[pandorabots-general] Clarification

[Anne Kootstra]

Thanks for your opinion. Like I said before, it's a best practice. If you
prefer a different style, feel free to create your own chatterbot in your
own fashion. This says nothing about your skills or knowledge. 

However, since this is a public mailing list, I felt that a comment
regarding <star/> and <star index="1"/> was in order. You presented your
opinion in such a matter that it might be perceived as a preferred method or
rule. This was something I felt needed highlighting. 

That is all. 

Regards,

Anne.


-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: R. B. Chandler [mailto:rbchandler at hotmail.com] 
Verzonden: zondag 4 maart 2007 17:19
Aan: pandorabots-general at list.pandorabots.com
Onderwerp: Re: [pandorabots-general] Clarification

>From your perspective it may seem like a good practice but from mine it is
a 
bit redundant. If you only have one <star/> as in:
<category>
     <pattern>CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT *</pattern>
     <template><srai>DEFINE <star/></srai></template>
</category>
I doubt seriously anyone would use <star index="1"> in this case. There is 
no real benefit either way except for convenience or clearification for the 
sake of proper form. If I was programing for use by the rest of the planet I

might view it differently, but for myself, as a very slow typer, it is a 
waste of time especially when I can go back later with search-and-replace 
and change it all at once if needed. Most of my programs are written that 
way so that if you don't like the way I wrote the program you can use 
search-and-replace globally to change the program to whatever format you are

use to.

As far as I know I have yet to see any kind of sheet that outlines desired 
best practices when it comes to AIML programing. It is those generally 
accepted but unwritten practices that generate friction in the world today. 
As long as the programer remains consistant in style the ability to change 
things like <star/> into <star index="1"> on a global scale makes it easy to

adapt the program into a more widely acceptable format whatever that format 
may be. Inconsistency in program formats becomes a problem when global 
changes are not possible and you have to go through the code line by line.

Botom line is that it is a matter of semantics and personal preference. Code

for personalizing your own bot is one thing; code for publication as part of

the AIML Set published online is another thing altogether.