generalbots/docs/src/chapter-06-gbdialog/README.md

Chapter 06: BASIC Dialogs

BASIC is back, and it's powering the AI revolution. In an age of complex programming languages, General Bots chose BASIC for a simple reason: everyone can learn it in minutes, yet it's powerful enough to orchestrate sophisticated AI workflows.

Why BASIC in 2025?

We believe AI development shouldn't require a computer science degree. BASIC's English-like syntax means:

• Business analysts can write automation
• Teachers can create educational bots
• Doctors can build medical assistants
• No programming background needed

Because TALK "Hello" is clearer than await ctx.send(Message(content="Hello")). We chose simplicity over sophistication. Your grandmother could write these scripts.

Beyond Simple Scripts

Modern BASIC isn't your grandfather's language. BASIC scripts can:

• Orchestrate multiple AI models
• Process complex data
• Integrate with any API
• Handle enterprise workflows
• Scale to millions of users

The 5-Minute Tutorial

Your First Script

Create start.bas:

TALK "Hi! What's your name?"
HEAR name
TALK "Nice to meet you, " + name

That's a working chatbot. Three lines.

Add Knowledge

USE KB "documentation"
TALK "You can ask me anything about our documentation!"

The bot now has access to your documents and can answer questions about them.

Add Tools

USE TOOL "weather"
TALK "I can check the weather for you."

Tools are automatically discovered and can be called by the AI as needed.

Core Commands

The essential BASIC commands you need:

Command	Purpose	Example
TALK	Send message	TALK "Hello"
HEAR	Get input	HEAR name
USE KB	Load knowledge	USE KB "docs"
USE TOOL	Enable function	USE TOOL "weather"

Variables

Simple variable assignment:

name = "John"
age = 25
message = "Hello, " + name

Conditionals

Basic IF/THEN logic:

HEAR answer AS BOOLEAN
IF answer = "yes" THEN
  TALK "Great!"
ELSE
  TALK "No problem!"
END IF

Loops

Simple FOR loops:

FOR i = 1 TO 3
  TALK "Count: " + i
NEXT

Session Memory

Store and retrieve session data:

SET BOT MEMORY "user_name" = name
preference = GET BOT MEMORY "user_name"

Knowledge Base

Work with document collections:

USE KB "policies"
USE KB "procedures"
TALK "I now have access to company policies and procedures."
TALK "What would you like to know?"

Tools from Templates

BotServer includes these ready-to-use tools:

From default.gbai:

• weather.vbs - Get weather for any city
• send-email.vbs - Send emails
• send-sms.vbs - Send SMS messages
• translate.vbs - Translate text
• calculate.vbs - Perform calculations

Usage:

USE TOOL "weather"
USE TOOL "send-email"
' Tools are now available for the AI to call

Bot Examples

Simple Q&A Bot

USE KB "faq"
TALK "Welcome! I can answer questions from our FAQ."
TALK "What would you like to know?"
loop:
  HEAR question
  TALK "Let me find that for you..."
  GOTO loop

File Structure

Your bot's dialog scripts go in the .gbdialog folder:

mybot.gbai/
  mybot.gbdialog/
    start.bas         # Entry point
    tools/            # Optional tools folder
      custom.vbs      # Custom tools

Writing Tools

Tools are BASIC scripts with parameters:

PARAM name AS STRING
PARAM email AS STRING
DESCRIPTION "Save contact information"

SAVE "contacts.csv", name, email
TALK "Contact saved!"

Important Notes

• BASIC is case-insensitive
• Comments start with ' or REM
• Strings use double quotes
• Line continuation with _
• No semicolons needed
• No async/await complexity

Quick Reference

Essential Keywords

• TALK - Output message
• HEAR - Get input
• USE KB - Load knowledge base
• USE TOOL - Load tool
• SET BOT MEMORY - Store data
• GET BOT MEMORY - Retrieve data
• IF/THEN/ELSE - Conditionals
• FOR/NEXT - Loops
• GOTO - Jump to label

Data Types

• Strings: "text"
• Numbers: 42
• Boolean: True/False
• Variables: Simple assignment with =

Summary

BASIC in BotServer brings conversational AI back to simplicity. No complex frameworks, just straightforward commands that read like English. Focus on the conversation, not the code.

See Also

Documentation

• Dialog Basics - Core concepts and patterns
• Universal Messaging - Multi-channel support
• Template Examples - Ready-to-use scripts
• Keyword Reference - Complete command list
• Chapter 3: Knowledge Base - Integrate documents
• Chapter 9: API and Tools - External integrations

Further Reading - Blog Posts

• BASIC for Everyone - Why we chose BASIC for AI development
• BASIC LLM Tools - Extending LLMs with BASIC scripts
• MCP is the new API - How BASIC scripts become universal tools
• No Forms - The conversational UI philosophy
• Beyond Chatbots - Real business applications

Next Chapter

Continue to Chapter 7: Architecture to understand how General Bots works under the hood.

Next: BASIC Keywords Reference