[alicebot-archcomm] [proposal] <get pattern=

[Noel Bush]

> Too complex.  If you need to retrieve the exact reply, just 
> save it.  Each
> time
> a <template> is evaluated, just store the result as a <response>.

I should refocus.  My main goal was to be able to retrieve the captured
contents of a wildcard from a particular pattern/that/topic.  That's the
idea in my first example:

<!--Example 1-->
<category>
  <pattern>I LIKE *</pattern>
  <template>
    I'll remember that.
  </template>
</category>

<category>
  <pattern>WHAT DO I LIKE</pattern>
  <template>
    You told me you like <get pattern="I LIKE *"><star/></get>.
  </template>
</category>

That allows two things:

1. I can retrieve things that were captured even if I have no control
over the AIML (as when I am using AIML that is served from somewhere
else).
2. When writing AIML, I don't always have to predict which values I'll
want to save for later use.  I can refer to the values by a more direct
means -- their "meaning" with respect to some particular utterance --
rather than being constrained to think up arbitrary names to associate
with these values.