Table of Contents

Interface ITool

Namespace
AiDotNet.Interfaces
Assembly
AiDotNet.dll

Defines a tool that can be used by an agent to perform specific operations. Tools enable agents to interact with external systems, perform calculations, or access data.

public interface ITool

Remarks

For Beginners: Think of a tool as a specialized instrument in a toolbox. Just like a carpenter has different tools for different tasks (hammer for nails, saw for cutting), an AI agent has different tools for different operations (calculator for math, search for finding information, etc.).

Each tool has three key components:

  • Name: What the tool is called (e.g., "Calculator")
  • Description: What the tool does and when to use it
  • Execute: The actual operation the tool performs

Example: A CalculatorTool might have:

  • Name: "Calculator"
  • Description: "Performs mathematical calculations. Input should be a valid mathematical expression."
  • Execute: Takes "2 + 2" and returns "4"

Properties

Description

Gets a detailed description of what the tool does and how to use it. This description helps the agent understand when and how to use the tool effectively.

string Description { get; }

Property Value

string

A string describing the tool's functionality, input format, and expected output.

Name

Gets the unique name of the tool. This name is used by the agent to identify and invoke the tool.

string Name { get; }

Property Value

string

A string representing the tool's name (e.g., "Calculator", "Search", "WebScraper").

Methods

Execute(string)

Executes the tool's operation with the provided input.

string Execute(string input)

Parameters

input string

The input string required by the tool to perform its operation. The format and requirements of this input should be described in the Description property.

Returns

string

A string containing the result of the tool's execution or an error message if execution fails.

Remarks

For Beginners: The Execute method is where the tool does its actual work. When called, it takes an input string, processes it according to the tool's purpose, and returns a result string.

For example:

  • A Calculator tool might take "5 * 10" as input and return "50"
  • A Search tool might take "weather in New York" and return "Sunny, 72°F"
  • A FileReader tool might take "/path/to/file.txt" and return the file's contents

If something goes wrong (invalid input, error during execution), the method should return a descriptive error message rather than throwing an exception, so the agent can understand what went wrong and potentially try again with different input.

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