BDK 2.0

Summary

• ​Description​

• ​Installation​

• ​Configuration​

• ​Authentication​

• ​Datafeed Management​

• ​Orchestrating Workflows​

• ​Managing Multiple Bots​

• ​Activities API​

• ​User, Message, & Room Management​

• ​Message Templating​

• ​SpringBoot Integration​

Description

The BDK 2.0 is the latest version of the Symphony Bot Developer Kit, a library of tools and intelligent API bindings that provides an ultra simplified configuration and authentication setup, intuitive message and room management, customizable message templating, and a new activities API that makes it easy to facilitate bot workflows. The BDK is released in 2 languages: Java and Python (Beta). Continue here to learn how the BDK 2.0 can help power your Symphony bots and integrations today!

• The Java BDK 2.0 Github repo can be found here: https://github.com/finos/symphony-bdk-java​

• The Python BDK 2.0 (Beta) Github repo can be found here: https://github.com/SymphonyPlatformSolutions/symphony-api-client-python/tree/2.0-rc​

• The Java BDK 2.0 Certification course can be found here: https://learn.symphony.com/bundles/java-bot-developer​

• The Python BDK 2.0 Certification course will be available soon

Installation

The easiest way to access the BDK 2.0 and build bots on top of the BDK 2.0 is through the Symphony Bot Generator.

1. Install the Symphony Bot Generator:

$ npm i -g generator-symphony

1. Create a new directory and navigate inside:

$ mkdir bdk-bot && cd bdk-bot

2. Run the generator:

$ yo symphony 2.0

You should see the following:

Configuration

Once installed, the next step is to configure your new Symphony bot using the Symphony Bot Generator. In the command line, enter the information for your Symphony environment and bot metadata. For example:

After pressing enter, the Symphony Bot Generator will generate a RSA public/private key pair and generate your bot project scaffold. Open your generated project in your Java IDE of choice and navigate to the generated config.yaml file:

host: develop2.symphony.com
​
bot:
  username: bdk2-bot
  privateKeyPath: /Users/reed.feldman/bdk-bot/src/main/resources/rsa/privatekey.pem

By the default this configuration file is generated, however you can customize this file to meet the specifications of your symphony environment. The following configuration properties can be added to this config.yaml file:

Basic Configuration Structure

Datafeed Configuration Structure

Retry Configuration Structure

An example customized configuration file is seen below:

scheme: https
host: localhost.symphony.com
port: 8443
​
pod:
  host: dev.symphony.com
  port: 443
​
agent:
  context: agent
​
keyManager:
  host: dev-key.symphony.com
  port: 8444
​
sessionAuth:
  host: dev-session.symphony.com
  port: 8444
​
bot:
  username: bot-name
  privateKeyPath: path/to/private-key.pem
  certificatePath: /path/to/bot-certificate.p12
  certificatePassword: changeit
​
ssl:
  trustStorePath: /path/to/all_symphony_certs_truststore
  trustStorePassword: changeit
​
app:
  appId: app-id
  privateKeyPath: path/to/private-key.pem
​
datafeed:
  version: v1
  retry:
    maxAttempts: 6
    initialIntervalMillis: 2000
    multiplier: 1.5
    maxIntervalMillis: 10000
​
retry:
  maxAttempts: 6
  initialIntervalMillis: 2000
  multiplier: 1.5
  maxIntervalMillis: 10000

Authentication

Authenticating your bot is made simple when using the BDK 2.0. Once you have your bot and Symphony environment properly configured, the generated code provides an out of the box implementation for authenticating your bot:

final SymphonyBdk bdk = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromClasspath("/config.yaml"));

By instantiating a new SymphonyBdk instance with your config.yaml file, the BDK loads in your config and authenticates your bot. Once authenticated, your bot is ready to leverage the REST APIs in order to create rich automations and workflows on Symphony.

OBO Authentication

The BDK 2.0 also supports OBO (On-Behalf-Of) pattern of authentication, allowing an authenticated bot + extension application to perform operations on behalf of a given user. The BDK's implementation makes it easy to perform the following operations on behalf of a given user:

• List the streams of a given user

• Initiate connection requests to and determine connection status with other users

• Get the presence state of other connected users

• Initiate IMs and MIMs with other users

• Send messages and attachments

• Set the context user's own presence

To leverage an OBO based workflow, simply instantiate an OBO Session in your bot project. The BDK 2.0 allows you to instantiate your OBO session from a username or user ID. Once authenticated bots can perform any of the OBO workflows listed above:

 // setup SymphonyBdk facade object
 final SymphonyBdk bdk = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromSymphonyDir("config.yaml"));
​
 //authenticate on-behalf-of a given user
 final AuthSession oboSessionUsername = bdk.obo("user.name");
 final AuthSession oboSessionUserId = bdk.obo(123456789L);
​
 // list streams OBO user "user.name"
 bdk.streams().listStreams(oboSessionUsername, new StreamFilter());

Managing Multiple Bots

The BDK 2.0 makes it easy to manage multiple bot instances within a single project. As long as you have unique configuration files that correspond to different service accounts, you can manage multiple bot instances from a centralized source. To do so, simply instantiate multiple bot instances of the SymphonyBDK class within your bot project:

// Bot #1
final SymphonyBdk bot1 = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromClasspath("/config_1.yaml"));
​
//Bot #2
final SymphonyBdk bot2 = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromClasspath("/config_2.yaml"));

Datafeed Management

The BDK 2.0 provides an DatafeedService interface that makes it easier than ever for bots to manage real-time messages and events. The DatafeedService interface provides the following methods for your bot to use:

For bots to listen to incoming events and messages, bots must subscribe to a custom RealTimeEventListener. This RealTimeEventListener class must implement eventType methods (e.g. onMessageSent()) along with custom business logic inside.

When a user sends a bot a message, the bot will pick up the event from the datafeed and check to see if an implemented eventType method matches the eventType (MESSAGESENT) of the inbound event. If there is a corresponding eventType method registered, the bot will execute the business logic inside of this eventType method. Otherwise the bot will not perform an action and will continue to listen for inbound events from the datafeed. An example implementation is provided out of the box by the BDK 2.0:

 // subscribe to "onMessageSent" real-time event
    bdk.datafeed().subscribe(new RealTimeEventListener() {
​
      @Override
      public void onMessageSent(V4Initiator initiator, V4MessageSent event) {
        // on a message sent, the bot replies with "Hello, {User Display Name}!"
        bdk.messages().send(event.getMessage().getStream(), "<messageML>Hello, " + initiator.getUser().getDisplayName() + "!</messageML>");
      }
    });

Below is a full list of methods provided by the RealTimeEventListener class and their corresponding eventTypes. Implement the following methods in order to listen for a given Symphony event:

For more information on the Symphony datafeed continue here:

Orchestrating Workflows with the BDK 2.0

A Symphony workflow can be thought of as a sequence of operations or a repeatable pattern of activities that are organized together in order to transform data, provide a service, or process information. Each of these operations or activities may be completed by a single user, shared between a bot and a user, or shared between multiple actors including bots, users, and even third party systems.

By providing an intuitive Activities API, the BDK 2.0 makes it simple to define a set of discrete operations or activities for different actors in your system to execute. Ultimately, these activities constitute the building blocks for a powerful Symphony workflow automation.

Once you have defined a discrete set of activities for different actors in your system to execute, the next step is to organize them together in an intelligent way. The BDK 2.0 provides a powerful Workflow API (coming soon) that makes it easy to organize a sequence of activities together, and subsequently orchestrate a Symphony workflow.

Activities API

The BDK 2.0 provides a new Activities API, an interface that makes it easy to manage user-to-bot interactions or activities. Specifically, the Activities API provides easy access to message and room context, initiator metadata, and an intuitive way to interact with the datafeed, making it easy for bots to listen and reply to different Symphony events. The methods and logic provided by the Activities API allows for granular control over the entire user-to-bot interaction. This encapsulated logic is easily reused, forming the discrete building blocks of a Symphony workflow automation.

Registering Activities

In order to register activities for your bot instance, you must leverage the ActivityRegistry class:

public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    // Create BDK entry point
    final SymphonyBdk bdk = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromSymphonyDir("config.yaml"));
    // Access to the registry for activities
    final ActivityRegistry registry = bdk.activities();
  }

There are two different types of activities supported by the BDK:

• Command Activity: an activity triggered when a message is sent in an IM, MIM, or Chatroom.

• Form Activity: an activity triggered when a user replies to an Elements form message.

Command Activities

A command-based activity is triggered when a message is sent in an IM, MIM, or Chatroom. Using the Activities API allows developers to register commands in the following formats:

1. @bdk2-bot /buy (Slash command with a bot @mention)

final SymphonyBdk bdk = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromSymphonyDir("config.yaml"));
​
    bdk.activities().register(new SlashCommand.slash("/buy",    // (1)
                                               true,        // (2)
                                               context -> { // (3)
​
      log.info("Hello slash command triggered by user {}", context.getInitiator().getUser().getDisplayName());
    }));

1. /buy 1000 goog (Slash command without a bot @mention)

final SymphonyBdk bdk = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromSymphonyDir("config.yaml"));
​
    bdk.activities().register(new SlashCommand.slash("/buy" + " (.+)",    // (1)
                                               false,        // (2)
                                               context -> { // (3)
​
      //log the ticker symbol entered by the user
      log.info(context.getTextContent().split(" ")[2]);
    }));

1. Listen for the word 'hello' (Not a Slash command - Listen for a specific word)

public class BotApplication {
​
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    // setup SymphonyBdk facade object
    final SymphonyBdk bdk = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromSymphonyDir("config.yaml"));
    // register Hello Command within the registry
    bdk.activities().register(new HelloCommandActivity());
    // finally, start the datafeed loop
    bdk.datafeed().start();
  }
}
​
class HelloCommandActivity extends CommandActivity<CommandContext> {
​
  private final MessageService messageService;
​
  @Override
  protected ActivityMatcher<CommandContext> matcher() {
    return c -> c.getTextContent().contains("hello"); // (1)
  }
​
  @Override
  protected void onActivity(CommandContext context) {
    log.info("Hello command triggered by user {}", context.getInitiator().getUser().getDisplayName()); // (2)
    this.messageService.send(context.getSourceEvent().getStream(), "<messageML> Hello " + context.getInitiator().getUser().getDisplayName()) + "</messageML>");
​
  }
​
  @Override
  protected ActivityInfo info() {
    final ActivityInfo info = ActivityInfo.of(ActivityType.COMMAND); // (3)
    info.setName("Hello Command");
    return info;
  }
}

Form Activities

The Activities API also makes it easy for Bots to listen for elements form submissions. Assume the following elements form has been posted into a room with the following attributes:

• form id = "hello-form"

• <text-field> name = "name"

• form contains an action button

<messageML>
    <h2>Hello Form</h2>
    <form id="hello-form"> <!-- (1) -->
​
        <text-field name="name" placeholder="Enter a name here..."/> <!-- (2) -->
​
        <button name="submit" type="action">Submit</button> <!-- (3) -->
        <button type="reset">Reset Data</button>
​
    </form>
</messageML>

In order to register a form activity or listen for an incoming elements form submission, bots must register a class that extends the FormReplyActivity class:

public class Example {
​
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    // setup SymphonyBdk facade object
    final SymphonyBdk bdk = new SymphonyBdk(loadFromSymphonyDir("config.yaml"));
    // register Hello FormReply Activity within the registry
    bdk.activities().register(new HelloFormReplyActivity(bdk.messages()));
    // finally, start the datafeed loop
    bdk.datafeed().start();
  }
}
​
class HelloFormReplyActivity extends FormReplyActivity<FormReplyContext> {
​
  private final MessageService messageService;
​
  public HelloFormReplyActivity(MessageService messageService) {
    this.messageService = messageService;
  }
​
  @Override
  protected ActivityMatcher<FormReplyContext> matcher() {
    return c -> "hello-form".equals(c.getFormId()) && "submit".equals(c.getFormValue("action")); // (1)
  }
​
  @Override
  protected void onActivity(FormReplyContext context) {
    final String message = "Hello, " + context.getFormValue("name") + "!"; // (2)
    this.messageService.send(context.getSourceEvent().getStream(), "<messageML>" + message + "</messageML>");
  }
​
  @Override
  protected ActivityInfo info() {
    final ActivityInfo info = ActivityInfo.of(ActivityType.FORM);
    info.setName("Hello Form Reply Activity");
    return info;
  }
}

As shown above, the Activities API makes it simple to manage incoming commands, elements form submissions, and access message context making it easy to manage bot-user interactions and create custom workflows.

User, Message, & Room Management

As shown above, the BDK 2.0 makes it easy to create a datafeed and listen for events through the RealTimeEventListener class. In addition, this class makes it easy to access user, message, and room data in context. Each eventType method is implemented with instances of V4Initiator and V4MessageSent objects:

public void onMessageSent(V4Initiator initiator, V4MessageSent event)

Use the V4Initiator class methods to access the the user data in context:

Use the V4MessageSent class methods to access message data in context:

Use the V4MessageSent class methods to access stream data in context:

Managing Context through Activities API

The Activities API also makes it easy to access relevant user, message, and stream data in context. CommandActivity classes have access to to this data through the CommandContext class. This class is instantiated with instances of V4Initiator and V4MessageSent objects. Bots are able access to the user, message, and stream data in context through the same methods shown above. Leverage these methods within the onActivity() method shown below:

@Override
  protected void onActivity(CommandContext context) {
    log.info("Hello command triggered by user {}", context.getInitiator().getUser().getDisplayName()); // (2)
  }

FormActivity classes have access to relevant user, form, and stream data through the FormReplyContext class. This class is instantiated with instances of the V4Initiator and V4SymphonyElementsAction class. The V4SymphonyElementsAction class provides the following methods to access form data in context:

@Override
  protected void onActivity(FormReplyContext context) {
    final String message = "You entered " + context.SourceEvnent().getFormValues() + ".";
    this.messageService.send(context.getSourceEvent().getStream(), "<messageML>" + message + "</messageML>");
  }

Message Templating

The BDK 2.0 also supports custom and built in message templating. The BDK 2.0 is agnostic to what templating library developers choose, with support for FreeMarker templates, handlebars, and more. In order to use message templating, you must leverage the TemplateEngine class provided by the BDK. Implement the newBuiltInTemplate() method to reuse an simple messageML template:

protected void onActivity(CommandContext context) {
    try {
        if (context.getTextContent().equals("template")) {
            Template template = TemplateEngine.getDefaultImplementation().newBuiltInTemplate("simpleMML");
            final String templateMessage = template.process(new HashMap<String, String>() {{
                put("message", "This is a simple templated message");
            }});
            messageService.send(context.getStreamId(), templateMessage);
        }
    }
​
    catch (TemplateException te) {
                log.error(te.getMessage());
        }
}

If you wish to build your own custom message template, you must implement one of the newTemplate() methods provided by the TemplateEngine class:

• newBuiltInTemplate()

• newTemplateFromFile()

• newTemplateFromClasspath()

• newTemplateFromUrl()

The following shows an implementation of the newTemplateFromClasspath() method:

protected void onActivity(CommandContext context) {
    try {
        if (context.getTextContent().equals("template2")){
            Template template2 = TemplateEngine.getDefaultImplementation().newTemplateFromClasspath("/templates/customTemplate.ftl");
            final String templateMessage2 = template2.process(new HashMap<String, String>(){{
                put("message", "Hello World");
            }});
            messageService.send(context.getStreamId(), templateMessage2);
        }
    }
    catch (TemplateException te) {
        log.error(te.getMessage());
    }
}

The corresponding FreeMarker template is shown below:

<messageML>${message} from custom template !</messageML>

SpringBoot Integration

The BDK 2.0's SpringBoot integration provides out of the box class annotations, making it easy to configure your bot's datafeed listeners and register command activities. To do so, you must create an entry point for your bot by creating a BotApplication.java class:

@SpringBootApplication
public class BotApplication {
​
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(Application.class, args);
    }
}

@Component

Now you can create a component for bot applications by annotating classes with the @Component annotation:

@Component
public class HelloBot {
​
  @Autowired
  private MessageService messageService;
​
  @EventListener
  public void onMessageSent(RealTimeEvent<V4MessageSent> event) {
    this.messageService.send(event.getSource().getMessage().getStream(), "<messageML>Hello!</messageML>");
  }
}

@EventListener

The Core Starter uses Spring Events to deliver Real Time Events.

You can subscribe to any Real Time Event from anywhere in your application by creating a handler method with two conditions:

• Be annotated with @EventListener​

• Have a com.symphony.bdk.spring.events.RealTimeEvent<T> parameter

@Slf4j
@Component
public class RealTimeEventsDemo {
​
  @EventListener
  public void onMessageSent(RealTimeEvent<V4MessageSent> event) {
    log.info(event.toString());
  }
​
  @EventListener
  public void onUserJoined(RealTimeEvent<V4UserJoinedRoom> event) {
    log.info(event.toString());
  }
​
  @EventListener
  public void onUserLeft(RealTimeEvent<V4UserLeftRoom> event) {
    log.info(event.toString());
  }
}

@Slash

You can easily register a slash command using the @Slash annotation. Note that the CommandContext is mandatory to successfully register your command. If not defined, a warn message will appear in your application log:

@Component
public class SlashHello {
​
  @Slash("/hello")
  public void onHello(CommandContext commandContext) {
    log.info("On /hello command");
  }
​
  @Slash(value = "/hello", mentionBot = false)
  public void onHelloNoMention(CommandContext commandContext) {
    log.info("On /hello command (bot has not been mentioned)");
  }
}

Activities

Any service or component class that extends FormReplyActivity or CommandActivity will be automatically registered within the ActivityRegistry

@Slf4j
@Component
public class GifFormActivity extends FormReplyActivity<FormReplyContext> {
​
  @Autowired
  private MessageService messageService;
​
  @Slash("/gif")
  public void displayGifForm(CommandContext context) throws TemplateException {
    this.messageService.send(context.getStreamId(), "/templates/gif.ftl", emptyMap());
  }
​
  @Override
  public ActivityMatcher<FormReplyContext> matcher() {
    return context -> "gif-category-form".equals(context.getFormId())
        && "submit".equals(context.getFormValue("action"))
        && StringUtils.isNotEmpty(context.getFormValue("category"));
  }
​
  @Override
  public void onActivity(FormReplyContext context) {
    log.info("Gif category is \"{}\"", context.getFormValue("category"));
  }
​
  @Override
  protected ActivityInfo info() {
    return new ActivityInfo().type(ActivityType.FORM)
        .name("Gif Display category form command")
        .description("\"Form handler for the Gif Category form\"");
  }
}