Day41

Day 41: Creating a Chatbot

Instructions:

1. Open a new python file.
2. Slack is a common messaging app that is used in many technology companies today. Building a bot user provides the opportunity for substantially more advanced functionality, including AI integration. Follow the enabling interactions with bots documentation to create the Slack Bot User and establish the API codes.
3. The slackclient package provides an easy connection and interaction interface to the Slack API.

   import slack
   import random
   

4. A simple function is created to generate a random number between 1 and 20 and then return the corresponding response from the Magic 8 Ball.

   def magic_8_ball():
       """
       Selects a random number between 1 and 20 and then returns the text output from the Magic 8 Ball.
       :return: Magic 8 Ball result
       """
       ball = {1: "It is certain.",
               2: "It is decidedly so.",
               3: "Without a doubt.",
               4: "Yes - definitely.",
               5: "You may rely on it.",
               6: "As I see it, yes.",
               7: "Most likely.",
               8: "Outlook good.",
               9: "Yes.",
               10: "Signs point to yes.",
               11: "Reply hazy, try again.",
               12: "Ask again later.",
               13: "Better not tell you now.",
               14: "Cannot predict now.",
               15: "Concentrate and ask again.",
               16: "Don't count on it.",
               17: "My reply is no.",
               18: "My sources say no.",
               19: "Outlook not so good.",
               20: "Very doubtful."}
   
       choice = random.randint(1, 20)
       return ball[choice]
   

5. A function is created to parse the data received when a direct mention is made. The data from a message (payload) is received as a dictionary. Therefore, specific elements from the message are easily able to be parsed and leveraged for the bot's actions. If roll is found in the text of the data, a message is compiled and the magic_8_ball() function is called. This then posts the message using the .chat_postMessage() function as a thread of the original message. If the bot received a direct message containing the phrase shut down bot, then the program terminates. The KeyError exception is added to keep the bot active after a message is sent.

   @slack.RTMClient.run_on(event='message')
   def roll_ball(**payload):
       data = payload["data"]
       web_client = payload["web_client"]
       rtm_client = payload["rtm_client"]
       try:
           if "roll" in data["text"].lower():
               channel_id = data["channel"]
               thread_ts = data["ts"]
               user = data["user"]
   
               web_client.chat_postMessage(
                   channel=channel_id,
                   text=f"Hi <@{user}>, the answer to your question is: '{magic_8_ball()}'",
                   thread_ts=thread_ts
                   )
           elif "shut down bot" in data["text"].lower():
               channel_id = data["channel"]
               thread_ts = data["ts"]
               user = data["user"]
   
               web_client.chat_postMessage(
                   channel=channel_id,
                   text=f"Hi <@{user}>, I will now go to sleep.",
                   thread_ts=thread_ts
               )
               exit(0)
       except KeyError:
           pass
   

6. While it is preferred to add the slack_bot_token as a system environment variable, this method of credential retrieval is acceptable for local testing. The slack token is used to create the Real Time Messaging (RTM) client through the .RTMClient() function. The .start() function activates the client and keeps the connection open until the python program is terminated. This ensures that the Magic 8 Ball bot can provide multiple responses without needing to be restarted.

   if __name__ == '__main__':
       credentials = dict()
       with open("credentials.txt", "r") as cred:
           for line in cred:
               var, val = line.split(": ")
               credentials[var] = val.rstrip("\n")
               var = ""
               val = ""
               line = ""
   
       slack_token = credentials["slack_bot_token"]
       credentials.clear()
       rtm_client = slack.RTMClient(token=slack_token)
       slack_token = ""
       rtm_client.start()
   

7. Once the application is running, the bot can be activated through a direct mention and using the keyword roll. The bot will respond directly to the message with the result from the Magic 8 Ball.
   
8. Update the log file with what you have learned today.