Introducing APL for Audio

APL-A is a JSON-based language that gives Alexa skill developers the power of a mixing board to create audio responses that are simply not possible with SSML alone. Using APL-A, you can play multiple sounds simultaneously or one after another. You can also choose from a selection of sounds to play randomly or based on model data provided to the APL-A templates. By applying filters, you can control the volume and length of audio to fit your needs.

APL-A defines only a handful of components and filters, which makes it relatively easy to learn. Despite its short list of components, however, when combined they provide a powerful toolset for creating virtually any audio response you can dream of.

We’ll see how to use each of these components and filters and we’ll use them to create some responses for the Star Port 75 Travel skill. To get started, however, let’s take a look at the APL-A editor, a useful tool for authoring and testing APL-A templates in the developer console. We’ll use the APL-A editor throughout this chapter to test our audio creations.