The problem sounds manageable until you realize the bot trigger rules aren't given upfront.
Start by clarifying requirements and constraints, then propose a modular architecture with a central router that evaluates each bot's rules against the incoming message. Discuss data structures for efficient rule evaluation and priority ordering, and outline how to handle asynchronous bot responses while maintaining order.
Pro tip: Emphasize extensibility and testability: design the router so new bots can be added without modifying core logic, and mention how you'd unit test each bot's rules and the priority ordering.
Ask about expected message volume, latency requirements, bot rule complexity, and whether bot responses are synchronous or asynchronous. Confirm the priority order specification and failure handling.
Define interfaces for Bot (with a method to evaluate a message and generate a response) and Router (which manages bots and routes messages). Consider a registry for bots and a priority queue for responses.
For each incoming message, iterate through bots (or use an index for efficiency), collect responses from bots whose rules match, then sort responses by priority before returning.
If bots process asynchronously, use promises/futures and await all responses, then sort by priority. Ensure that slow bots don't block others unnecessarily, but still respect priority in final output.
Explain how to add new bots without changing router code (e.g., plugin architecture). Outline unit tests for rule matching, priority ordering, and edge cases like no matching bots or bot failures.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.