RiveScript - Rendering Intelligence Very Easily
use RiveScript;
# Create a new RiveScript interpreter. my $rs = new RiveScript;
# Define a macro. $rs->setSubroutine (weather => \&weather);
# Load in some RiveScript documents.
$rs->loadDirectory ("./replies");
# Load in another file.
$rs->loadFile ("./more_replies.rs");
# Stream in yet more replies.
$rs->stream ('! global split_sentences = 1');
# Sort them. $rs->sortReplies;
# Grab a response.
my @reply = $rs->reply ('localhost','Hello RiveScript!');
print join ("\n",@reply) . "\n";
RiveScript is a simple input/response language. It is simple, easy to learn, and mimics and perhaps even surpasses the power of AIML (Artificial Intelligence Markup Language). RiveScript was initially created as a reply language for chatterbots, but it has also been used for more complex things above and beyond that.
RiveScript was originally known as Alpha but was reprogrammed to add more flexibility and power to it. While their syntaces are similar, Alpha code is not entirely compatible with RiveScript.
Creates a new RiveScript instance. Pass in any defaults here.
Define a macro (see Object Macros)
Load a directory of RiveScript files. EXTS is optionally an array of file extensions to load, in the format (.rs .txt .etc). Default is just ``.rs''
Load a single file. Don't worry about the STREAM argument, it is handled
in the stream() method.
Stream RiveScript code directly into the module.
Sorts the replies. This is ideal for matching purposes. If you fail to do so and just go ahead and call reply(), you'll get a nasty Perl warning. It will sort them for you anyway, but it's always recommended to sort them yourself. For example, if you sort them and then load new replies, the new replies will not be matchable because the sort cache hasn't updated.
Get a reply from the bot. This will return an array. The values of this array would be all the replies (i.e. if you use {nextreply} in a response to return multiple).
%TAGS is optionally a string of special reply tags, each value is a boolean (1 or 0, all default to 0):
scalar -- Forces a scalar return of all replies found. The method
will return a scalar rather than an array.
no_split -- Ignore sentence-splitting when going into the reply.
This is for special cases such as ";-)" (winking emoticon)
where it is unmatchable because ; is a sentence-splitter.
retry -- You should NEVER set this argument. This is used internally
so the module knows it's on a retry run (if a reply isn't
found, it tries again but sets no_split to true).
Search all loaded replies for every trigger that STRING matches. Returns an array of results, containing the trigger, what topic it was under, and the reference to its file and line number.
Outputs the current contents of the loaded replies into a single file. This is useful for if your application dynamically learns replies by editing the loaded hashrefs. It will write all replies to the file under their own topics... i.e. perfectly functional code. Comments and other unnessecary formatting is ignored, because the module doesn't pay attention to them at loading time anyway.
The default path is to ``written.rs''
See DYNAMIC REPLIES.
Set a global variable directly from Perl (alias for ! global)
Set a botvariable (alias for ! var)
Set a substitution setting (alias for ! sub)
Set a user variable (alias for <set var=value>)
Get all uservars for a user. Returns a hashref of the variables. If you don't pass in a $USER_ID, it will return a hashref of hashrefs for each user (first level being their ID, second level being their variables).
The RiveScript interpreter (a la the Perl script) can specify some security settings as far as what a RiveScript file is allowed to contain.
Valid modes are deny_some, allow_some, and allow_all. allow_all is the default. Use the deny() and allow() methods complementary to the denyMode specified.
Add COMMANDS to the denied commands list. These can be single commands (one character) or beginnings of command texts. Examples:
$rive->deny (
'&',
'! global',
'! var copyright',
'> begin',
'< begin',
'> __begin__',
'< __begin__',
);
In that example, &PERL, !GLOBAL, and the BEGIN statement (as well as the internal names for the BEGIN statement's topic) would be disallowed in the RiveScript documents loaded in. It would also disallow the RiveScript documents to (re)define a variable named ``copyright''
Add COMMANDS to the allowed commands list. For the highest security, you'd want to allow_some commands rather than deny_some. This method is to be used with that mode of denial.
$rive->allow (
'+',
'-',
'! var',
'@',
);
That example would deny EVERY command except for triggers, responses, botvariable setters, and redirections.
These methods are called on internally and should not be called by you.
Print a debug message.
Creates a the RiveScript::Parser manpage instance, passing in the current data held by RiveScript. This call is made before using the parser, and the object is destroyed when it is no longer needed (to save on memory usage).
This should not be called. Call reply instead. This method assumes that the variables are neatly formatted and may cause serious consequences for passing in badly formatted data.
Splits string at the sentence-splitters and returns an array.
Formats the message (runs substitutions, removes punctuation, etc)
Merges the values from ARRAY into STRING, where the items in ARRAY correspond to a captured value from $1 to $100+. The first item in the array should be blank; there is no such thing as a <star0>.
Called on for string format tags (uppercase, lowercase, formal, sentence).
RiveScript documents have a simple format: they're a line-by-line
language. The first symbol(s) are the commands, and the following text
is typically the command's data.
In its most simple form, a valid RiveScript entry looks like this:
+ hello bot - Hello human.
The following are the commands that RiveScript supports.
! type variable = value
type = the variable type variable = the name of the variable value = the variable's value
The supported types are as follows:
global - Global settings (top-level things) var - BotVariables (i.e. the bot's name, age, etc) array - An array sub - A substitution pattern person - A person substitution. addpath - Add an include path include - An include method syslib - Include a Perl module globally
Some examples:
// Set global vars ! global debug = 1 ! global split_sentences = 1 ! global sentence_splitters = . ! ; ?
// Setup a handler for macro failures. ! global macro_failure = <b>ERROR: Macro Failure</b>
// Set bot vars ! var botname = Casey Rive ! var botage = 14 ! var botgender = male
// Some substitutions ! sub can't = can not ! sub i'm = i am
// Person substitutions ! person i = you ! person you = me ! person am = are ! person are = am
// Add a path to find libraries. ! addpath C:/MyRsLibraries
// Include a library of arrays ! include English/EngVerbs.rsl
// Include a package of objects ! include DateTime.rsp
For objects which use Perl modules, you can use !syslib to include the module global to RiveScript to save on memory.
! syslib LWP::Simple
Note: For arrays, you can have multi-word items if you separate the entries with a pipe (``|'') symbol rather than a space.
Note: To delete a variable, set its value to ``undef'' and its internal hashref key will be deleted altogether.
See also: ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES and PERSON SUBSTITUTION.
// Define a topic > topic some_topic_name
// there'd be some triggers here
< topic // close the topic
+ hello bot - Hello human.
The user would say ``hello bot'' only to get a ``Hello human.'' back.
+ ask me a question - Do you have any pets?
+ yes % do you have any pets - What kind of pet?
// and so-on...
The % command is like a +Trigger but for the bot's last reply. The same substitutions that are applied to the user's messages are applied to the bot's reply.
! sub who's = who is
+ knock knock - Who's there?
+ *
% who is *
- {sentence}<star> who?{/sentence}
+ *
% * who
- Ha! {sentence}<star>!{/sentence} That's hilarious!
The commands that can be continued with ^Continue:
! global ! var ! array + trigger % previous - response @ redirection
Sometimes your -REPLY is too long to fit on one line, and you don't like the idea of having a horizontal scrollbar on your text editor. The ^ command will continue on from the last -REPLY. For example:
+ tell me a poem - Little Miss Muffit sat on her tuffet\s ^ in a nonchalant sort of way.\s ^ With her forcefield around her,\s ^ the Spider, the bounder,\s ^ is not in the picture today.
Here are some examples of the other uses of ^Continue:
! array colors = red blue green yellow cyan fuchsia ^ white black gray grey orange pink ^ turqoise magenta gold silver
! var quote = How much wood would a woodchuck ^ chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
+ how much wood would a woodchuck\s ^ chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood - A whole forest. ;)
+ how much wood @ how much wood would a woodchuck\s ^ chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood
+ my name is *
- Nice to meet you, {formal}<star1>{/formal}.
+ people around here call me * @ my name is <star1>
Redirections can also be used inline. See the TAGS section for more details.
* variable = value => say this
For example, you might want to make a condition to differentiate male from female users.
+ am i a guy or a girl * gender=male => You're a guy. * gender=female => You're a girl. - I don't think you ever told me what you are.
You can perform the following operations on variable checks:
= equal to != not equal to < less than <= less than or equal to > greater than >= greater than or equal to ? returns true if the var is even defined
Note: If you want a condition to check the value of a bot variable, you must prepend a # sign on the variable name. For instance:
+ is your name still soandso * #name = Soandso => That's still my name. - No, I changed it.
That would check the botvar ``name'', not the uservar, because of the supplied # sign.
+ what is 2 plus 2 - 500 Internal Error. & $reply = '2 + 2 = 4';
// A one-line comment
/*
this comment spans
across multiple lines
*/
Comments can be used in-line next to normal RiveScript commands. They are required to have at least one whitespace before or after the comment symbols.
+ what color is my (@colors) * // "what color is my green shoe" - Your <star2> is <star1>! // "your shoe is green!"
The RiveScript engine was designed for your RiveScript brain to hold most of the control. As little programming on the Perl side as possible has made it so that your RiveScript can define its own variables and handle what it wants to. See A GOOD BRAIN for tips on how to approach this.
The + command can be used for more complex things as a simple, 100% dead-on trigger. This part is passed through a regexp. Therefore, any regexp things can be used in the trigger.
Note: an asterisk * is always converted into (.*?) regardless of its context. Keep this in mind.
Alternations: You can use alternations in the triggers like so:
+ what (s|is) your (home|office|cell) phone number
Anything inside of parenthesis, or anything matched by asterisks, can be obtained through the tags <star1> to <star100>. For example (keeping in mind that * equals (.*?):
+ my name is * - Nice to meet you, <star1>.
Optionals: You can use optional words in a trigger. These words don't have to exist in the user's message but they can. Example:
+ what is your [home] phone number - You can call me at 555-5555.
So that would match ``what is your phone number'' as well as ``what is your home phone number''
Optionals can have alternations in them too.
+ what (s|is) your [home|office|cell] phone number
Arrays: This is why it's good to define arrays using the !define tag. The best way to explain how this works is by example.
// Make an array of color names ! array colors = red blue green yellow white black orange
// Now the user can tell us their favorite color from the array + my favorite color is (@colors) - Really! Mine is <star1> too!
If you want an array to be matchable, enclose it in parenthesis. This will allow its value to be put into a <star> tag, as in the above example. If you don't include the parenthesis, its value won't be matchable. For an example of the difference:
If the input is "sometimes I am a tool"...
! array be = am are is was were
+ *\bi @be *
<star1> = ''
<star2> = 'a tool'
+ *\bi (@be) *
<star1> = 'sometimes'
<star2> = 'am'
<star3> = 'a tool'
It turns your array into regexp form, (?:red|blue|green|yellow|...) before matching so it saves you a lot of work there. Not to mention arrays can be used in any number of triggers! Just imagine how many triggers you can come up with where a color name would be needed...
As mentioned above, the - command has many many uses.
One-way question/answer: A single + and a single - will lead to a dead-on question and answer reply.
Random Replies: A single + with multiple -'s will yield random results from among the responses. For example:
+ hello - Hey. - Hi. - Hello.
Would randomly return any of those three responses.
Conditional Fallback: When using conditionals, you should always provide at least one response to fall back on, in case every conditional returns false.
Perl Code Fallback: When executing Perl code, you should always have a response to fall back on [even if the Perl is going to redefine $reply for itself]. This is in case of an eval error and the Perl couldn't do its thing.
Weighted Responses: Yes, with random responses you can weight them! Responses with higher weight will have a better chance of being chosen over ones with a low weight. For example:
+ hello
- Hello, how are you?{weight=49}
- Yo, wazzup dawg?{weight=1}
In this case, ``Hello, how are you?'' will almost always be sent back. A 1 in 50 chance would return ``Yo, wazzup dawg?'' instead.
(as a side note: you don't need to set a weight to 1; 1 is implied for any response without weight. Weights of less than 1 aren't acceptable)
The BEGIN file is the first reply file loaded in a loadDirectory call. If a ``begin.rs'' file exists in the directory being loaded, it is included first.
Note: BEGIN statements are not required. That being said, begin statements are executed before any request.
How to define a BEGIN statement
> begin
+ request
- {ok}
< begin
Begin statements are sort of like topics, but are always called first. If the response given contains {ok} in it, then the module knows it's allowed to get a reply. Also note that {ok} is replaced with the response. In this way, begin might be useful to format all responses in one way. For a good example:
> begin
// Don't give a reply if the bot is down for maintenance.
+ request
* down=yes => The bot is currently deactivated for maintenance.
- <font color="red"><b>{ok}</b></font>
< begin
That would give the reply about the bot being under maintenance if the variable ``down'' equals ``yes.'' Else, it would give a response in red bold font.
You can also put tags in to modify the returned responses of the bot. For example, the bot can ``type'' differently depending on a variable ``mood'' (see TAGS)
> begin
+ request
* mood = happy => {ok}
* mood = sad => {lowercase}{ok}{/lowercase}
* mood = angry => {uppercase}{ok}{/uppercase}
* mood = pissed => {@not talking}
- {ok}
+ not talking
- I'm not in a talkative mood.
- I'm not too happy right now.
- I don't want to talk right now.
< begin
Note: At the time being, the only trigger that BEGIN ever receives is ``request''
The ``begin.rs'' file is also where you would place your !include statements to make sure that they're included before any other files.
Topics are declared in a way similar to the BEGIN statement. The way to declare and close a topic is generally as follows:
> topic TOPICNAME
...
< topic
The topic name should be unique, and only one word.
The Default Topic: The default topic name is ``random''
Setting a Topic: To set a topic, use the {topic} tag (see TAGS below). Example:
+ i hate you
- You're not very nice. I'm going to make you apologize.{topic=apology}
> topic apology
+ *
- Not until you admit that you're sorry.
+ sorry
- Okay, I'll forgive you.{topic=random}
< topic
Always set topic back to ``random'' to break out of a topic.
Special macros (Perl routines) can be defined and then utilized in your RiveScript code.
New with version 0.04 is the ability to define objects directly within the RiveScript code. Keep in mind that the code for your object is evaluated local to RiveScript. That being said, basic tips to follow to make an object work:
1) If it uses any module besides strict and warnings, that module must be explicitely
declared within your object with a 'use' statement.
2) If your object refers to any variables global to your main program, 'main::' must
be prepended (i.e. '$main::hashref->{key}')
3) If your object refers to a subroutine of your main program, 'main::' must be prepended
(i.e. '&main::reload()')
The basic way is to do it like this:
> object fortune
my ($method,$msg) = @_;
my @fortunes = (
'You will be rich and famous',
'You will meet a celebrity',
'You will go to the moon',
);
return $fortunes [ int(rand(scalar(@fortunes))) ];
< object
Note: the closing tag (last line in the above example) is required for objects. An object isn't included until the closing tag is found.
This is done like so:
# Define a weather lookup macro. $rs->setSubroutine (weather => \&weather_lookup);
The code of the subroutine would be basically the same as it would be in the example for Inline Objects. Basically, think of the ``> object fortune'' as ``sub fortune {'' and the ``< object'' as ``}'' and it's a little easier to visualize. ;)
You can use a macro within a reply such as this example:
+ give me the local weather for * - Weather for &weather.cityname(<star1>):\n\n ^ Temperature: &weather.temp(<star1>)\n ^ Feels Like: &weather.feelslike(<star1>)
The subroutine ``weather_lookup'' will receive two variables: the method and the arguments. The method would be the bit following the dot (i.e. ``cityname'', ``temp'', or ``feelslike'' in this example). The arguments would be the value of <star1>.
Whatever weather_lookup would return is inserted into the reply in place of the macro call.
Note: If a macro does not exist, has faulty code, or does not return a reply, the contents of global ``macro_failure'' will be inserted instead. At this time the module is unable to tell you which of the three errors is the cause.
Special tags can be inserted into replies and redirections. Tags either have <angle brackets> or {curly brackets}. The <angle brackets> are generally for things that insert something back into the message, such as <star>, <id>, or <input5>. The {curly brackets} are generally for things that operate in silence and don't output anything, such as {topic} which modifies the topic, or they're modifiers of text, such as {random} and {uppercase}.
Also, tags closely tied to others in function will have the same symbols as them. For instance, <set> doesn't output anything but is close in function to <get>. This is just an explanation of my choice of symbols. That being said, you can ignore these two paragraphs. ;)
The supported tags are as follows:
These tags will insert the values of $1 to $100, as matched in the regexp, into the reply. They go in order from left to right. <star> is an alias for <star1>.
Inserts the last 1 to 9 things the user said, and the last 1 to 9 things the bot said, respectively. Good for things like ``You said hello and then I said hi and then you said what's up and then I said not much''
Inserts the user's ID.
Insert a bot variable (defined with ! var).
+ what is your name - I am <bot name>, created by <bot companyname>.
This variable can also be used in triggers.
+ my name is <bot name> - <set name=<bot name>>What a coincidence, that's my name too!
Get and set a user variable. These are local variables for each user.
+ my name is *
- <set name={formal}<star1>{/formal}>Nice to meet you, <get name>!
+ who am i - You are <get name> aren't you?
Add, subtract, multiply and divide numeric variables, respectively.
+ give me 5 points - <add points=5>You have received 5 points and now have <get points> total.
If the variable is undefined, it is set to 0 before the math is done on it. If you try to modify a non-numerical variable, the operation will fail and a little note of (Var=NaN) will appear in place of the tag.
Likewise, if you try to modify a variable by inputting a non-numerical value into the tag, (Value=NaN) would be returned instead. Two examples of how to trigger these:
+ add 5 to my name - <add name=5>Tried.
+ add hello to my age - <add age=hello>Tried.
Where ``name'' would be the user's name and ``age'' is their (numerical) age.
The topic tag. This will set the user's topic to something else (see TOPICS). Only one of these should be in a response, and in the case of duplicates only the first one is evaluated.
Breaks the reply into two (or more) parts there. Will cause the reply method to return multiple responses.
A -REPLY can have a weight tag applied to it to change the probability of it being chosen (when there is more than one reply that could be randomly chosen). See COMPLEXITIES OF THE RESPONSE.
An inline redirection. These work like normal redirections, except are inserted inline into a reply.
+ * or something
- Or something. {@<star1>}
An inline definition. These can be used to (re)set variables. This tag is invisible in the final response of the bot; the changes are made silently.
Will insert a bit of random text. This has two syntaxes:
Insert a random word (separate by spaces)
{random}red blue green yellow{/random}
Insert a random phrase (separate by pipes)
{random}Yes sir.|No sir.{/random}
Will take the enclosed text and run person substitutions on them (see PERSON SUBSTITUTION).
Will Make Your Text Formal
Will make your text sentence-cased.
WILL MAKE THE TEXT UPPERCASE.
will make the text lowercase.
This tag is used only with the BEGIN STATEMENT. It tells the interpreter that it's okay to go and get a reply.
Inserts a white space. Simple as that. This is needed if you use the -^ combo for continuing a reply. RiveScript does not assume a space between the texts of the two tags.
Inserts a newline. Note that this tag is interpreted at the time of grabbing a reply(). Other than that, it exists in memory as a literal '\n' (or ``\\n'')
Insert a forward slash. This is to, for example, include a `` // '' in your reply but without it being parsed as a comment.
+ system login - Perl System \// Logging In...
Insert a pound sign. This is to, for example, include a `` # '' in your reply without it being parsed as a comment.
Environmental variables are kept as ``botvariables'' (i.e. they can be retrieved with the <bot> tag). The variable names all begin with ``ENV_'' and are in uppercase.
ENV_OS = The operating system RiveScript is running on. ENV_APPVERSION = The version of RiveScript used. ENV_APPNAME = A user-agent style string that looks like "RiveScript/0.08"
All the environment variables available to your Perl script are kept under ENV_SYS_ with their original names following. For example, ENV_SYS_PATH would be the %PATH% variable on Windows.
Currently, RiveScript's syntax does not allow the modification of any variable beginning with ``env_''. If you absolutely must override one of these variables for any reason at all, you can call the setVariable() method to do so.
The {person} tag can be used to perform substitutions between 1st- and 2nd-person adjectives (see TAGS).
You define these with the !define tag in a similar fashion as how you define substitution data. For example:
! person i = you ! person my = your ! person mine = yours ! person me = you ! person am = are ! person you = I ! person your = my ! person yours = mine ! person are = am
Then use the {person} tag in a response. The enclosed text will swap the words listed with the !person tags. For instance:
+ do you think *
- What if I do think {person}<star>{/person}?
"Do you think I am a bad person?" "What if I do think you are a bad person?"
See, that's the use of this tag. Otherwise the bot would have replied ``What if I do think I am a bad person?'' and not make very much sense.
Note: RiveScript does NOT assume any person substitutions. Your RiveScript code must define them as exampled above.
A function added in version 0.07 is to write() the loaded replies into a single RS file. This is useful for if your program dynamically learns new replies.
This section of the POD is devoted to explaining the setup of the internal hashrefs of the RiveScript instance.
This hashref contains the meat of the loaded replies. The first keys here are the topics (keep in mind that 'random' is the default topic). For replies that had %PREVIOUS in them, their topics are '__that__(bots last message, lowercase and without punctuation)' and that the data from BEGIN is in '__begin__'
So for example, $rs->{replies}->{random} is where replies under the default topic are, while $rs->{replies}->{apology} is where replies under the 'apology' topic are, et cetera.
The sub-keys under a topic are the triggers. These are literally the strings you'd find in the file at the + command.
For example, $rs->{replies}->{random}->{'my favorite color is (@colors)'}
The following keys are used under trigger hashrefs ($rs->{replies}->{$topic}->{$trigger})
1..n - The -REPLIES under the trigger. The first - is position 1, and they increment from there.
redirect - The data from the @redirect command. Since RiveScript only supports a single @redirect in a message, this always has a single value.
conditions->{1..n} - The data from the *condition commands. This is in similar format to the -replies, where 1 is the first condition.
system->{codes} - The contents of any system codes provided by &perl commands.
The first keys under $rs->{array} are the topic names, as they are in $rs->{replies}. But the contents of each topic key is an array ref of the sorted triggers.
Generally, you shouldn't have to worry about modifying this variable directly--just
call sortReplies() and it will manage it automatically.
// RiveScript Code + my name is * - <star>, nice to meet you! - Nice to meet you, <star>.
# Perl code. Get the value of the second reply.
$rs->{replies}->{random}->{'my name is *'}->{2}
// RiveScript Code
> topic favorites
+ *(@colors)*
- I like <star2> too. :-)
& &main::log('<id> likes <star2>')
< topic
# Perl code. Get the perl data from that trigger.
$rs->{replies}->{favorites}->{'*(@colors)*'}->{system}->{codes}
// RiveScript Code + * % whos there - <star> who?
# Perl code. Access this one's reply.
$rs->{replies}->{'__that__whos there'}->{1}
Recommended Practice is to put all your !include statements inside your ``begin.rs'' file, as this file is loaded in first. The ``include'' statement is for including common libraries or packages.
RiveScript Libraries (.rsl extention) are special RiveScript documents which contain nothing but !arrays and !substitutions and the like. For instance, you could make a language library which could contain arrays of verbs and their conjugations.
RiveScript Packages (.rsp extension) are special RiveScript documents which contain one (or more) objects. For example, you might create a RiveScript package full of objects for returning the date and time in different formats.
The current RiveScript Includes search path is an array of Perl's @INC, with ``/RiveScript'' tacked on the end of it. Also ``.'' is an include path (the working directory of the script running RiveScript).
You can use the !addpath directive to add new search paths.
The following are all the reserved variables and values within RiveScript's processor.
These variables cannot be overwritten with the ! global command:
reserved replies array syntax streamcache botvars uservars botarrays sort users substitutions
The following topic names are reserved and should never be (re)created in your RiveScript files:
__begin__ (used for the BEGIN method) __that__* (used for the %PREVIOUS command)
Since RiveScript leaves a lot of control up to the brain and not the Perl code, here are some general tips to follow when writing your own brain:
Make a config file. This would probably be named ``config.rs'' and it would handle all your definitions. For example it might look like this:
// Set up globals ! global debug = 0 ! global split_sentences = 1 ! global sentence_splitters = . ! ; ?
// Set a variable to say that we're active. ! var active = yes
// Set up botvariables ! var botname = Rive ! var botage = 5 ! var company = AiChaos Inc. // note that "bot" isn't required in these variables, // it's only there for readibility
// Set up substitutions ! sub won't = will not ! sub i'm = i am // etc
// Set up arrays ! array colors = red green blue yellow cyan fuchsia ...
Here are a list of all the globals you might want to configure.
split_sentences - Whether to do sentence-splitting (1 or 0, default 1)
sentence_splitters - Where to split sentences at. Separate items with a single
space. The defaults are: ! . ? ;
macro_failure - Text to be inserted into a bot's reply when a macro fails
to run (or return a reply).
debug - Debug mode (1 or 0, default 0)
Make a begin file. Create a file called ``begin.rs'' -- there are several reasons for doing so.
For one, you should use this file for !include statements if you want your brain to use some common libraries or packages. Secondly, you can use the >BEGIN statement to setup a handler for incoming messages.
Your begin file could check the ``active'' variable we set in the config file to decide if it should give a reply.
> begin
+ request
* active=no => Sorry but I'm deactivated right now!
- {ok}
< begin
These are the basic tips, just for organizational purposes.
the RiveScript::Parser manpage - Reading and Writing of RiveScript Documents
the RiveScript::Brain manpage - The reply and search methods of RiveScript.
the RiveScript::Util manpage - String utilities for RiveScript.
None yet known.
Version 0.19
- Added methods for allowing or denying certain commands to be used when RiveScript
documents are loaded in.
- Bugfix: the sortThats() method of RiveScript::Parser was blanking out the current
value of $self->{thatarray} -- meaning, the last file to have %Previous commands used
would be kept in memory, previous ones would be lost. This has been fixed now.
Version 0.18 - Minor bugfix with the "%PREVIOUS" internal array.
Version 0.17
- All the "%PREVIOUS" commands found at loading time are now sorted in an internal
arrayref, in the same manner that "+TRIGGERS" are. This solves the bug with
matchability when using several %PREVIOUS commands in your replies.
- Added the # command as a "Perly" alternative to // comments.
- Comments can be used in-line next to normal RiveScript code, requiring that at
least one space exist before and after the comment symbols. You can escape the
symbols too if you need them in the reply.
- Created a new package DateTime.rsp for your timestamp-formatting needs.
Version 0.16
- Added "! syslib" directive for including Perl modules at the RiveScript:: level,
to save on memory usage when more than one object might want the same module.
- The "%PREVIOUS" directive now takes a regexp. The bot's last reply is saved as-is,
not formatted to lowercase. The % command now works like a +Trigger for the bot's
last reply.
- The "%PREVIOUS" directive check has been moved to another subroutine. In this way,
its priority is much higher. A trigger of * (catch-all) with a %PREVIOUS will always
match, for example.
- Fixed a bug with the BEGIN method. The bot's reply is no longer saved while the
topic is __begin__ - this messed up the %THAT directive.
Version 0.15 - Broke RiveScript into multiple sub-modules.
Version 0.14
- {formal} and {sentence} tags fixed. They both use regexp's now. {sentence} can
take multiple sentences with no problem.
- In a BEGIN statement, {topic} tags are handled first. In this way, the BEGIN
statement can force a topic before getting a reply under the user's current topic.
- Fixed a bug with "blank" commands while reading in a file.
- Fixed a bug with the RiveScriptLib Search Paths.
Version 0.13
- The BEGIN/request statement has been changed. The user that makes the "request"
is the actual user--no longer "__rivescript__", so user-based conditionals can
work too. Also, request tags are not processed until the reply-getting process
is completed. So tags like {uppercase} can modify the final returned reply.
Version 0.12 - Migrated to RiveScript:: namespace.
Version 0.11
- When calling loadDirectory, a "begin.rs" file is always loaded first
(provided the file exists, of course!)
- Added support for "include"ing libraries and packages (see "INCLUDED FILES")
Version 0.10
- The getUservars() method now returns a hashref of hashrefs if you want the
vars of all users. Makes it a little easier to label each set of variables
with the particular user involved. ;)
- Cleaned up some leftover print statements from my debugging in version 0.09
(sorry about that--again!)
- Made some revisions to the POD, fixed some typo's, added {weight} and {ok}
to the TAGS section.
Version 0.09
- $1 to $100+ are now done using an array rather than a hash. Theoretically
this allows any number of stars, even greater than 100.
- Arrays in triggers have been modified. An array in parenthesis (the former
requirement) will make the array matchable in <star#> tags. An array outside
of parenthesis makes it NOT matchable.
- Minor code improvements for readibility purposes.
Version 0.08
- Added <add>, <sub>, <mult>, and <div> tags.
- Added environmental variable support.
- Extended *CONDITION to support inequalities
- Botvars in conditions must be explicitely specified with # before the varname.
- Added "! person" substitutions
- Added {person} tag
Version 0.07
- Added write() method
- reply() method now can take tags to force scalar return or to ignore
sentence-splitting.
- loadDirectory() method can now take a list of specific file extensions
to look for.
- Cleaned up some leftover debug prints from last release (sorry about that!)
Version 0.06 - Extended ^CONTINUE to cover more commands - Added \s and \n tags - Revised POD
Version 0.05
- Fixed a bug with optionals. If they were used at the start or end
of a trigger, the trigger became unmatchable. This has been fixed
by changing ' ' into '\s*'
Version 0.04 - Added support for optional parts of the trigger. - Begun support for inline objects to be created.
Version 0.03
- Added search() method.
- <bot> variables can be inserted into triggers now (for example having
the bot reply to its name no matter what its name is)
Version 0.02
- Fixed a regexp bug; now it stops searching when it finds a match
(it would cause errors with $1 to $100)
- Fixed an inconsistency that didn't allow uservars to work in
conditionals.
- Added <id> tag, useful for objects that need a unique user to work
with.
- Fixed bug that lets comments begin with more than one set of //
Version 0.01 - Initial Release
Feel free to offer any ideas. ;)
Special thanks goes out to jeffohrt and harleypig of the AiChaos Forum for helping so much with the development of RiveScript.
bot, chatbot, chatterbot, chatter bot, reply, replies, script, aiml, alpha
Cerone Kirsle, kirsle --at-- rainbowboi.com
RiveScript - Rendering Intelligence Very Easily
Copyright (C) 2006 Cerone J. Kirsle
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA