Because your module doesn't know which chat rooms are on the Telegram. You should acquire id of chat first to tell something to the user. You cannot assume chat_id. The chat rooms could be destroyed, newly created, or just id could be changed. Don't assume.
But if you want, you can get and store chat id from MessageHandler. But keep in mind, the id might be invalid in future or not.
Therefore, It's not so good practice to tell something to the user without commands. Just react after getting commands from the user.
However, for the admin, you can tell to admin whenever you want. Send notification to MMM-TelegramBot, it will be shown in chat room of admin.
this.sendNotification('EXT_TELBOT-TELL_ADMIN', "Temperature is too high...")
//Or
this.sendNotification('EXT_TELBOT-TELBOT_TELL_ADMIN', {
type: "PHOTO_PATH",
path: "...",
option: { caption: "Picture" }
})
handler.say() and handler.reply() can carry rich contents. (In hanlder.ask(), only "TEXT" is available.)
Generally, you can use these methods like belows;
handler.say("TYPE", required, options={})
handler.reply("TYPE", required, options={}) //.reply and .say are almost same
handler.ask("TYPE", required, options={}, sessionId, callbackForAnswer)
handler.say('TEXT', text, options={})
textis string.See for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendmessage
handler.reply("TEXT", "*Yes, Sir!*/nYour command will be executed!", {parse_mode:'Markdown'})
The length of text should be under 4000. An overflowed text will be truncated. There is a common pitfall. When you use 'markdown' for decorating your text, Invalid markdown usage will cause an error. So you should use markdown carefully.
handler.say('LOCATION', required={}, options={})
required.longitude is string or float number of longituderequired.latitude is string or float number of latitudeSee for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendlocation
var location = {
longitude: 2.294694,
lattitude: 48.858093
}
handler.reply("LOCATION", location)
handler.say('VENUE', required={}, options={})
required.longitude is string or float number of longituderequired.latitude is string or float number of latituderequired.title is string of locationrequired.address is string of addressSee for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendvenue
var location = {
longitude: 2.294694,
lattitude: 48.858093,
title: "Eiffel Tower",
address: "Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France"
}
handler.reply("VENUE", location)
handler.say('CONTACT', required={}, options={})
required.first_name is string of name of contactrequired.phone_number is string of phone_number of contactSee for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendcontact
var company_info = {
first_name: "Volkswagen Frankfurt",
phone_number: "+49 1111 1111 1111"
}
handler.reply("CONTACT", company_info)
handler.say('PHOTO_URL', url, options={})
url is URL of external image resource. (on the internet)See for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendphoto
handler.reply("PHOTO_URL", "http://sample.com/sample.png", {caption:"Coolest Picture"})
handler.say('PHOTO_PATH', path, options={})
path is absolute path of internal image resource. (in your raspberry pi)See for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendphoto
handler.reply("PHOTO_PATH", "/home/pi/MagicMirror/public/sample.jpg", {caption:"Coolest Picture"})
handler.say('AUDIO_URL', url, options={})
url is URL of external audio resource. (on the internet)See for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendaudio
But sometimes, the options like 'title' or 'performer' could not work as intend. I think this is the problem of Telegram Bot API or node-telegram-bot-api
handler.reply("AUDIO_URL", "http://sample.com/sample.mp3")
handler.say('AUDIO_PATH', path, options={})
path is absolute path of internal audio file resource. (in your raspberry pi)See for options : https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#sendaudio
But sometimes, the options like 'title' or 'performer' could not work as intend. I think this is the problem of Telegram Bot API or node-telegram-bot-api
handler.reply("AUDIO_PATH", "/home/pi/MagicMirror/public/sample.mp3")
VIDEO_URLVIDEO_PATHVOICE_URLVOICE_PATHDOCUMENT_URLDOCUMENT_PATHEvery *_URL requires url for the parameter, and every *_PATH requires path for the parameter.
For available options, See https://core.telegram.org/bots/api
In .ask(), you can use only 'TEXT'. Question is text, isn't it?
This module doesn't validate your parameters, so you should call these methods with fully validated parameters.
.reply() and .say()These two methods of handler are almost same. but .reply() will be attached to the specific message.(usually previous command of the user).
If TelegramBot is in group chat room, and several users are commanding now. People cannot distinguish your reactions without reply. When you use reply for the specific message, users can get a reaction for his command.
You can store and reuse handler for later or for jobs long-time taken. At that case, You can also use .reply() for the proper response.
.ask())Unlike your thought, dialog UX is very difficult to implement. Making dialog UX could be easier when you implement your own TelegramBot for 1on1 chat. But you should share this bot with other modules, and you cannot control the members who use this bot in real life. So there could be so many problems.
chatId and userId (and even messageId) by yourself. Of course, MessageHandler could automatically carry these values, and you can use those. However you should get the answer from the user, so...reply to your asking. TelegramBot automatically check user's reply and carry it to you directly. However, user's answer would not be a formal command. It could not be pre-defined, so this module just tosses whole message to your module to handle it by itself..ask() method supports sessionId. If some answer was replied from proper user(as TelegramBot thought), same sessionId which is used when you use .ask() will be carried. You should check that value and consider this message as answer of your previous question. Bot doesn't know when the dialog ends, so the once replied sessionId will be destroyed. It means if you need the additional or next step of the question, you should manage your sessionId by yourself.Let's see an example.
EXT_TELBOTCommands: function(commander) {
commander.add({
command: 'choice',
callback: 'askFunc'
})
},
askFunc : function(command, handler) {
//if command == choice, it would be first ask, if command == ask_again, it would be re-ask
var chatId = handler.message.chat.id
var userId = handler.message.from.id
var messageId = handler.message.message_id
var userName = handler.message.from.username
var sessionId = messageId + ":" + userId + ":" + chatId
this.session[sessionId] = handler //you should manage session for answer
var text = "Ok, @" + userName + ", What do you want? Please select 'on' or 'off'."
handler.ask("TEXT", text, {}, sessionId, this.answerFunc.bind(this))
}
Hmmmm... It looks not so difficult, does it?
Just asking is easy. Getting answer is difficult.
answerFunc: function(command, handler) {
var chatId = handler.message.chat.id
var userId = handler.message.from.id
var messageId = handler.message.message_id
var userName = handler.message.from.username
var sessionId = messageId + ":" + userId + ":" + chatId
var originalHandler
if (handler.sessionId && typeof handler.reply_to_message !== 'undefined') {
if(this.session.hasOwnProperty(handler.sessionId)) {
originalHandler = this.session[handler.sessionId]
if (originalHandler.message.message_id == handler.reply_to_message.message_id) {
var text = "I've got your answer..."
var youranswer = handler.message.text
if (isAnswerOn(youranswer)) {
doSomethingOn()
text += "I do something on as your wish."
handler.reply("TEXT", text)
} else if (isAnswerOff(youranswer)) {
doSomethingOff()
text += "I do something off as your wish."
handler.reply("TEXT", text)
} else {
text += "But, I cannot understand your answer. Can you reply once again?"
handler.reply("TEXT", text)
delete this.session[handler.sessionId]
this.askFunc("ask_again", handler)
return
}
} else {
var text = "You should not answer this question! This question was not for you."
handler.reply("TEXT", text)
this.askFunc("ask_again", originalHandler)
delete this.session[handler.sessionId]
}
} else {
var text = "I can't remember the question itself. I doubt it's already answered or too old."
handler.reply("TEXT", text)
return
}
} else {
var text = "It's weird. You can't arrive here."
handler.reply("TEXT", text)
return
}
delete this.session[handler.sessionId]
}
})
This code is not real executable, but you can understand how it goes.
My Suggestion: Don't design Dialog! It is more difficult than your thought.