Hey everyone! I’m a student with some Java background and API experience. I’ve got this cool idea for a Telegram bot. I want it to search Wikipedia when users type a specific command followed by a search term. Then it should return the first matching Wikipedia page or an error message if nothing’s found.
I’m pretty new to bot development and Telegram, so I’m wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction. Are there any good tutorials out there (preferably not video ones) that could help me get started? Or maybe someone here could give me some pointers?
My coding experience includes:
Processing
AP Computer Science A
A bit of API work
I’d really appreciate any help or advice you can offer! Thanks in advance!
Having worked on a similar project, I can offer some practical advice. Start by exploring the Telegram Bot API documentation. It’s comprehensive and will give you a solid foundation. For Wikipedia searches, the MediaWiki API is your go-to resource. Consider using a Java library like TelegramBots to simplify bot development. It handles a lot of the low-level details, allowing you to focus on your bot’s logic. As for the Wikipedia search, the Java Wikipedia API (jwiki) could be useful. One challenge you might face is handling different types of Wikipedia pages (e.g., disambiguation pages). Plan for these edge cases early in your development process. Also, think about how you’ll format the bot’s responses to make them user-friendly within Telegram’s interface. Remember to implement proper error handling and logging. It’ll save you headaches down the line when debugging or improving your bot.
hey there! i’ve dabbled in some telegram bots before. for ur wikipedia search bot, check out the telegram bot api docs - they’re pretty good. also, look into using the mediawiki api for the wikipedia part. don’t forget to handle errors and maybe add a cooldown to avoid spamming. good luck with ur project!
I’ve actually built a similar bot for Discord, so I can share some insights. First, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the Telegram Bot API. It’s pretty straightforward, especially with your Java background. For the Wikipedia part, check out the MediaWiki API – it’s what I used and it works great for this kind of search functionality.
One tip: implement rate limiting early on. Wikipedia’s API can be touchy about too many requests. Also, consider caching frequent searches to reduce API calls and speed up responses.
For tutorials, I found the official Telegram Bot API documentation surprisingly helpful. Pair that with a good Java HTTP client library like OkHttp, and you’ll be off to a solid start.
Don’t forget error handling – users can input all sorts of weird stuff. Good luck with your project!