VoiceXML, based on XML is one of the first standards based approach for voice programming.
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is described as both a markup language and a text based data
storage format, depending on who you talk to. XML is widely used for data storage and transmission
& rightly so. While it is great for the intended purpose (i.e. data representation), using it for
programming complex logic is not intuitive and only appears as ‘forced’ or ‘hacked’.
VoiceXML is an attempt to use XML as a programming language and thereby fails to achieve the
power of a real programming language like C, PHP etc. So although it could possibly be done,
creating complex loops or interaction requires a lot of effort in XML. Not to mention the fact
that developers have to forego the power of real programming language to use VoiceXML.It’s the
inherent nature of XML and thereby VoiceXML which limits the capability of what can be done in it.
Also the development tools/environment for VoiceXML-based applications are really limited and are
only reminiscent of proprietary IVR development tools of yesteryears.
With VoicePHP, there is no need to learn a new markup language, tags, attributes associated with
VoiceXML. Widely and Freely available tools for developing, debugging PHP can be continued to use
with VoicePHP.
In brief, VoicePHP takes away the complexity of learning new tools, language and lets one leverage
the power of PHP to intuitively provide voice interactivity. Ofcourse, the obvious benefit of using
a real programming language is a big advantage with VoicePHP as well.
Real Programming Language - One of the most distinct advantages is the fact that VoicePHP
is using a “real” programming language. Most web developers are familiar with PHP or a similar language
and can quickly use VoicePHP. There is nothing new to learn!
Object Oriented & Reusability – PHP by nature is Object Oriened which support all the basic
OOPs primitives (e.g. class, inheritance etc). This allow easy abstraction of functionality thereby
making code more modular & reusable. This capability is simply not possible to do it in VoiceXML.
Modular nature of PHP thereby makes code more readable and maintainable.
Active Content - Consider an example of an application that needs to refer to an “Active
Content” – e.g. weather in a location application, time of the day application etc. In VoiceXML,
this requires one to take special efforts to isolate the implementation to access the “active
content” from outside the language bounds. With VoicePHP, it’s as simple as making a function call.
So with VoicePHP, not only can one create dynamic web-pages but also build dynamic voice interaction.
Free Development Tools - There is no need to learn a new markup language, tags, attributes
associated with VoiceXML. Widely available tools for developing, debugging PHP can be continued to
use when using VoicePHP.
No Initial Costs – Getting started with VoicePHP requires no initial cost commitment. PHP
can be freely downloaded and is used by majority of web developers. You can develop your complete
code in the freely available PHP environment. The same code will execute in VoicePHP envirnement
but instead use voice as means of interaction.. You can continue to use familiar tools for development,
testing of your php applications.
Ease of Integration – Since VoicePHP platform can be easily integrated with any existing
telephony back-end, enterprises can leverage existing investments and yet rapidly expose new
functionality.
Time to market – Developing “voice and telephony” enabled applications is as simple as writing
a few lines of PHP code. This tremendously reduces the time and effort to create compelling applications
in one of the standard web-development languages. Not only does it reduce the time to market, it also
builds manageable code for better maintenance.
Leverage – Use your existing developer resources to become productive almost rightaway. Knowledge
of web development, IP platforms, web-servers and programming languages can all be used as is to become
productive right away