Programming the Microsoft Bot Framework: A Multiplatform Approach to Building Chatbots

Introduction

Microsoft first introduced the Bot Framework on March 30th 2016, during their annual Build developer conference. Essentially, the Bot Framework lets developers build apps, called chatbots, that surface in common messaging apps. To get started, you can open your favorite messaging app, such as Messenger, Skype, or Slack and add chatbots to your friends list. You can then interact with the chatbot with buttons, cards, or text for nearly any type of application. The difference is that the chatbot excels at conversational communication, rather than graphical, which can be very efficient. Developers can also write one chatbot with the Bot Framework and target a growing list of platforms, called channels. I’ve already mentioned a few messaging ...