Hi guys,
I’ve experimented with building my own web based bot management system (almost a clone of Pandorabots), so I can edit the rules on the fly, but this approach made it difficult to carry the bot around, so I ended up using a method of maintaining the rules in Excel, and have a VB macro that converts it into AIML.  So far this is working ok.

What is your method for managing your bot knowledge?  Do you edit directly in Pandorabots, or do you code AIML / Chatscript / Rivescript by hand?  Why do you do it like that?

I’d be keen to know your thoughts on the best way to manage bot knowledge, and what your experience has been, particularly for those thats been at it for a number of years.

Cheers

Phil Massyn - Dec 28, 2013:

Do you edit directly in Pandorabots, or do you code AIML / Chatscript / Rivescript by hand?

A bit of both really. For quick changes or reviewing logs, using the Pandorabot’s training interface works really well. However, if I am building a larger project like “What does x and y have in common?”, I would code it in notepad and keep it as a separate AIML file.

This way, I can amend the AIML easily by looking for something like incommon.aiml and know that all the categories relating to that are in there rather than hunting down various update files.

A few years ago, I tried a few other AIML editors like SAE and Gaito editor (I think that’s what they were called) but I just find notepad easier. That’s just my personal taste though.

I’m working on automating knowledgebase creation; however, I do like to be able to hit problems from all sides, fully automated, semi-automated, and manual.  I have found no AIML editor that I really like; however, there are a number of really good commercial XML editors.  (For coding, I like TextPad better than Notepad.)  What I really want in an AIML editor is visualization (like flying around the DB/KB in SecondLife), and voice editing/input, by-passing typing altogether.

Simple AIML Editor (SAE) written by Adeena Mignogna, is a FREE utility.  Adeena has been a speaker at the Chatbots conference presented by the ALICE A.I. Foundation.  SAE is great for supporting a hobby AIML chatbot.  Free AIML, in general, is great for hobbies, but a hobby chat system may not be suitable for the customer service of most businesses.

For the sake of discussion (only)... I have recommended Superbot for business use.  Superbot had included a consultation with Dr. Wallace which was key.  Professional companies prefer an option to own the AIML chatbots they author for customer service.  And, I found the Superbot webpage to be informative about the commercial version of AIML.

I often use SQL to manage a chatbot brain in phpMyAdmin which is usually included free on shared webhosting accounts.