[alicebot-archcomm] Ok we have some more, but a simple item at that...

[Dr. Rich Wallace]

Hi Gary, this is called the "merge policy" and is left up to the
implementation.

A duplicate category is defined as one with the same input pattern, that
pattern and topic pattern as one already loaded.

The merge policy determines how the AIML interpreter deals with the
duplicate category.  Some merge policies might include:

1. Discard the new category.
2. Discard the existing category.
3. Merge the two templates together with <randmom>
(But make sure they aren't already the same or, do something special if
one of them is already a <random> list).


> Program D logs this when it gets a duplicate pattern:
>
> "Duplicate category:", pattern + " : " + that + " : " + topic, " in \""
> + filename + "\"", "conflicts with category already loaded from",
> (String)node.get(Graphmaster.FILENAME)}
>
> And does not add it to the Graphmaster's set of keys.  In truth, the
> template may not be the same, so it is not necessarily a duplicate
> category as logged in the error.
>
> The AIML 1.01 standard says nothing about this.  It is left to the
> reader to assume such a thing as identical patterns may rarely exist, if
> not only by accident, in some large AIML documents.  Nor does it address
> what could happen when this AIML is loaded into the ALICE engine.
>
> For Graphmaster to work, duplicate patterns cannot exist.  This should
> be clarified in the standards.  Of course, Graphmaster is not required
> by the standards, so here we have a problem with which template to waste
> when other options are used.  Program D's Graphmaster always discards
> any but the first.  Another Graphmaster implementation may always
> clobber existing ones leaving only the last.
>
> This could have serious effects on how the AIML works (especially if
> <pattern>*</pattern> is duplicated.)  If standard AIML is to work
> (mostly) across the engines, shouldn't this warning be obvious in the
> official AIML document?
>
> Regards,
>   Gary Dubuque
>   Characterized in AIML edits
>
>
>
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-- 
Dr. Rich
W A L L A C E
ALICE A.I. Foundation
drwallace@www.alicebot.org
"Dean of cheezo-hobby system hackers."--Salon