How do I chain replies

[CarbonMan]

Playing with calculations, I want to be able to input
"10 times 4 divided by 2"
is that possible?

Here's what I have;

> object multiply javascript
	var operand1 = args[0].trim();
	var operand2 = args[1].trim();
	return "" + eval(operand1 + "*" + operand2);
< object
+ [what] [is] # (times|multiplied by) #

> object divide javascript
	var operand1 = args[0].trim();
	var operand2 = args[1].trim();
	return "" + eval(operand1 + "/" + operand2);
< object
+ [what] [is] # divided by #
- The result is <call>divide <star1> <star2></call>

+ (*) # divided by #
- {@ <star1> <call>divide <star2> <star3></call> }

^^^^^ That is where the problem
Any ideas?

[kirsle]

Your triggers are very similar so my guess is that both forms of message are matching the same trigger.

+ [what] [is] # divided by #

This is essentially # divided by # with optional words what and is in front. Either of those words could be left out, so saying "5 divided by 3" would match the trigger.

+ (*) # divided by #

This is # divided by # with "anything" in front. The * could match strings like "what is", "is", "what", or any other text. Like "do you know 3 divided by 2" would match that trigger too.

On a side note, the (*) is probably also confusing the <star> tags. I'd expect <star1> and <star2> to both refer to the (*) in the trigger, and for <star3> and <star4> to be the numbers. You should remove the parenthesis, and make the trigger * # divided by #

To see what's going on, run RiveScript in debug mode and see which trigger matches each message.

[CarbonMan]

So "1 + 1 times 7" matches this

+ * # (times|multiplied by) #{weight=100}
- {@ <star1> <call>multiply <star2> <star4></call> }

but the response is
I'm not sure I understand you fully.multiply {__call_arg__}1{/__call_arg__} {__call_arg__}7{/__call_arg__}</call> }
"I'm not sure I understand you fully" is the default response which is probably getting "1 +" as the input. Unfortunately it seems the <call> is translated, but never executed.
So my guess is that calls and redirections don't play well together.

Edit (kirsle): formatted your code in a fenced code block.

[CarbonMan]

I tried this as well but the effect was essentially the same

+ * # (times|multiplied by) #{weight=100}
- <set myResult=<call>multiply <star2> <star4></call>>
^ {@ <star1> <get myResult> }

Edit (kirsle): formatted your code in a fenced code block.

[kirsle]

Ahh, I see what's going on now. This is similar to the other bugs that popped up when object macros were made async (see Asynchronous Support), such as #111 and #178.

To let object macros run asynchronously, they are handled in two passes (the first one mangles them into those ugly {__call_arg__} style tags; the second actually runs it, resolves its returned promise and replaces the ugly tags with the final result). But just like for conditionals, the object macro needs to be resolved 'immediately' before the {@...} redirect around it can be followed. That isn't happening, so the redirect message contains the ugly mangled tags.

The wiki link above has more background info if you're curious. The <call> tag has always been a special creature, but it's doubly so in the JavaScript version when it wants to support asynchronous calls.

I'll be able to fix the case of "<call> tag inside {@}" (but it will support synchronous macros only, like conditions), but the <set myResult=<call>...</call>> won't work still as that's a harder problem to solve.

[kirsle]

RiveScript.js v1.17.2 should fix the bug for synchronous object macros in redirects.