🆕Expression syntax
Get the flexibility to use code syntax functions in your bot without the need of extensive coding skills.
Last updated
Get the flexibility to use code syntax functions in your bot without the need of extensive coding skills.
Last updated
Expression syntax refers to the structure of statements in code language used to incorporate dynamic content, variables, or specific built-in functions in your chatbot.
For existing bots Please note that expression syntax needs to be enabled on your account. To enable expression syntax on your account, please sign up to this form. For new bots Expression syntax is enabled by default.
Please also be aware about the breaking changes taking place for existing bots.
Unlike traditional code actions, which require JavaScript knowledge and can be resource-intensive, expression syntax on Chatlayer makes advanced functionalities accessible without the need for extensive coding skills.
In this article, the term 'expression' refers to combining identifiers by using functions, operators, constants, and values when coding. Therefore, it should not be confused with the concept of expressions in your NLP model.
Expression syntax can be used inside Text steps and Conditions, using specific data types, operators and functions.
To use expression syntax in your chatbot:
Open your block.
Go to your text field.
Type ‘{' inside a text field or type the name of a built-in function. Some use-cases are shown below.
Use expression syntax inside a text step to display the result inside your bot message.
Use expression syntax within a Condition statement as a variable.
Read below for use case examples:
Functions, whether built-in or custom, form the backbone of expression syntax. They drive specific tasks and operations within the conversational flow of your chatbot.
Here is the list built functions that you can use:
| Name | Summary | Example |
|---|---|---|
ABS | Returns the absolute value of a number. | operation: (n: any) => Math.abs(n) |
APPEND | Adds one or more items to the end of a list. | operation: (arr: any, ...items: any[]) => arr.concat(...items) |
BASE64_DECODE | Decode Base64 encoded text. | operation: (text: any) => Buffer.from(text, 'base64').toString('utf8') |
BASE64_ENCODE | Encode text using the Base64 encoding algorithm. | operation: (text: any) => Buffer.from(text + '', 'utf8').toString('base64') |
CAPITALIZE | Makes the first character of text uppercase and converts the remaining characters to lowercase. | operation: (value: any) => lodash.capitalize(value) |
CEIL | Rounds up and returns the smallest integer greater than or equal to a given number. | operation: (n: any) => Math.ceil(n) |
DAY | Returns the day from the given date or the current day if no date given (1-12). | operation: (d: any) => DateTime.fromMillis(d || DateTime.now().toMillis()).day |
DOWNCASE | Makes each character in text lowercase. | operation: (value: any) => lodash.toLower(value) |
FIRST | Returns the first element of a list. | operation: (value: any) => lodash.first(value) |
FLOOR | Rounds down and returns the largest integer less than or equal to a given number. | operation: (n: any) => Math.floor(n) |
FORMAT | Returns the date formatted according to the format string. | operation: (d: any, format: any, locale: any) => DateTime.fromMillis(d).toFormat(format, { locale: locale || 'en' }) |
HOUR | Returns the hour from the given date or the current hour if no date given (0-23). | operation: (d: any) => DateTime.fromMillis(d || DateTime.now().toMillis()).hour |
INCLUDES | Returns TRUE if target (which can be text, an object, or an array) includes value otherwise returns FALSE. | operation: (haystack: any, needle: string) => lodash.includes(haystack, needle) |
JSON_PARSE | Parses a serialized JSON value. | operation: (value: any) => JSON.parse(value) |
LAST | Returns the last element of a list. | operation: (value: any) => lodash.last(value) |
MAX | Returns the max value from the given args. | operation: (...args: any) => Math.max(...args) |
MD5 | Calculates the hex encoded MD5 hash of some text. | operation: (t: any) => crypto.createHash('md5').update(t + '').digest('hex') |
MINUTE | Returns the minute from the given date or the current minute if no date given (0-59). | operation: (d: any) => DateTime.fromMillis(d || DateTime.now().toMillis()).minute |
MONTH | Returns the month from the given date or the current month if no date given (1-12). | operation: (d: any) => DateTime.fromMillis(d || DateTime.now().toMillis()).month |
NOW | Returns the current date and time. | operation: () => DateTime.now().toMillis() |
PARSE | Parses a date formatted according to the format string. | operation: (d: string, format: any, locale: any) => DateTime.fromFormat(d, format, { locale }).toMillis() |
ROUND | Returns the value of a number rounded to the nearest precision. | operation: (n: any, precision = 0) => Math.round(n * Math.pow(10, precision)) / Math.pow(10, precision) |
SPLIT | Divides the input text into a list using the delimiter as a separator. | operation: (text: any, delimiter: any) => (text + '').split(delimiter + '') |
STRINGIFY | Serializes a value into a JSON string. | operation: (value: any) => stringify(value, null, 0) |
TODAY | Returns today's date with time set to 00:00. | operation: () => DateTime.now().startOf('day').toMillis() |
TOMORROW | Returns tomorrow's date with time set to 00:00. | operation: () => DateTime.now().startOf('day').plus({ days: 1 }).toMillis() |
TO_NUMBER | Converts a value to a number. | operation: (value: any) => value - 0 |
TO_STRING | Converts a value to string. | operation: (value: any) => value?.toString() |
UUID | Generates a universally unique identifier (V4). | operation: () => uuid() |
WEEKDAY | Get the day of the week. 1 is Monday and 7 is Sunday. | operation: (d: any) => DateTime.fromMillis(d || DateTime.now().toMillis()).weekday |
YEAR | Returns the year from the given date or the current month if no date given. | operation: (d: any) => DateTime.fromMillis(d || DateTime.now().toMillis()).year |
YESTERDAY | Returns yesterday's date with time set to 00:00. | operation: () => DateTime.now().startOf('day').plus({ days: -1 }).toMillis() |
You can create your own functions as you please, using the available operators.
Some examples of custom functions:
1 + 2
1 + (2 * 3)
MAX(1,2)
a ? b : c
a.b.c.d
Operations encompass a range of actions, calculations, and data manipulations in the code. Using operators provides more dynamic and context-aware responses to your chatbot.
| Precedence | Operator | Description | Associativity |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | () | Function call | Left-to-right |
. | Qualified name or field access | ||
[] | Indexing | ||
2 | - (unary) | Negation | Right-to-left |
! | Logical NOT | ||
3 | * | Multiplication | Left-to-right |
/ | Division | ||
% | Remainder | ||
4 | + | Addition | |
- (binary) | Subtraction | ||
5 | == != < > <= >= | Relations | |
6 | && | Logical AND | |
7 | ?: | Conditional | Right-to-left |
We support a subset of JavaScript types to provide flexibility in your bot-building journey:
number
string
boolean
map
list
null
In this section, find some use case examples where expression syntax is used
There are multiple ways that you can return information about time with expression syntax functions.
Imagine that you your bot to know or display the current time. Time is easy to retrieve with the following functions:
FORMAT() returns the time according to a string.
NOW() returns the current date and time based on the UTC timezone.
Combine these to create a function that returns the time with hours and minutes:
To learn more about time formatting, have a look at this table.
Imagine a scenario where your end-users are located on a UTC+1 timezone. For them to know if your store is open now, your bot needs to determine what time it is in Belgium.
You can use the functions:
NOW() returns the current date and time based on the UTC timezone.
HOUR() extracts the hour from the current time.
HOUR(NOW()) extracts the hour component from the current UTC timezone.
+1 adds 1.
Combine these functions into the following custom expression:
This expression extracts the hour of the current UTC timezone and adds 1 to it so that it fits the Belgian time.
Let's say that your customer has given its name in capital letters. You want to convert all the input characters to lowercase so that it can follow a standardized process.
DOWNCASE() converts all characters in a given text to lowercase.
@username is the variable name under which your customer name is saved.
Combine these elements into a custom function which downcases all the characters in your user name:
Let's say you have a message that consists in a list of elements which you would like to handle separately, for instance a list of pieces of fruit.
Your example message would be the following string:
SPLIT() divides a string into a list
FIRST() and LAST() retrieve the first and last elements of a list, respectively
Combine those functions so that you return the first and last element of the fruit list:
To ensure a smooth transition to expression syntax, it's crucial to address some breaking changes that might impact your current bot flows.
Existing variable names like a-b, a b, number or using '-' under Go to variables are not compatible anymore.
Please make sure to adjust your variable names according to the new expression syntax.
Only valid JavaScript identifiers is supported. If your variables don't comply, tweak them now to avoid any hiccups. Refer to this documentation for detailed guidelines.
| operator The | operator is no longer supported. If it's part of your bot flow, make the necessary adjustments to align with the new syntax.
Before the upgrade, if your bot flow involved using the | operator, it might look like this:
With the expression syntax upgrade, the | operator is no longer be supported. Please modify your variable name.
JSON.stringif no longer compatibleEnsure to review your previous variables and confirm that none of them rely on JSON.stringify. Please use STRINGIFY or TO_STRING instead.
