Using functions in your chatbot script will provide some powerful options. For example, you can make calculations on the fly for the user, or you can access, search, and filter a database based on user input.
Below is an example function, demonstrating the syntax to use in your chatbot script file. We recommend that you put functions at the top of your file.
The function is called getRandomNumber
and we include the word javascript
to indicate that the function is written in javascript. The object
tag syntax encloses the function. Notice that something is returned to be used by the chatbot. In this case, it is a random number.
In order to use the function in your chat script, you use the <call>
tag like below.
If the user says "Random number please" (the trigger), the getRandomNumber
function is called and the returned random number will be the response.
User: Random number please.
Bot: Here is your random number: 0.874612
A function can also accept arguments or inputs. See the example below.
The argument passed to the function is accessed by args[0]
. If there were a second argument (like two numbers to be added) you would access it with args[1]
. args
is an array.
In order to use a function that accepts arguments, you place those values after the function name, like below.
Notice that we are using the user's input as our argument--a number in this case--using the <star>
tag.
User: square 4
Bot: 4 squared is 16