BASIC dialogs are plain‑text scripts that the GeneralBots engine compiles into an abstract syntax tree (AST). The language is intentionally simple, using English‑like keywords.
## Core Concepts
* **Lines** – Each line is either a command (`TALK`, `HEAR`, etc.) or a comment (`REM`).
* **Variables** – Declared with `SET name = expression`. Types are inferred at runtime.
* **Control Flow** –`IF … THEN … ENDIF`, `FOR EACH … IN … NEXT`, and `EXIT FOR`.
* **Blocks** – Enclosed in `{ … }` for multi‑line statements (e.g., `TALK { … }`).
## Example Script (`start.bas`)
```basic
REM Simple greeting dialog
SET user_name = "Guest"
TALK "Hello, " + user_name + "! How can I help you today?"
HEAR user_input
IF user_input = "help" THEN
TALK "Sure, I can assist with account info, orders, or support."
ELSE
TALK "Sorry, I didn't understand."
ENDIF
```
## Execution Model
1.**Parse**– The script is tokenized and turned into an AST.
2.**Compile**– Keywords are mapped to Rust functions (see `src/basic/keywords/`).
3.**Run**– The engine walks the AST, executing each node synchronously, while async tasks (e.g., LLM calls) are spawned as needed.
