LangChain in Practice: Tools, Templates & Memory Walkthrough

In the previous module, we explored the core concepts of LangChain โ€” what chains, agents, tools, and memory are and why they matter. Now itโ€™s time to connect those pieces and walk through how to use them together to build a context-aware, multi-functional LLM application.

This module focuses on practical integration:

  • ๐Ÿง  Prompt templates + LLM + memory = intelligent chatbot
  • ๐Ÿ”ง Tools + chains = agents with real-world capabilities
  • ๐Ÿ“ฆ Document loaders + vector stores = RAG-powered search

Below diagram depict Langchain component blueprint:

LangChain architecture blueprint

Each section below includes guidance, tips, and ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Try This blocks so you can build while you learn.

๐Ÿงฑ Prompt Templates

PromptTemplates let you design structured prompts with dynamic variables. Ideal for standardizing inputs to your LLMs.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Try This: Create a prompt template that accepts a product_name and asks the LLM to generate a one-line elevator pitch.

PromptTemplate.from_template("Give me a one-line pitch for {product_name}")

๐Ÿ’ก Tip: Keep prompt templates modular and reusable across chains.

๐Ÿง  Memory

LangChain offers memory modules like ConversationBufferMemory, ConversationSummaryMemory, and EntityMemory.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Try This: Use ConversationSummaryMemory for long chats to reduce token size while preserving context.

ConversationSummaryMemory(llm=ChatOpenAI()) 

โš ๏ธ Common Pitfall: Avoid unbounded memory in productionโ€”can lead to excessive cost or latency.

๐Ÿ”ง Tools & Toolkits

Tools extend your LLMโ€™s capabilities. Combine them with Agents or use them in Chains.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Try This: Load a calculator tool and let your agent solve โ€œWhat is 5 * sqrt(49)?โ€

๐Ÿ’ก Tip: Use LangChainโ€™s built-in load_tools or define your own custom tools for APIs.

๐Ÿ”„ Chains

Chains help you sequence LLM calls and other logic. Common types include:

  • LLMChain
  • SequentialChain
  • RouterChain

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Try This: Create a SequentialChain that extracts entities from text, then summarizes them.

โš ๏ธ Gotcha: Ensure your intermediate chain outputs match the next chainโ€™s expected inputs.

๐Ÿ“„ Document Loaders & Vector Stores

Perfect for building document Q&A or semantic search bots.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Try This: Load a PDF using PyPDFLoader, chunk it, embed using OpenAIEmbeddings, and store in FAISS.

๐Ÿ’ก Tip: Use RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter for balanced token chunking.

๐Ÿงพ Output Parsers

Output Parsers help you convert LLM text into structured data formats โ€” useful for validation and interop.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Try This: Use PydanticOutputParser to extract structured product info (name, price) from text.

โš ๏ธ Best Practice: Always show format_instructions to the LLM as part of the prompt.

๐Ÿ“š Recap

This module focused on practical workflows using LangChain building blocks. Hereโ€™s what youโ€™ve integrated:

  • Templates + LLMs โ†’ Structured generation
  • Memory + Chains โ†’ Conversational assistants
  • Tools + Agents โ†’ Real-world automation
  • Document loading + RAG โ†’ Knowledge bots
  • Output Parsers โ†’ Structured API-like responses

In the next module, weโ€™ll build complete apps using these integrated patterns.

โžก๏ธ Ready? Letโ€™s Build a LangChain-Powered Assistant โ†’