Help:Automation
That means that this article contains information intended to advise or aid on the functions of the wiki, on how to use the wiki, or on general recommendations for users of the wiki.
Unlike many other wikis, such as Wikipedia, the VDC, as a site focused on programming in relation to certain games and engines, can benefit greatly from automatic gathering and formatting of much of the data that these engines use. Automation can also greatly help with tasks such as applying and updating templates across pages.
This article delves into the realm of automation, exploring the usage of scripts and bots in streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency across the VDC.
Scripts
Scripts are fundamental to automation, enabling the automation of repetitive tasks and the execution of complex operations. This section will detail the types of scripts used in automation, their applications, and the programming languages most commonly employed for scripting.
Note:While AI can be used for some automation, it still often makes errors and needs specific prompts. Regular scripts are still recommended for most tasks.
The following scripts provide utility for task automation:
Entity Lists
Creating lists of entities is not difficult task; in fact, it is rather straightforward.
Warning:This script is useless if the format for the FGD file in the game is modified, for example in games using 
Strata Source. This script works with standard FGD files for all vanilla 
Source branches.Note:These scripts utilize a combination of Bash scripting and Unix/Linux command-line tools, such as grep, sed, and awkIssues
Bug:Sometimes the script adds entities to the wrong section (with a different prefix) [todo tested in?]Bug:Sometimes unnecessary spaces may be added [todo tested in?]For Source FGD's
The Script[1]
- Uses grep -i '^\(@solidclass\|@pointclass\|@NPCClass\)' "$1" to filter lines from the input file that start with @solidclass, @pointclass, or @NPCClass.
- Creates sections based on the prefixes extracted from the processed lines. It uses an associative array declare -A seen to keep track of prefixes that have already been processed. This ensures that each prefix corresponds to a single section.
- Uses *{{ent|$result}} to format the processed lines as wiki entries.
- The section headers are formatted as ===%s_*=== where %s is replaced with the prefix. For example, if the prefix is foo, the section header will be ===foo_*===. Each processed line is then added under the appropriate section.
- Handles unincluded lines by appending them to a separate "Unincluded" section at the end of the output file. This ensures that all lines are accounted for, even if they don't fit the criteria for the other sections.
Usage
Source-FGD-Ent-List-VDC-2.sh <input> <output>
Pages created using this script
- List of Fistful of Frags entities
- List of Heart of Evil: Source entities
- List of Grey entities
- List of Wilson Chronicles entities
For 
GoldSrc FGD's
The Script[2]
- The logic is the same as the Source script
- Uses grep -i '^\(@solidclass\|@pointclass\)' "$1" to filter lines from the input file that start with @solidclass, @pointclass, or @NPCClass.
- Uses *{{ent|$result_(GoldSrc)|alt=$result}} to format the processed lines as wiki entries.
Usage
GoldSrc-FGD-Ent-List-VDC-2.sh <input> <output>
Pages created using this script
- List of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Deleted Scenes entities
- List of James Bond 007: Nightfire entities
- List of Paranoia entities
- List of Cry of Fear entities
Bots
Bots are automated software agents designed to perform repetitive or time-consuming tasks, sometimes in response to certain triggers or conditions. On this site they are usually dedicated to certain onetime tasks, such as removing instances of a deprecated template.
This is a table of bots that currently exist on this site.
| Bot | Operator | Framework | Purpose | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VDCBot |  Valve |
N/A | A range of automated cleanup assignments. | Active (intermittently) |
| CrematorBot | PabloS | N/A | Deleting pages | Active (intermittently?) |
| DiscussionRepairBot | ? | N/A | Remove instances of Template:Message. | Inactive , the bot has served it's purpose. |
| Nesciuse | Nescius | N/A | Updating language templates | Active |
| PIPEbot | Mailmanmicky |  Pywikibot |
N/A | Inactive , unlikely to ever become active. |
| WisdomBot | Wisdurm |  DotNetWikiBot |
Updating templates among other things. | Inactive |
| AveaBot | Noug4at |  AutoWikiBrowser Pywikibot |
Updating deprecated templates, optimizing pages, categorization & adding templates. See more at it's user page. | Inactive |
| PeeBot | Pee | DotNetWikiBot |
Fixing redirects, updating templates, helping with template creation and possibly more. | Active (intermittently) |
See also
- Help:Page Creation (Basics)
- Bots (Wikipedia)
- ChatGPT (Wikipedia)
- Bot operators in the VDC (Category)
- Bot accounts on the VDC (Category)
External links
- Bot (Wikimedia)
- Bot policy (Wikimedia)
- Bots (Mediawiki)
References
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