BotBuilder type error :Cannot read property 'listen' of undefined - botframework

Question

I'm following the official quick start of Microsoft Bot Builder(SDK v3) for NodeJs: Create a bot with the Bot Builder SDK for Node.js
1- I made a new project with
npm init
2- then
npm install --save botbuilder#3.13.1
3- then I created a new file "app.js"
var builder = require('botbuilder');
var connector = new builder.ConsoleConnector().listen();
var bot = new builder.UniversalBot(connector, function (session) {
session.send("You said: %s", session.message.text);
});
But when I run node app.js the following error is thrown:
var connector=builder.ConsoleConnector().listen(); TypeError:
Cannot read property 'listen' of undefined

Answer 1

You haven't assigned a storage option to your bot. The simplest option (for development only) is to use in memory storage. You're code should look like this:
var builder = require('botbuilder');
// Bot Storage: Here we register the state storage for your bot.
// Default store: volatile in-memory store - Only for prototyping!
var inMemoryStorage = new builder.MemoryBotStorage();
var connector = new builder.ConsoleConnector().listen();
var bot = new builder.UniversalBot(connector, function(session) {
session.send("You said: %s", session.message.text);
}).set('storage', inMemoryStorage); // Register in memory storage
That being said, please be aware that the v3 SDK is going to be DEPRECATED in the near future. It is advised that you start your development using the v4 Node SDK, instead. To get started, you can reference the docs here and review sample code here.
In short, in v4, you will utilize three files: index.js, bot.js, and consoleAdapter.js.
The index.js file essentially builds the server, api's, etc.
const path = require('path');
const {
ConsoleAdapter
} = require('./consoleAdapter');
// load environment variables from .env file.
const ENV_FILE = path.join(__dirname, '.env');
require('dotenv').config({
path: ENV_FILE
});
// Create the bot adapter, which is responsible for sending and receiving messages.
// We are using the ConsoleAdapter, which enables a bot you can chat with from within your terminal window.
const adapter = new ConsoleAdapter();
// Import our bot class.
const {
EchoBot
} = require('./bot');
const bot = new EchoBot();
// A call to adapter.listen tells the adapter to start listening for incoming messages and events, known as "activities."
// Activities are received as TurnContext objects by the handler function.
adapter.listen(async(context) => {
bot.onTurn(context);
});
// Emit a startup message with some instructions.
console.log('> Console EchoBot is online. I will repeat any message you send me!');
console.log('> Say "quit" to end.');
console.log(''); // Leave a blank line after instructions.
The bot.js file, generally, handles your bot's on[ActivityType] actions (e.g. onMessage()). In more complex bots, dialogs are extrapolated into their own files.
class EchoBot {
async onTurn(context) {
// Check to see if this activity is an incoming message.
// (It could theoretically be another type of activity.)
if(context.activity.type === 'message' && context.activity.text) {
// Check to see if the user sent a simple "quit" message.
if(context.activity.text.toLowerCase() === 'quit') {
// Send a reply.
context.sendActivity(`Bye!`);
process.exit();
} else {
// Echo the message text back to the user.
return context.sendActivity(`I heard you say "${ context.activity.text }"`);
}
}
}
}
module.exports.EchoBot = EchoBot;
Lastly, the consoleAdapter.js file is tasked with capturing the console activity and translating that to the bot.
'use strict';
var __importStar = (this && this.__importStar) || function(mod) {
if(mod && mod.__esModule) return mod;
var result = {};
if(mod != null)
for(var k in mod)
if(Object.hasOwnProperty.call(mod, k)) result[k] = mod[k];
result['default'] = mod;
return result;
};
Object.defineProperty(exports, '__esModule', {
value: true
});
const botbuilderCore = require('botbuilder-core');
const readline = __importStar(require('readline'));
const console = require('console');
/**
* Lets a user communicate with a bot from a console window.
*
*/
class ConsoleAdapter extends botbuilderCore.BotAdapter {
/**
* Creates a new ConsoleAdapter instance.
* #param reference (Optional) reference used to customize the address information of activities sent from the adapter.
*/
constructor(reference) {
super();
this.nextId = 0;
this.reference = Object.assign({
channelId: 'console',
user: {
id: 'user',
name: 'User1'
},
bot: {
id: 'bot',
name: 'Bot'
},
conversation: {
id: 'convo1',
name: '',
isGroup: false
},
serviceUrl: ''
}, reference);
}
/**
* Begins listening to console input. A function will be returned that can be used to stop the
* bot listening and therefore end the process.
*
* #param logic Function which will be called each time a message is input by the user.
*/
listen(logic) {
const rl = this.createInterface({
input: process.stdin,
output: process.stdout,
terminal: false
});
rl.on('line', (line) => {
// Initialize activity
const activity = botbuilderCore.TurnContext.applyConversationReference({
type: botbuilderCore.ActivityTypes.Message,
id: (this.nextId++).toString(),
timestamp: new Date(),
text: line
}, this.reference, true);
// Create context and run middleware pipe
const context = new botbuilderCore.TurnContext(this, activity);
this.runMiddleware(context, logic)
.catch((err) => {
this.printError(err.toString());
});
});
return() => {
rl.close();
};
}
/**
* Lets a bot proactively message the user.
*
* #param reference A `ConversationReference` saved during a previous message from a user. This can be calculated for any incoming activity using `TurnContext.getConversationReference(context.activity)`.
* #param logic A function handler that will be called to perform the bots logic after the the adapters middleware has been run.
*/
continueConversation(reference, logic) {
// Create context and run middleware pipe
const activity = botbuilderCore.TurnContext.applyConversationReference({}, reference, true);
const context = new botbuilderCore.TurnContext(this, activity);
return this.runMiddleware(context, logic)
.catch((err) => {
this.printError(err.toString());
});
}
/**
* Logs a set of activities to the console.
*
* #param context Context for the current turn of conversation with the user.
* #param activities List of activities to send.
*/
sendActivities(context, activities) {
const that = this;
// tslint:disable-next-line:promise-must-complete
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
const responses = [];
function next(i) {
if(i < activities.length) {
responses.push({});
const a = activities[i];
switch(a.type) {
case 'delay':
setTimeout(() => next(i + 1), a.value);
break;
case botbuilderCore.ActivityTypes.Message:
if(a.attachments && a.attachments.length > 0) {
const append = a.attachments.length === 1 ?
`(1 attachment)` : `(${ a.attachments.length } attachments)`;
that.print(`${ a.text } ${ append }`);
} else {
that.print(a.text || '');
}
next(i + 1);
break;
default:
that.print(`[${ a.type }]`);
next(i + 1);
break;
}
} else {
resolve(responses);
}
}
next(0);
});
}
/**
* Not supported for the ConsoleAdapter. Calling this method or `TurnContext.updateActivity()`
* will result an error being returned.
*/
updateActivity(context, activity) {
return Promise.reject(new Error(`ConsoleAdapter.updateActivity(): not supported.`));
}
/**
* Not supported for the ConsoleAdapter. Calling this method or `TurnContext.deleteActivity()`
* will result an error being returned.
*/
deleteActivity(context, reference) {
return Promise.reject(new Error(`ConsoleAdapter.deleteActivity(): not supported.`));
}
/**
* Allows for mocking of the console interface in unit tests.
* #param options Console interface options.
*/
createInterface(options) {
return readline.createInterface(options);
}
/**
* Logs text to the console.
* #param line Text to print.
*/
print(line) {
console.log(line);
}
/**
* Logs an error to the console.
* #param line Error text to print.
*/
printError(line) {
console.error(line);
}
}
exports.ConsoleAdapter = ConsoleAdapter;
The above code is taken from the 01.console-echo sample of the Botbuilder-Samples repo. I removed some inline commentary. Please refer to the project for the complete code/files and associated remarks.
Hope of help!