[DaveMorton]

Um... Freddy? I think that particular bit of documentation is a bit out of date. You're allowed multiple wildcards within  the <topic> tag; they just aren't used that much "in the wild". Structurally, <pattern>, <that> and <topic> tags are all pretty much the same, with the sole notable exception that the <pattern> tag allows use of the <bot> tag as a sort of wildcard; and even that exception is rather limited. While the document you've referenced mentions "pattern-side AIML elements", it never denotes what they are. This document also mentions "pattern-side bot elements", but again no real details are forthcoming. I'm still scouring the net for other mentions of what is allowed within a <pattern> tag, but so far, no luck. Some of the documents I seek are at least 10 years old, so may not "exist" anymore.

[Freddy]

Thanks for the reply. Yes it's an old document, but it's about the best I have found so far.

Structurally, <pattern>, <that> and <topic> tags are all pretty much the same..

OK so the <topic> can have more than one wild card. Is the wildcard precedence the same as <pattern> then ?

Like this ?  _ KEYWORD *

I'll see if I can find some more up to date texts.

[DaveMorton]

Wildcards behave exactly the same in all cases. It doesn't matter if it's in a <pattern>, <that> or <topic> tag.

I've been looking for better documentation as well, especially with regard to the GraphMaster. I know that there are some Power Point presentations floating around the net somewhere, but I have yet to locate them. Perhaps I should email Rich (AKA Dr. Richard Wallace) about this, and see if I can obtain the documentation directly.

BTW, speaking of the GraphMaster, I finally got the array structure I was looking for, but I haven't yet created a successful search algorithm. Still working on it, though.

[Freddy]

Cheers Dave, I am glad the wildcards work the same.

Congrats on getting your structure right.

I got my search algorithm working okay. But I found a few odd things that I need to do in the GM (Graphmaster) building stage, like adding a * where there is no <topic> or <that>.  That confused me at first, but I believe that would mean only one search of the GM is needed. I was going to do three, but now that makes sense, so I am happy.

What we really could do with is a detailed run down (in the same manner as that old doc) for AIML 2. Then we would would have up-to-date information. There's some inconsistency in the information I have found so far.

[DaveMorton]

What we really could do with is a detailed run down (in the same manner as that old doc) for AIML 2. Then we would would have up-to-date information. There's some inconsistency in the information I have found so far.

lol I think that's the understatement of the year.

There is some fairly good documentation about AIML 2.0 that helps answer a lot of questions about the "new stuff", and helps clarify a lot of the "old stuff", as well. I'll see if I can locate the docs in question, and post links to them..

[Freddy]

Yeah I was holding back on that statement 

It would be good to see those docs you mention, thanks 

[DaveMorton]

Well, here's the AIML 2.0 Working Draft for starters. As a bonus, the first thing in the document is a visual representation of part of an AIML GraphMaster (which, incidentally, has exactly the same structure that I came up with ). That should prove at least a little bit useful.

[Freddy]

Yeah it looks a lot like my GM too.

Thanks for the link Dave

[DaveMorton]

Hey, Freddy, can I 'swipe' your search algorithm? I'm having a bit of trouble with mine, and I want to compare it with yours, in hopes that I can see where mine is failing.

[Freddy]

Give me a couple more days and I will send you what I have.

I'm still doing some testing here, but it's been so hot that it's a bit of a grind sitting at the PC for long.

[Freddy]

I think the way I am building the GM is slightly different to the way you are doing it, but you might be able to adjust it.

[DaveMorton]

Take all the time you need, Mate. And not to worry about the structure. Doesn't matter how we get there, so long as we do.

[Freddy]

I had some time to look at this, it seems to be working okay so I have sent you a zip.

[DaveMorton]

Got the file, but will have to wait till this evening to have a look. Off to run errands now.

[Freddy]

Any joy with the code I sent you Dave ?