Programming IVRs with YAML

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SamF

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#245541 9-Feb-2019 19:45

This is a bit of an obscure query, but I figured if anyone knows about this stuff they're probably a frequent visitor to these here parts! :)

I'm currently in the process of programming an IVR system (for a LiveAgent install), which uses YAML.

I am not familiar with YAML, but I am fluent in a few different programming languages, so the general concepts aren't difficult for me. However, I am having issues working out the YAML logic and available commands etc.

I have found a number of tutorials etc, but there appears to be quite a few different YAML implementations, each with their own peculiarities and I can't find anything relating specifically to IVR systems.

Can anyone point me to a good reference resource for YAML as it pertains to IVR systems?

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'That VDSL Cat'
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#2175637 9-Feb-2019 20:28

Cant say i can assist with the actual Question, but good luck with YAML. It's a pain in the rear.

I'd make sure the editor your using is validating it as that makes the dumb tab vs space errors pretty obvious.

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SamF

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#2175638 9-Feb-2019 20:31

Heh, thanks for the tip! :)

DimasikTurbo

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#2175644 9-Feb-2019 21:09

Hi,

I think there is a misunderstanding. Yaml is not a programming language it is structured data format. It does not have any logic or commands as it is plain data.

What you most likely doing is writing configuration for IVR that uses yaml format.

So to get an idea what commands your IVR expects in a configuration file you need to check IVR reference.

SamF

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#2175646 9-Feb-2019 21:19

Well, in terms of my IVR system there are 'commands' per-say. Perhaps not in the typical sense, but stuff like this for example:

start:
- play: http://welcome.to.our.support
- choice:
1:
name: Sales department
play: http://press.1.for.sales
do:
- transfer:
to: salesDepartmentID
if:
online:
- play: http://welcome.to.sales
- ring
offline:
- goto: voicemail
2:
name: Technical department
play: http://press.2.for.tech
do:
- transfer:
to: techDepID
if:
online:
- ring
offline:
- goto: offline
voicemail:
- play: http://leave.us.a.message
- voicemail
offline:
- play: http://call.us.later
queue:
- play: http://in.queue.music
- choice:
0:
name: Wait
play: http://press.0.to.wait.in.queue
goto: queue
1:
name: Leave voicemail
play: http://press.1.to.leave.voicemail
goto: voicemail

In any case, the IVR reference is quite lacking, hence my search for further enlightenment :)

DimasikTurbo

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#2175658 9-Feb-2019 21:40

Are using this https://support.ladesk.com/300428-IVR as reference? Could you please explain what are you trying to implement?

SamF

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#2175659 9-Feb-2019 21:49

Yes, the very same! :)

I am trying to do something like this:

start:
- play: http://welcome.message
offline:
- play: http://offline.message
- voicemail
online:
- play: http://please.wait.message
- ring
queue:
- play: http://in.queue.music

However, that code is not accepted by the system and I'm not sure what code exactly would be required to achieve this.

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jim69

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#2175662 9-Feb-2019 22:07

Are you missing an "if:" in front of "offline"?

Jim

DimasikTurbo

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#2175664 9-Feb-2019 22:11

Try to upload it without "start" section

SamF

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#2175666 9-Feb-2019 22:14

@jim69: The way the system works is that it looks for the 'online', 'offline', etc sections for instructions as to what to do if those conditions are met.

As DimasikTurbo pointed out, YAML is not a 'programming language' per-say, so there's no requirement for full code 'logic' or 'flow control' in this case, as the external application (LiveAgent in this case) handles this.

That said, at least in this implementation, YAML seems to have some limited flow control capabilities which can be utllised in certain use-cases.

@DimasikTurbo: It works fine without the 'start:' section, but then it doesn't do what I want it to do :)

SamF

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#2175667 9-Feb-2019 22:15

The problem is; to cover both offline and online situations, I have to have a 'welcome' message in both messages, which means that if we are online but then we don't answer and it falls back to to 'offline', the caller will get a 'welcome' message twice.

So my solution is to have a global 'welcome' message first, and then individual messages for online & offline situations.

DimasikTurbo

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#2175670 9-Feb-2019 22:20

You can try to add "ring" in your version under "start" section, it may work

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SamF

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#2175672 9-Feb-2019 22:25

Yeah, tried that already, no dice unfortunately.

DimasikTurbo

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#2175673 9-Feb-2019 22:28

Looking at examples on LiveAgent site I think it only accepts instructions of online / off-line states and in you want to enable IVR you need to use "start" section, it is not global configuration, it allows to configure options like 0 1 3 etc

SamF

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#2175674 9-Feb-2019 22:31

Yeah, that's kinda the conclusion I came to.

If I had some kind of more comprehensive list of options available to me I could figure it out, but apparently that's as good as it gets (according to LiveAgent support).

DimasikTurbo

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#2175675 9-Feb-2019 22:32

I also would say "start" and "online" are mutually exclusive.

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