FAQ

1. Where can I find the jar-file? The best way is to compile it yourself. To do so, you may use the provided build-file (Apache Ant). In Eclipse, you just right-click on build.xml and select "Run as" -> "Ant Build...". Now you select the main target. After a few minutes there should be a new directory called "build" where you can find the jar and war-files. Alternatively, some of the releases already contain the binaries.

2. How do I start Nadia? Open a console window (Linux/Mac terminal or Windows command prompt), go into the directory where your jar is located and type: "java -jar nadia.jar -i rest". This starts the server. Now you can open your browser: https://localhost:8080/nadia This will access an AJAX web front end that uses REST to communicate with the server.

3. Can I run Nadia on an application server? You can use the provided war-file and deploy it on a Tomcat or Jetty server.

4. Can I create my own front end? Yes, you can. The server communicates with any REST client. You can also use cURL to simulate front ends.

5. Does Nadia support multi-party dialogues? Not yet :-( Any contributions are welcome.

6. Can I run several dialogue instances at the same time? Yes. Whenever you initialise a new dialogue (e.g. bei reloading your browser window, calling https://localhost:8080/nadia in a new tab or creating a new dialogue with the REST-API) you will get a completely new dialogue. This allows several users to use Nadia at the same time. However, this is not a multi-party dialogue, because every dialogue has its own context.

7. Can I create my own dialogue? Of course. The Nadia dialogue engine just runs a dialogue description based on a dialogue model. This dialogue description is usually an XML file. It follows a syntax that is defined within the model. If you do not provide a dialogue description on startup, an example dialogue will be loaded (the one that you probably know). If you want to create your own dialog, use the nadia-model (see question 8) to create your own dialogue as XML-file. Then start Nadia with the command line parameter -f and type in the path to the XML file.

8. How can I run nadia-model (from the command line)? You can't. It is intended to be used as a library. Although there is a quick and dirty way: Extend the library with your own code, i.e. download the source code and create a new package with a new class with a main-method. Actually, I have already done that :-P Have a look at the package net.mmberg.nadia.test

But here's the intended way: Compile nadia-model as a jar-file, create a new Java project, include the nadia-model.jar and the two libraries (org.eclipse.persistence.core_2.4.1.v20121003-ad44345.jar, org.eclipse.persistence.moxy_2.4.1.v20121003-ad44345.jar) that you find in the lib-folder of nadia-model. Now create a new Java class with a main-method, code a new dialogue and don't forget to call the save-method. Then run the application within your IDE and an XML-file will be created.

9. I don't know how to begin coding the dialogue... Once you have setup your own Java project with the nadia-model library as described in question 8, create a new Java file with a main-method. Then follow these instructions: https://github.com/mmberg/nadia/wiki/Nadia-Dialogue-Description-(Dialogue-Model)