Microsoft Belief Network Tools
Tools for Bayesian Inference
Microsoft Belief Network Tools
Tools for Bayesian Inference
Members of the Decision Theory & Adaptive Systems Group within Microsoft Research have created a Windows application called MSBN32.EXE which allows the creation, assessment and evaluation of Bayesian belief networks. The MSBN32 executable uses a version of the proposed Bayes Net Interchange Format, a text file representation of belief networks.
Along with the application, which is written in Visual Basic 4.0 (32-bit), comes a Windows dynamic-link library, MSBN32.DLL. This module is the active component of the ensemble, and supports the following operations:
In addition to the EXE and DLL, several sample belief networks are provided, as well as documentation on the interface between the executable and the inference DLL.
MSBN32 is a standard multi-document interface (MDI) Windows application. It has a toolbar and context-sensitive help.
The MSBN tool ensemble runs on Windows 95 and Windows NT (3.51 or newer) systems.
The MSBN application comes with an extensive context-sensitive Windows "help" file. In addition to the executable file, MSBN32.EXE and its DLL, the complete programmatic interface to the MSBN32.DLL is documented.
The function interface contained in MSBN32.DLL is accessible from either Visual Basic 4.0, C or C++. An interface file (.BAS) for Visual Basic 4.0 is provided..
The MSBN tool ensemble is available free of charge for non-commercial users in research organizations and educational institutions.
MSBN is a useful tool for building, testing and teaching about belief networks. However, it is provided for free and no guarantees or warranties of any kind are provided for its use under any circumstances.
Please email dtg-msbn@microsoft.com with your comments or questions.