Why is my code not running the if statement on the Alexa Development Console simulator, even if I utter/type the values that are present in my slot?

Question

I'm trying to create an Alexa Skill, and I've hit a roadblock. I've written/edited the AWS Lambda code and trying to test it. Now, I've added "Oreo cake" as one of my slot values. When I utter/type oreo cake, for some reason, the if statement, which is supposed to run, doesn't. Instead, the else statement runs.

const GetPrice_Handler = {
    canHandle(handlerInput) {
      const request = handlerInput.requestEnvelope.request;
      return request.type === 'IntentRequest' && request.intent.name === 'GetPrice';
    },
    handle(handlerInput) {
      const request = handlerInput.requestEnvelope.request;
      const responseBuilder = handlerInput.responseBuilder;
      let sessionAttributes = handlerInput.attributesManager.getSessionAttributes();

      let slotStatus = '';
      let resolvedSlot;
      let say = '';

      let slotValues = getSlotValues(request.intent.slots);
      // getSlotValues returns .heardAs, .resolved, and .isValidated for each slot, 
      // according to request slot status codes ER_SUCCESS_MATCH, ER_SUCCESS_NO_MATCH, 
      // or traditional simple request slot without resolutions
      if (slotValues == slotValues.cake) {
        say = `The price of ${slotValues.cake.heardAs} is 800 Indian Rupees. `;
      } else {
        say = 'Sorry, I didnt catch that. Could you please repeat that again? ';
      }

Answer 1

I might be mistaken, but can't you do your if statement like so:

if (slotValues.cake)

Basically, if .cake is true, ie if the slotValues contains any value in the .cake object, it should run the IF statement?

Answer 2

The code to get the slot value and your logic doesn't look quite right.

To get a slot value, with the latest version of the v2 SDK (which it looks like you are using).

// Require the SDK at the top of your file

const Alexa = require('ask-sdk');

// Then in your handle function where you want the slot value

handle (handlerInput) {
  const { requestEnvelope } = handlerInput;
  const cakeSlotValue = Alexa.getSlotValue(requestEnvelope, 'cake'); // 'cake' slot name
  let say = '';

  if (cakeSlotValue) {
    say = `The price of ${cakeSlotValue} is 800 Indian Rupees.`;
  } else {
    say = 'Sorry, I didnt catch that. Could you please repeat that again? ';
  }

  // Do the rest of your stuff here...
}

You should be able to use and tweak this for your needs.

BTW, you could also get slot values like this:

const cake = handlerInput.requestEnvelope.request.intent.slots['cake'].value

Request Envelope Utils - ASK SDK v2