming (he is an active contributor to the F# ecosystem), programming language theory (his PhD thesis on “coeffects” develops a theory of context-aware programming language language), but also understanding programming through the perspective of philosophy of science.