Question

Total noob when it comes to using AIML and having a really hard time getting this set up for an asp.net mvc webpage. I have a basic view setup that the user can enter a message in a textbox and I’m trying to get the chatbot to return a response. I’ve gotten that interaction to work with my text case so I know the function is correctly getting the users response and that I can send back a response and show it in the chatbox, my problem is trying to setup the chatbot to create dynamic responses. Right now in my controller I have:

    String filePath = Server.MapPath("~/aimlBot/aiml/");
    ChatBot catbot = new ChatBot(filePath);
    string ReturnText = catbot.GetOutput(text); //text is just a string no html or fancy stuff in it

and my ChatBot class

    Public class ChatBot : Bot
    {
        private Bot myBot;
        private User myUser;

        public ChatBot(string filepath)
        {
            myBot = new Bot();
            myUser = new User("Human", myBot);
            Initialize(filepath);
        }

        private void Initialize(string filepath)
        {
            AIMLbot.Utils.AIMLLoader loader = new AIMLbot.Utils.AIMLLoader(this.myBot);
            myBot.isAcceptingUserInput = false;
            loader.loadAIML(filepath);          
            myBot.isAcceptingUserInput = true;
        }

        public String GetOutput(String input)
        {
            Request r = new Request(input, myUser, myBot);
            Result res = myBot.Chat(r); //breaks here
            string response = "Bot: " + res.Output;
            return (response);
        }
    }

the problem I’m getting is at the
Result res = myBot.Chat(r);
the program throws a FormatException

    System.FormatException was unhandled by user code
    Message=Input string was not in a correct format.
    Source=mscorlib
    StackTrace:
    at System.Number.ParseDouble(String value, NumberStyles options, NumberFormatInfo numfmt)
    at System.Convert.ToDouble(String value)
    at AIMLbot.Bot.get_TimeOut()
    at AIMLbot.Utils.Node.evaluate(String path, SubQuery query, Request request, MatchState matchstate, StringBuilder wildcard)
    at AIMLbot.Bot.Chat(Request request)
    at Ira.aimlBot.ChatBot.GetOutput(String input) in C:\Users\Ira\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\Ira\Ira\aimlBot\ChatBot.cs:line 36
    at Ira.Controllers.ARGController.Speak(String text) in C:\Users\Ira\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\Ira\Ira\Controllers\ARGController.cs:line 35
    at lambda_method(Closure , ControllerBase , Object[] )
    at System.Web.Mvc.ActionMethodDispatcher.Execute(ControllerBase controller, Object[] parameters)
    at System.Web.Mvc.ReflectedActionDescriptor.Execute(ControllerContext controllerContext, IDictionary`2 parameters)
    at System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.InvokeActionMethod(ControllerContext controllerContext, ActionDescriptor actionDescriptor, IDictionary`2 parameters)
    at System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.<>c__DisplayClass15.<InvokeActionMethodWithFilters>b__12()
    at System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.InvokeActionMethodFilter(IActionFilter filter, ActionExecutingContext preContext, Func`1 continuation)
    InnerException: 

I have No idea what is wrong with my code. I’ve tried even changing it from the variable string to just a hardcode case like “Hello how are you” which still caused the same exception.

Answer 1

You have everything perfect except the loadSettings function. Please refer the below snippet to clear your problem!

public ChatBot(string filepath)
{
            myBot = new Bot();
            myBot.loadSettings(); // <----- You have to insert this line to fix the error!
            myUser = new User("Human", myBot);
            Initialize(filepath);
}