VB.NET
VB.NET
Streaming AI with Manual AI Tool Function Calling
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Demonstrates how to get AI responses in streaming mode, including manual tool function calls.Chilkat VB.NET Downloads
Dim success As Boolean = False
' Create the following JSON to define tool functions available for the AI to use.
' Note: You'll use the following JSON format regardless of the AI provider, whether
' it be ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, etc. Chilkat automatically converts to the required
' format needed for a given AI provider.
' In this example, the application is providing a single function the AI may choose to call.
' {
' "tools": [
' {
' "name": "get_horoscope",
' "description": "Get today's horoscope for an astrological sign.",
' "parameters": {
' "properties": {
' "sign": {
' "type": "string",
' "description": "An astrological sign like Taurus or Aquarius"
' }
' }
' }
' }
' ]
' }
Dim jsonTools As New Chilkat.JsonObject
Dim toolIdx As Integer = 0
jsonTools.I = toolIdx
jsonTools.UpdateString("tools[i].name","get_horoscope")
jsonTools.UpdateString("tools[i].description","Get today's horoscope for an astrological sign.")
jsonTools.UpdateString("tools[i].parameters.properties.sign.type","string")
jsonTools.UpdateString("tools[i].parameters.properties.sign.description","An astrological sign like Taurus or Aquarius")
' More tools can be added as desired..
jsonTools.EmitCompact = False
Debug.WriteLine(jsonTools.Emit())
Dim ai As New Chilkat.Ai
' Register the tools that will be made available to the AI.
ai.RegisterManualTools(jsonTools)
' The provider can be "openai", "google", "claude", "grok", "mistral", "custom", etc.
ai.Provider = "openai"
' Use your provider's API key.
ai.ApiKey = "MY_API_KEY"
' Choose a model.
ai.Model = "gpt-5-mini"
' Tool function calling must always occur within a conversation.
Dim conversation_name As String = "convo_astrology"
Dim sysMessage As String = "You are a helpful astrologer"
Dim devMessage As String = "Respond only with markdown."
ai.NewConvo(conversation_name,sysMessage,devMessage)
' Provide inputs
ai.InputAddText("What is my horoscope? I am an Aquarius.")
' Get the response in streaming mode.
ai.Streaming = True
' In streaming mode, if we receive an AI event that is a request for tool use,
' we'll need to make the call to the JavaScript and then continue with a followup Ask,
' until the final response is received.
Dim sbEventName As New Chilkat.StringBuilder
Dim sbDelta As New Chilkat.StringBuilder
Dim sbFullResponse As New Chilkat.StringBuilder
' When PollAi returns with an event, it's highly unlikely the
' call to NextAiEvent does not immediately return. Setting a max
' timeout is just a precaution..
Dim maxWaitMs As Integer = 5000
Dim jsonFn As New Chilkat.JsonObject
Dim finished As Boolean = False
Dim numAsks As Integer = 0
' Set a max # of followup Asks to prevent any unexpected infinite looping.
While Not finished And (numAsks < 10)
' Send the request to the AI model.
success = ai.Ask("text")
If (success = False) Then
Debug.WriteLine(ai.LastErrorText)
Exit Sub
End If
Dim madeFunctionCalls As Boolean = False
Dim streamingDone As Boolean = False
While Not streamingDone
Dim result As Integer = ai.PollAi(False)
If (result < 0) Then
Debug.WriteLine(ai.LastErrorText)
Debug.WriteLine("Failed.")
Exit Sub
End If
If (result > 0) Then
' We have an event..
success = ai.NextAiEvent(maxWaitMs,sbEventName,sbDelta)
If (success = False) Then
Debug.WriteLine(ai.LastErrorText)
Exit Sub
End If
' Is this an event where the AI is requesting a function call?
If (sbEventName.ContentsEqual("function_call",True)) Then
jsonFn.LoadSb(sbDelta)
' Note: Chilkat will convert responses from all AI providers to this format:
' {
' "function_call": [
' {
' "name": "get_horoscope",
' "call_id": "call_RYmeysYQFocFc7Z2ofkv61dW",
' "arguments": "{\"sign\":\"Aquarius\"}",
' "args": {
' "sign": "Aquarius"
' }
' }
' ]
' }
Dim numFnCalls As Integer = jsonFn.SizeOfArray("function_call")
Dim fn_idx As Integer = 0
While (fn_idx < numFnCalls)
jsonFn.I = fn_idx
Dim sbFnName As New Chilkat.StringBuilder
jsonFn.StringOfSb("function_call[i].name",sbFnName)
Dim callId As String = jsonFn.StringOf("function_call[i].call_id")
If (sbFnName.ContentsEqual("get_horoscope",True) = True) Then
' The get_horoscope function (as defined above) has one argument named "sign".
Dim zodiac_sign As String = jsonFn.StringOf("function_call[i].args.sign")
Debug.WriteLine("zodiac_sign = " & zodiac_sign)
' Insert application code here to call your app's get_horoscope function, passing the zodiac_sign to it..
' For this example, we'll pretend the app's get_horoscope function returned the following:
Dim applicationFnCallResult As String = "Aquarius: Next Tuesday you will befriend a baby otter."
' Provide the tool call result as an input for the followup Ask.
ai.InputAddFnResult(callId,applicationFnCallResult)
madeFunctionCalls = True
End If
' Your application would add code to check for and handle each possible function call.
fn_idx = fn_idx + 1
End While
Else
If (Not sbEventName.ContentsEqual("empty",True)) Then
sbFullResponse.AppendSb(sbDelta)
If (sbEventName.ContentsEqual("null_terminator",True)) Then
streamingDone = True
End If
End If
End If
Else
' No event arrived, so wait a short time rather than spin in a loop..
ai.SleepMs(100)
End If
End While
If (Not madeFunctionCalls) Then
finished = True
End If
numAsks = numAsks + 1
End While
Debug.WriteLine("Full Response:")
Debug.WriteLine(sbFullResponse.GetAsString())