AlexaOutput throws exception if regex special characters are present in a slot text

[ryanhollander]

Hi, If I try to build AlexaOutput with a $ symbol in the string, for example: AlexaOutput.ask("UtteranceKey").putSlot("slot1","$5.00"); the handler fails to error state with the exception: "io.klerch.alexa.tellask.util.AlexaRequestHandlerException: General error occured." A little debugging digs up the real issue: "java.lang.indexoutofboundsexception no group 3" which happens in the while loop starting on line 109 of AlexaSpeechletResponse.class in the method resolveSlotsInUtterance. This happens because the regex engine thinks "$5" is a token, it should be escaped before processing.

A workaround is to use "Matcher.quoteReplacement" in the input for the slot, for example:
AlexaOutput.ask("UtteranceKey").putSlot("slot1",Matcher.quoteReplacement("$5.00"));

While the workaround is sufficient for my purposes, it would be great if the library took care of this detail for me and I didn't have to worry about it. Thanks!

[KayLerch]

Hi Ryan,
sorry for replying so late. Thanks for pointing this out. I'll consider to add this in an upcoming version of Tellask which will also contain AudioPlayer-features and compatibility with States SDK 1.0.0.
Meanwhile, feel free to contribute your workaround as a PR.

[ryanhollander]

Kay, no worries, we are all busy bees. :-) I've submitted a pull request with a fix and test. Hope that helps! Looking forward to the next revision of this SDK, keep up the great work.
My Best,
-Ryan