OpenAIChatHelper

The chat helper allow to keep a list of messages in memory and make consecutive prompt.

Properties

Property Name	Type	Default Value	Description
chat	OpenAIChatAPI	-	The chat API instance used for communication with OpenAI.
systemPrompt	OpenAIMessage	-	The system prompt message that guides the chat assistant's responses.
numberOfMessages	Integer	15	The maximum number of messages to retain in the chat history.
parameters	OpenAIChatCompletionsParameters	-	The parameters for the OpenAI chat completion request.
messages	Collection of OpenAIMessage	[]	The collection of messages exchanged in the chat session.
tools	Collection of OpenAITool	[]	List of registered OpenAI tools for function calling.
autoHandleToolCalls	Boolean	True	Boolean indicating whether tool calls are handled automatically using registered tools.
lastErrors	Collection	-	Collection containing the last errors encountered during chat operations.

Constructor

To create a new OpenAIChatHelper instance, it's best to use the create() method from the OpenAI client's chat API:

var $chatHelper:=$client.chat.create("You are a helpful assistant.")

This method creates a new chat helper with the specified system prompt and initializes it with default parameters. The system prompt defines the assistant's role and behavior throughout the conversation.

Functions

prompt()

prompt(prompt : Text) : OpenAIChatCompletionsResult

Parameter	Type	Description
prompt	Text	The text prompt to send to OpenAI chat.
Function result	OpenAIChatCompletionsResult	The completion result returned by the chat.

Sends a user prompt to the chat and returns the corresponding completion result.

Example Usage

var $result:=$chatHelper.prompt("Hello, how can I help you today?")
$result:=$chatHelper.prompt("Why 42?")

reset()

reset()

Resets the chat context by clearing all messages and unregistering all tools. This effectively starts a fresh conversation while keeping the system prompt and parameters intact.

Reset Example

$chatHelper.prompt("Hello!")
$chatHelper.reset()  // Clear all previous messages and tools

registerTool()

registerTool(tool : Object; handler : Variant)

Parameter	Type	Description
tool	Object	The tool definition object (or OpenAITool instance)
handler	Object	The function to handle tool calls (4D.Function or Object), optional if defined inside tool as handler property

Registers a tool with its handler function for automatic tool call handling.

The handler parameter can be:

• A 4D.Function: Direct handler function
• An Object: An object containing a formula property matching the tool function name

The handler function receives an object containing the parameters passed from the OpenAI tool call. This object contains key-value pairs where the keys match the parameter names defined in the tool's schema, and the values are the actual arguments provided by the AI model.

Register Tool Examples

// Example 1: Simple registration with direct handler
var $tool:={type: "function"; function: {name: "get_weather"; description: "Get current weather"; parameters: {type: "object"; properties: {location: {type: "string"; description: "City name"}}}}}
var $handler:=Formula(return "Sunny, 25°C in "+$1.location)

$chatHelper.registerTool($tool; $handler)

// Example 2: Tool with handler property (no second parameter needed)
var $tool:={name: "calculate"; description: "Perform calculations"; handler: Formula(return String(Num($1.expression)))}
$chatHelper.registerTool($tool)

// Example 3: Using object notation
$chatHelper.registerTool({tool: $tool; handler: $handler})

// Example 4: Handler as object with formula matching tool name
var $tool:={name: "getTime"; description: "Get current time"}
var $handlerObj:=cs.MyTimeTool.new() // class with a getTime function
$chatHelper.registerTool($tool; $handlerObj)

registerTools()

registerTools(toolsWithHandlers : Variant)

Parameter	Type	Description
toolsWithHandlers	Variant	Object or Collection containing tools and their handlers

Registers multiple tools at once. The parameter can be:

• Collection: Array of tool objects (with handlers embedded or separate)
• Object: Object with function names as keys mapping to tool definitions
• Object with tools attribute: Object containing a tools collection and formula properties matching tool names

Register Multiple Tools Examples

Example 1: Collection format with handlers in tools

var $weatherTool:={name: "getWeather"; description: "Get current weather"; handler: Formula(return "Sunny, 25°C in "+$1.location)}
var $calculatorTool:={name: "calculate"; description: "Perform calculations"; handler: Formula(return String(Num($1.expression)))}

$chatHelper.registerTools([$weatherTool; $calculatorTool])

Example 2: Object format with separate tool and handler

var $toolsWithSeparateHandlers:={}
$toolsWithSeparateHandlers.getWeather:={tool: $weatherToolDefinition; handler: $weatherHandler}
$toolsWithSeparateHandlers.calculate:={tool: $calculatorToolDefinition; handler: $calculatorHandler}

$chatHelper.registerTools($toolsWithSeparateHandlers)

Example 3: Object with tools collection attribute and formula properties

MyTools class:

Class constructor
    this.tools:=[{name: "getWeather"; description: "Get current weather"}; \
                 {name: "getTime"; description: "Get current time"}]  // Collection of tool definitions

Function getWeather($parameters: Object)
    return "Sunny, 25°C"

Function getTime($parameters: Object)
    return String(Current time)

$chatHelper.registerTools(cs.MyTools.new())

Example 4: Simple object format with tools as properties

var $tools:={}
$tools.getWeather:=$weatherTool  // Tool with handler property
$tools.calculate:=$calculatorTool  // Tool with handler property

$chatHelper.registerTools($tools)

unregisterTool()

unregisterTool(functionName : Text)

Parameter	Type	Description
functionName	Text	The name of the function tool to unregister

Unregisters a specific tool by its function name. This removes the tool from the registered tools collection, clears its handler, and removes it from the parameters.

Unregister Tool Example

$chatHelper.registerTool($weatherTool; $weatherHandler)
$chatHelper.unregisterTool("get_weather")  // Remove the weather tool

unregisterTools()

unregisterTools()

Unregisters all tools at once. This clears all tool handlers, empties the tools collection, and removes all tools from the parameters.

Unregister All Tools Example

$chatHelper.registerTools($multipleTools)
$chatHelper.unregisterTools()  // Remove all tools