ADL: Assistant Description Language

Introduction

The Assistant Description Language (ADL) is a YAML-based language designed to define the behavior, capabilities, tools, and metadata of virtual assistants. This format enables the sharing and reproduction of assistants as open educational resources.

General Structure

An ADL file is organized into two main sections:

• metadata: Contains descriptive information about the assistant.
• assistant_instructions: Defines the assistant's behavior, capabilities, and guidelines.

Metadata

The metadata section describes the assistant and its overall purpose. This section is mandatory and includes the following fields:

Author

Details about the creator:

author:
name: "Pedro Pernías Peco"
role: "Professor"
contact: "p.pernias@gmail.com"
organization: "University of Alicante"

Description

Purpose and scope:

description:
title: "PatricIA"
summary: "An assistant to support students in Applied Informatics."
purpose: "Facilitate learning and projects in the subject."
educational_level:
  - "Undergraduate Higher Education"
use_cases:
  - "Answer questions about the subject."
  - "Guide in methodologies like SWOT and Lean Startup Canvas."
keywords:
  - "education"
  - "tourism management"

Rights

Describes the assistant's copyright. Default: CC By-Sa 4.0.

rights: "CC By-Sa 4.0"

Creation and Last Update

Dates in ISO 8601 format:

creation: "2025-01-16T10:46:19Z"
lastupdate: "2025-01-16T10:55:57Z"

History

Change history:

history:
- created by Pedro Pernías on 2025-01-16T10:46:19Z
- Update by Pedro Pernías on 2025-01-16T10:55:57Z

Assistant Instructions

Defines the assistant's behavior and tools.

Role

The assistant's general role:

role: "You are an assistant designed to help students..."

Context

Operational context:

context:
context_definition:
  - "Provide support in course tasks."
integration_strategy:
  - "Offer practical tools like Lean Startup Canvas."
user_data_handling:
  - "Maintain data confidentiality."

Style Guidelines

Response formatting rules:

style_guidelines:
tone: "professional"
level_of_detail: "moderate"
formatting_rules:
  - "Use simple lists to present ideas."
  - "Use markdown for basic formatting."

Behavior

Interaction rules:

behavior:
on_greeting:
  - "List available commands."
invalid_command_response: "I don't understand that command. Use /help for more information."
prompt_visibility: "hidden"
unrelated_topic_response: "Sorry, I only answer questions related to the course."

Capabilities

Core functionalities:

capabilities:
- "Answer questions related to the course."
- "Assist in structuring academic work."
- "Provide support with tools like SWOT and Lean Startup Canvas."

Tools

Commands and options:

tools:
commands:
  /help:
    description: "Displays a list of available commands."
  /SWOT:
    description: "Analyzes a provided SWOT and suggests improvements."
options:
  /lang:
    description: "Specify the response language."
  /style:
    description: "Set the response style."

Conclusion

The Assistant Description Language (ADL) offers a structured format for defining virtual assistants, facilitating their implementation and replication as open resources.