Im a php developer and Im looking to put together a chatbot for a couple of my company websites. I want to be able to communicated with my mysql database for responses and potentially update fields in my database via the responses.

I have a credit management business and I want to be able to answer questions like so…
How many credit accounts does my user have on their credit file? And update information like… change a customer’s mailing address or phone number.

I am very comfortable in php and mysql, but just looking for a starting spot for my bot.

Is there a good starting spot or code example to be able to run command inside of alice and not just basic knowledgebase responses, like whats your mailing address, which i know i can make happen inside an alice environment.

I have made a few calls to people that have products out there and and the few i have called on were high end cost projects and I am not there. I dont mind paying something for the solution as long as I can keep the cost to a minimum and get what i want out of it.

Any ideas?

I think Program O is what you want. Dave, the moderator of these forums is on vacation, but when he gets back, I think he may be your best resource.

http://blog.program-o.com/

Starting pint accepted via http://tweet-a-beer.com to http://twitter.com/mendicot

I have installed Progam O. Is there a place I can get common responses at? I searched for starter aiml files. I can find a few specific realm ones, but not just a basic personality. I know I will have to build upon that to make it work for my use.

Also, how do I go about putting an avatar with and to add speech.

I do have access to sitepal, but have never used their aimc setup. I was really wanting to host my own so that I am always in control of it.

And Marcus, that was supposed to be “Starting Point”... Im sure you knew that though.

If you are hosting your own bot, you are on your own with how to integrate an avatar and speech capabilities. It is a function of your web design and it is a non-trivial task.

The updated basic AIML sets are here:
http://www.alicebot.org/downloads/sets.html

You might also try program O specific questions on their board:
http://www.program-o.com/forum/

Can you tell me if its even possible to go beyond the knowledgebase that is setup for the bot? The knowledgebase can be scripted to answer specific questions, but what about dynamic ones. What if I want my bot to connect to my database do a query and come back with the response on my customer. Can you make it spark function calls that can get data from my database. For instance, whats the user’s address on file? Can you make it update a customers file etc?

I have my Program O, responding to some stuff, so i know the structure works even though the bot has a -100 IQ right now. LOL

I know this is not basic stuff, but I am trying to figure out the capabilities of it. Still interested in Program O, but if there is a solution to do this sort of thing, can someone point it out?

Thanks for your continued attention.

I don’t use AIML/program O myself. I believe it does have the capabilities you are looking for but I don’t know for sure. I am certain Dave would be able to answer off the top of his head, but I don’t think he returns until next week. Until then, you should post on the Program O forum while you are waiting to see if anyone else here has experience with program O.

Kenneth Ward - Jul 18, 2012:

Can you tell me if its even possible to go beyond the knowledgebase that is setup for the bot? The knowledgebase can be scripted to answer specific questions, but what about dynamic ones. What if I want my bot to connect to my database do a query and come back with the response on my customer. Can you make it spark function calls that can get data from my database. For instance, whats the user’s address on file? Can you make it update a customers file etc?

If you know how to program in PHP and are familiar with mySQL, then you can make Program-O do whatever you wish it to do with a little work.  Have a look through the files (specifically the “chat.php” and “response_handler.php” files, at least for version 1, not sure if version 2 uses these same file names) and you will figure it out pretty easilly.  As other have stated, Dave is the resident Master of Program-O, but he is on vacation for another week or so, otherwise he would have already been all over this topic.  Good luck!

Thanks..  I will take a look. Just trying to find out its capabilities. Biggest problem with ny work so far is getting a good core set for general conversation… the initial aiml files. Please continue to contribute as you can.

You need to add to the bots aiml db at least some minimum premade “knowledge” to get any kind of sensible responses.  Try: http://code.google.com/p/aiml-en-us-foundation-alice/  for source AIML files.

Hi, everyone!

I’m “sort of” back. I’ve been working through a backlog of several HUNDRED posting notifications, and I just found this thread. I’m still recovering from a nasty motorcycle accident (3 out of 4 limbs fractured, torn knee ligaments, various internal injuries, etc.), so long answers are slightly beyond me, still, but I can say that most of what you asked, Kenneth, is possible with Program O. In order to accomplish your specific goals, I recommend the creation of a “Data Retrieval” addon; or, possibly, the use of custom AIML tags (several examples come to mind, but will have to wait). Either method is fairly easy to use, and each has it’s own pro’s & con’s. Holler back if you’re interested, and we’ll talk about it further.