Discord Bot Function in Python

This section outlines how to create a basic Discord bot using Python's discord.py library. The bot will respond to a simple command and is structured to follow best practices in code development.

Necessary Imports

Before we write the function, we need to import the required libraries.

import discord
from discord.ext import commands

Comprehensive Function Documentation

Function: create_bot

def create_bot(token: str) -> commands.Bot:
    """
    Initializes a Discord bot instance and sets up a command.

    Parameters:
    token (str): The Discord bot token used for authentication.

    Returns:
    commands.Bot: An instance of the Discord bot.

    Raises:
    ValueError: If the token is empty or None.
    """

Code Implementation

def create_bot(token: str) -> commands.Bot:
    # Validate the input token
    if not token:
        raise ValueError("The bot token must not be empty.")
    
    # Create the bot instance
    bot = commands.Bot(command_prefix='!')
    
    # Define a simple command that the bot can respond to
    @bot.command(name='hello')
    async def hello(ctx):
        await ctx.send(f'Hello, {ctx.author.name}!')

    # Start the bot with the provided token
    bot.run(token)
    return bot

Explanation of Key Sections

1. Input Validation: The function checks if the token is empty and raises a ValueError if it is.

2. Bot Instance Creation: The bot is created using the commands.Bot class, specifying the command prefix as !.

3. Command Definition: The bot defines a hello command, which retrieves the author's name and sends a personalized greeting.

4. Bot Execution: The bot runs with the given token, becoming active on Discord.

Code Usage Example

To use the create_bot function, ensure you have discord.py installed and replace 'YOUR_BOT_TOKEN' with your actual Discord bot token.

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Replace with your actual token
    bot_token = 'YOUR_BOT_TOKEN'
    create_bot(bot_token)

Conclusion

This code provides a foundational structure for a Discord bot using Python that can be expanded upon by adding more commands and functionalities. If you're looking to deepen your understanding of Discord bots and data science concepts, consider exploring courses available on the Enterprise DNA Platform.