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How to add API calls to a Conversation Learner model

This tutorial shows how to add API calls to your model. API calls are functions that you define and write in your Bot, and which Conversation Learner can call.

Video

API Calls Tutorial Preview

Requirements

This tutorial requires that the "tutorialAPICalls.ts" bot is running.

npm run tutorial-api-calls

Details

  • API calls can read and manipulate entities.
  • API calls have access to the memory manager object.
  • API calls can take arguments.

Open the demo

In the web UI, click on "Import Tutorials" and select the model named "Tutorial-14-APICalls".

Entities

We have defined one entity in the Model called number.

API Calls

The code for the API calls is defined in the this file: C:\<installedpath>\src\demos\tutorialAPICalls.ts.

  • The RandomGreeting callback returns a random greeting defined in the greeting array.
  • The Multiply callback will multiply two numbers passed in by the Action that calls it and returns a result that can be rendered in the UI.
    • Notice that memory manager is the first argument.
    • Notice that API callbacks can take multiple inputs, in this case num1string and num2string.
  • The ClearEntities callback clears the number Entity so that the user can enter another number.
    • Illustrates how API calls can manipulate Entities.

Actions

We have created four Actions. Three of them are "Non-Wait" API Actions, with the fourth is a "Text" Action that asks the user a question similar to what we have seen in other tutorials. To see how each was created do the following:

  1. On the left panel, click "Actions", then click on one of the four actions listed in the grid.
  2. Notice the values of each field on the form that pops up.
  3. Notice the Refresh button next to the API field.
    • If we were to stop the Bot and make change to the APIs while the UI page is up, then you can click the Refresh button to pick up the latest changes.

ClearEntities, Multiply and RandomGreeting

All three of these Actions are API Type. They each rely on the API callback functions to perform some work and possibly return a value to be presented to the user.

"What number do you want to multiply by 12"

This is the "Text" Action and it simply asks a question of the user. While this Action does not actually interact with one of the API callbacks, it prompts the user to respond with a number that will go into the memory of an Entity that can then be used by the "Multiply" Action which does use one of the API callbacks.

Train Dialog

Let's walk through a "Training Dialog".

  1. On the left panel, click Train Dialogs, then the New Train Dialog button.
  2. Type "hello".
  3. Click the Score Actions button.
  4. Select RandomGreeting.
    • This will execute the Random Greeting API call.
    • This will NOT wait for a user response.
  5. Select What number to do you want to multiply by 12?
  6. Type in a number, any number and only a number.
    • Notice that your number was automatically labeled as the number entity.
  7. Click the Score Actions button.
  8. Select the Multiply Action.
    • Notice the result of the multiplication by 12.
    • Notice that memory still contains the value you entered for number
  9. Select the ClearEntities Action.
    • Notice that the Entity value for number has been cleared from memory.
  10. Click the Save button.

You have now seen how to register API callbacks, their common patterns, and how to define arguments and associate values and entities in them.

Next steps

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Cards part 1