Wait-causing instructions
Some instructions make a request of a process external to TSM and cause the script to wait until that request is satisfied. In addition to causing a wait for a request to be satisfied, some of these instructions are also speech-flushing instructions and so may cause a wait for speech to finish playing before they are executed.
The wait-causing instructions are listed below.
- The dbase instruction sends a message to a DIP and may wait for a return message. The dbase instruction does not cause a wait if it is used to send a message to a DIP and not to receive one in return. (In this case, the number of bytes expected for the return message is set to a negative integer.) The timeout period for dbase is 45 seconds by default. Change this timeout period with the nwitime instruction.
- If the getinput instruction is executed specifying a number of digits greater than that which has already been entered by the caller, the script waits for the required number of digits to be entered. Use the ttdelim instruction to set delineators that allow getinput to accept variable length digit strings without waiting for a timeout. Two timeouts affect the getinput instruction: an initial timeout and an interdigit timeout. Both of these timeouts are five seconds by default. Change the default timeout with the tttime instruction. Interdigit timeout applies to touch-tone input and WholeWord speech recognition.
- The phreserve instruction is used to reserve space in a talkfile for a phrase. The script waits for a message from the voice system to complete the request. The timeout period for phreserve is 45 seconds by default. Change the timeout value with the nwitime instruction.
- The resource_alloc instruction may cause a wait if the optional mode argument is used to wait for a resource if it is not immediately available.
- The sleep instruction causes the script to wait for the specified number of seconds before continuing. The nap instruction causes the script to wait for the specified number of centiseconds (hundredths of a second).
- The sr_talkoff instruction waits until the barge-in capability is turned on or off for speech recognition before returning to the script.
- The talkresume instruction is used to play speech that is remembered for the channel (that is, played with the third flag of the tflush instruction set to 1). As with tflush, there is no timeout required for this instruction. The voice system informs TSM when the playing has completed.
- The tic instruction has several functions that constitute the interface between the script and the telephone network. Most tic functions cause a wait condition while the function is being completed. The timeout period for tic is 45 seconds by default. Change this timeout value with the nwitime instruction or modify it implicitly by some tic functions (see the tic instruction for more details).
- The tstop instruction is used to stop all speech playing or coding activity on the channel. Depending on what argument is passed to tstop, the script may wait for a message indicating that such activity has stopped before continuing. The timeout period for tstop is 45 seconds by default. Change this timeout period with the nwitime instruction.
- The vc instruction is used to do voice coding (recording speech from the caller). Two timeouts affect the vc instruction: an initial silence timeout and an interword silence timeout. Both of these timeouts are five seconds by default. Change this timeout period with the vctime instruction.
