The Program O v2 Installation Guide

system-install-2
The Program O v2 Installation Guide 5/5 (100%) 2 votes

Thank you everyone for downloading and trying Program-O. The v2 has had a major overhaul to the installation process, hopefully the little guide below will help new and old botmasters alike install the new bot as quickly as possible! If you have any comments about the process or any questions just leave as message in the comments below. Or head over the forum for more support.

Step 1:
Download Program-O from Github

Step 2:
Unzip the file and upload it to your webspace.

Step 3:
Create your database and user with FULL privileges for your user as it will need to be able to create tables. We will change this at a later stage.

Step 4:
Install Program-O by navigating to http://www.yoursite.com/yourbot/
You should now be presented with a form in which you should enter all the bot details into.

If this is the first time you have downloaded Program-O here are a few config pointers:
Botmaster Info

  • Your Name- You, the botmaster’s name
  • Email Address- This is your email. Debug messages may be sent here

    • Bot Configuration

  • Bot Name- What is your chatbot called?
  • Bot Description- This information is for the botmaster only
  • Bot Active?- This setting turns the bot on or off
  • Error response string- If something goes wrong with the robot and it can’t display an answer this is what it will say, so be polite!
  • Default pickup line pattern- If the bot can’t find a matching AIML pattern for the user’s input it will default to this AIML pattern. Best to set it to ‘RANDOM PICKUP LINE’ or ‘*’
  • Conversation Lines- The number of responses returned by the bot, therefore if this is set to 5, it will show the response plus the previous 4 conversation lines
  • History count- The number of conversation the bot remembers in the conversation state.
  • Response Format- Select from the following options
    1. HTML – for simple webpages
    2. JSON – for more fancier jqeury web pages and apps
    3. XML – for totally awesome third party apps
  • Use Stored PHP Code from DB?- The program creates PHP code from the AIML responses found in the database. If you choose to store the code in the DB (see next option) when a user triggers a pattern which has previously been converted to PHP instead of re-generating the code it will just read it from this existing field. This will speed up your bot no end. Though if you have incorrect AIML it will also store the broken PHP code in the database and break your bot each time it tries to respond with the broken code. My suggesting is that you tick the box to store in the database, but if you have problems untick the box, fix your AIML and then re-tick it
  • Store PHP code in DB?- This setting goes hand in hand with the one above it. If you wish to store your code in the DB to be available to read in the option above set it here

    • Database Configuration

  • DB Host Name- The name of the database server 99% of the time this is ‘Localhost’
  • DB Name- The name of the database
  • DB Port- 99% of the time this is set to 3306
  • DB Username- The username used to access the database
  • DB Password- The password used to access the database
  • DB Timezone- The timezone in which you are located
  • Admin User Name and password- These will be used to access the admin area of chatbot

    • Debugging options

  • Debug Level – Select from an option below
    1. General – This is the best option and showing useful information such as errors and updates to the conversation state
    2. General/SQL – This option supplies all the information from general debugging and also sql queries. This is useful if you are trying to workout why the bot is not returning the results you are expecting
    3. Everything – This shows everything, errors, sql, function information etc etc
  • Debugging output method – Select from an option below
    1. Show in Source – All debugging information will be written to eh webpage source code, which you will be able to view by right clicking the bots webpage, then pressing “view Source”, this will only work in HTML mode.
    2. File (default) – This is the best option as it creates a single file for each user who talks to the bot and overwrites it on each turn of the conversation.
    3. Display – This writes all information out the webpage itself. – Again this only works in HTML mode
    4. Email – This emails you a message containing all the debug information for each turn of any conversation. This is not recommended as basically you are going to get your inbox spammed with hundreds of messages
  • Save-State – If you want to store the last turn of the conversation in the database select database, or if you want to store it in a session select session. The advantages to storing it in the database is that it can be retrieved for a returning user so the conversation can pick up from where it left off. The advantage to saving it in the session variable is speed. Its quicker!

    • Step 5
    At this stage the form should be complete.
    And all you have to do is press ‘Save’.

    Step 6
    When prompted press ‘OK’ to complete installation.

    Step 7
    Congratulations! You have installed Program-O.

    Step 8
    Delete the ‘install’ directory from the server so that your configuration will not be accidentally or maliciously overwritten
    Step 9
    You may wish to reduce the privileges of your DB user – SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE should be sufficient
    Step 10
    All you need to do now is log into the admin area and start adding your AIML files and creating your chatbot’s personality.