NexQuaest

NexQuaest

NexQuaest is an app used for designing hierarchical visual data structures, mainly stemming from the research on Medieval texts. You can create a topic map reflecting the divisio textus, or a stemma codicum. The results can be exported as a PDF file or as an image file, to be further used in presentations and publications.

The name NexQuaest is a contraction of the previous name nexus quaestionis meaning the connection of the question.

Currently, the app is under heavy development and may be unstable. User's work is not saved on the server, but only in the web browser; the user must make sure of saving the work in progress as a data file on local device if you the work is to be kept.

The first versions of this app were developed under the project ERC-StG-313339 THESIS. The new versions 3.x are completely rewritten, but retain the scope of the initial release.

Developed by Mihai Maga.

Scope

Medieval texts are structured in a hierarchical manner. A quaestio has articles which have conclusions, which may have corollaries; a sermo has a division in membra, sometimes divided into sub-membra. But sometimes those structures are too complex to grasp from reading the text. The scope of this app is to represent those structures as diagrams in which text parts are the nodes and the arrows represent relations of subordination.

Another hierarchical structure used in textual studies is the stemma codicum. This describes the relations of derivation between several extant copies of the same text and their sources. Using philological methods, the witnesses of a text are grouped by common differences and are represented in a tree diagram. This app can produce the visual representation of stemma codicum.

Operation

The user can add items on the canvas and connect them. The first item is the root item, to which the others are connected. The other items are connected by selecting their parent prior to adding them, or by setting the parent in their properties. The items can be positioned by dragging them with the mouse, or by setting their position coordinates in the properties. Dragging can be restricted to snap at fixed distances. To edit the properties of an existing item, double click on it. The connection of a child element to his parent can be drawn in several ways and can be set in the item's properties. Text part items have a title and a text which can be formatted, although in a limited way. Sigils for stemma codicum should be set to 1-2 characters. Additional connections between items can be drawn by selecting the first and the second element with the line adding button activated. Right click provides a contextual menu.

The data can be also visualized as a tree or as a list, or as JSON code. The result can be previewed as PDF or as an image, and can be exported as a file in those formats. The data can be saved as a file on user's device and can be opened again for editing.