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This makes Quaestor one of the most powerful environments currently available for the development and use of knowledge-based computational models, applications and configurators.

Technical details

Quaestor can be used in three ways, depending on your personal requirements and user license. See user levels documentation for more detail:

1. As an application development and knowledge management platform (knowledge engineering);
2. As an user platform (domain expert use)
3. As a results viewer (end use),

Knowledge base development

A Knowledge Engineer (KE) can store computational model fragments in a Knowledge base. These fragments consist of relationships, formulas or tools with their validity, static data, descriptions, optional illustrations, properties and parameters. Since the output of one model fragment can be input for another, all components together form an undirected network of 'rules'. This network controls the data and calculation management capabilities of the system.

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Quaestor applies a unique and advanced bi-directional chaining strategy of reasoning, computer algebra as well as network and relational database concepts. It offers a knowledge management environment and is able to invoke external executable programs, spreadsheets and databases.

Model development

A Domain Expert (DE) and Knowledge Engineer can use a knowledge base (network of model fragments) to determine or optimise any parameter used in any of the available formulas or model components (knowledge). This process is called Model Assembling and its result is a Solution.

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Powerful document generation and browser facilities are available to present results, get information on intermediate calculations, the reasoning process and knowledge used in the solution.

Results viewer and simple model use

Any modeling process results in a Solution. This Solution can be viewed in every detail defined by the Knowledge Engineer and can also be restarted using your new input.

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Please note that in addition to providing single values for parameters, the user can provide ranges of values for several parameters. This makes it possible to compute matrices of parameter variations to perform trade-off studies or to check the robustness of solutions. 

License options

The software can be purchased with an annual, non-exclusive, non-transferable, user license. A demo version of Quaestor is available for free. This version provides full user rights up to 100 frames per knowledge base (i.e. 100 parameters, relations and constraints in total).

The fee for an annual user licence will depend on (A) the user modus of the software (stand-alone or concurrent use) and (B) the user level (End-User, Domain Expert, Knowledge Engineer).

A. User modes

1. Stand-alone: 
   Quaestor is installed on every individual PC with its own licence and activation string.
2. Concurrent use: 
   Quaestor is installed as client version on any PC in a Local Area Network Additional software (the Qnowledge Licence Manager) manages the concurrent licenses. Concurrent user licenses are more expensive but require a smaller number of licenses, depending on the desired availability of the system.

B. For each user mode there are three user levels:

1. End-user or run time licence: 
   In this case Quaestor is usually part of a specific application (knowledge base) and can only be used with this application. Knowledge and models can neither be changed or added, nor removed. Without the application (knowledge base) Quaestor can be used as demo version.
2. Domain expert: 
   In addition to an end-user, a “Domain expert” (DE) is allowed to assemble any model (Solution) using any (protected) knowledge base. Knowledge bases protected by knowledge engineers can sometimes still only be used as End user.
3. Knowledge engineer: 
   A “Knowledge engineer” (KE) has full rights to develop and maintain knowledge bases. Knowledge bases protected by other knowledge engineers can still only be used as Domain expert or End user.