Dynamic variables set to null are not returned from/sent to API

[lpatino10]

Currently, there's an issue where dynamic variables set to null are not serialized/deserialized properly when interacting with the API. An example of this is that the following Workspace object:

{
  "name" : "Pizza app",
  "language" : "en",
  "metadata" : { },
  "description" : "Pizza app",
  "status" : "Available",
  "workspace_id" : "pizza_app-e0f3",
  "learning_opt_out" : false,
  "dialog_nodes": [
    {
      "dialog_node": "dialogNode",
      "context": {
        "dynamic_var": null
      }
    }
  ]
}

would not have its dynamic_var successfully passed to the Assistant service. Similarly, we wouldn't get this property in our Java object if it was set this way in the UI.

[mkistler]

It is bad form to return null as the value of any variable -- static or dynamic. We should not encourage this practice in any way.

cc: @jsstylos

[jsstylos]

Yes, we should probably prevent this in the Assistant v2 API (setting to null should be equivalent to removal).

[germanattanasio]

I agree with Mike and Jeff.

I'm closing this since it's working as designed

[mkistler]

Null is not an object. If the behavior you want is to reset the context to be empty, the service should send an empty object.

"context": {}

[jsstylos]

Is the issue with context itself being null or variables inside context being null? context itself should never be null.

[mkistler]

Just had a chat with AndyS and I understand the issue better now. There are legitimate use cases for explicitly encoding null within application objects (e.g. to support JSON merging). We need to think about how use can support these use cases with the SDKs.

[arajwade]

Can you please provide an ETA for fixing this defect?
This has been filed by Support based on a use case from a BMC developer.

Thx.
--- Abhijit Rajwade
BMC Software

[lpatino10]

I can't provide an ETA quite yet @arajwade but I'll get back to you when we have something concrete in mind.

[germanattanasio]

What's the decision here? Are we going to support this? Is it even on our radar?