Findout¶

Tala 31.0.1 XML element: a question-raising plan item. A findout asks the user or invokes the configured question source to resolve its question. It differs from raise, which raises an issue without imposing the same findout plan behavior.

Syntax¶

<findout type="wh_question" predicate="destination"/>

Attribute	Type	Default	Meaning
`type`	question type	`wh_question`	One of `goal`, `wh_question`, `kpq`, `alt_question`, or `yn_question`.
`predicate`	ontology predicate	—	Identifies a predicate-backed question when required by its type.
`allow_answer_from_pcom`	Boolean	`false`	Allows compatible answers from the user's previous commitments to be considered.
`alts_predicate`	ontology predicate	—	For a wh-question, supplies fact-backed alternatives from this predicate.

findout can be used in a goal plan, postplan, or a conditional plan. Its question form depends on type:

Type	Question content
`goal`	Asks which goal/action is relevant; no predicate is needed.
`wh_question`	Uses the named predicate, e.g. `predicate="destination"`.
`yn_question`	Uses a Boolean predicate or a proposition/goal child.
`alt_question`	Contains one or more `alt` children, each naming an alternative proposition or goal.
`kpq`	Contains an `embedded_question` describing the question whose answer is known.

Parents and question children¶

findout may appear in a <plan>, <postplan>, or a <then>/<else> plan inside <if>. Its question content can be supplied by attributes or by child elements:

Child	Use
`proposition`	Predicate proposition, commonly the content of a yes/no question.
`perform`	Perform-goal alternative, including a yes/no action question.
`resolve`	Resolve-goal alternative.
`alt`	Wraps an explicit alternative; repeat for each alternative.
`embedded_question`	The embedded question of a KPQ.

A KPQ embeds the question whose knowledge is being checked:

<findout type="kpq">
  <embedded_question type="wh_question" predicate="destination"/>
</findout>

Behavior¶

The DME raises the question represented by the plan item. When the DDD has question parameters, the configured domain/service query and question parameters may determine the answers or wording. allow_answer_from_pcom allows a compatible answer in the user's previous commitments to be reused; TDM applies its confidence and grounding rules before integrating that answer.

For a wh-question with alts_predicate, TDM collects positive known facts for that predicate. A single fact can be posed as a yes/no question; multiple facts can be posed as an alternative question. Define the ontology predicate with multiple_instances="true" when the domain needs to retain several values for it. A configured max_spoken_alts can limit the alternatives that are presented.

XML compatibility caveat: Tala 31.0.1's XSD declares allow_answer_from_pcom as Boolean, but the XML compiler tests attribute presence rather than its value. Omit the attribute to disable reuse and use allow_answer_from_pcom="true" to enable it; do not write allow_answer_from_pcom="false" in XML. DDD JSON uses a Boolean and does not have this presence-only behavior.

Examples¶

WH and yes/no questions:

<findout type="wh_question" predicate="destination"/>
<findout type="yn_question" predicate="need_visa"/>
<findout type="goal"/>

Explicit alternatives, where each alternative is a question or goal proposition:

<findout type="alt_question">
  <alt><resolve type="wh_question" predicate="monthly_payment"/></alt>
  <alt><resolve type="wh_question" predicate="interest_rate"/></alt>
</findout>

An alternative may also be a perform goal:

<findout type="yn_question">
  <perform action="call_contact_from_history"/>
</findout>

KPQ in DDD JSON uses a nested question object:

{
  "findout": {
    "question": {
      "kpq": {"question": {"wh": {"predicate": "destination"}}}
    }
  }
}

Fact-backed alternatives and prior-commitment reuse:

<findout type="wh_question" predicate="animal"
         alts_predicate="available_animal"
         allow_answer_from_pcom="true"/>

DDD JSON equivalent for a basic wh-question:

{"findout": {"question": {"wh": {"predicate": "destination"}}}}

See domain XML, DDD JSON, and Alternatives for additional alternative-question forms.

Tala reference and tests¶

XML parsing/defaults: tala/ddd/ddd_xml_compiler.py
JSON compilation: tala/ddd/ddd_json_compiler.py
Plan item model: tala/model/plan_item.py
Tala tests: tala/ddd/test/test_ddd_xml_compiler.py and tala/ddd/test/test_ddd_json_compiler.py