7 Function Calling with Manual Planning
This chapter covers
- Introducing function calling
- Advertising kernel functions to AI models
- Introducing function choice behavior
- Static AI orchestration with manual planning
In the previous chapter, we controlled Robby, our robot car, by explicitly specifying which kernel functions to invoke for each task, an approach known as manual planning. While we built samples that used the automatic mode of function choice behavior, we did not explore the concept of function calling itself or allow the manual planning to select and invoke functions at our will.
In this chapter, we focus on function calling as a structured orchestration technique. Here, you will learn how to explicitly control which functions the AI can invoke, how to advertise these functions to the model, and how to manage the orchestration process-moving from manual, developer-driven workflows to more flexible, model-driven execution. This sets the stage for building applications where you determine the available tools, but the AI can select and use them based on the context of each request.