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

[Dr. Richard S. Wallace]

Noel Bush wrote:

> > 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.

The idea is appealing, of being able to retrieve activations and other
Graphmaster data
in the runtime AIML.  Some sort of dialogue-based targeting could be
implemented this
way too.

The trouble comes when I imagine myself in front of a class of AIML
students,
trying to explain what <get pattern="I LIKE *"><star/></get> means.

Rich