control-flow.md

Control Flow & Syntax Guide

This document defines the formal grammar, canonical constructs, and control flow in TechScript.

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📐 Block Structures

TechScript blocks are defined by a colon : followed by 4-space indentation. No curly braces {} or closing keywords like end or done are used for ordinary control flow or functions.

to print_numbers(max_count):
    count is 1
    while count <= max_count:
        say "Number: {count}"
        count becomes count + 1

print_numbers(3)

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🔀 Conditionals (if, else if, else)

Conditionals use standard readable expressions followed by a colon and indented body:

score is 85

if score >= 90:
    say "Grade: A"
else if score >= 80:
    say "Grade: B"
else if score >= 70:
    say "Grade: C"
else:
    say "Grade: Needs improvement"

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🔁 Repetition Loops (repeat N times:)

For executing code a fixed number of times, TechScript provides the clean repeat construct:

repeat 3 times:
    say "Welcome to TechScript!"

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🔄 Iteration (for item in collection:)

Iterate across arrays, strings, or collections:

fruits is ["Apple", "Banana", "Cherry"]

for fruit in fruits:
    say "Fruit: {fruit}"

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⏳ While Loops (while condition:)

Execute continuously while a condition remains true:

active is true
attempts is 0

while active:
    attempts becomes attempts + 1
    if attempts >= 3:
        active becomes false

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🔑 Canonical Keyword Summary

Construct	Canonical Syntax	Prohibited Legacy
Variable Declaration	name is "val"	let, var, make
Variable Reassignment	x becomes x + 1	:=, =
Constant	constant max is 100	const, val
Function	to name(param):	do, fn, def, func
Return	return val	send val, give val
Output	say "Message"	print(), println
Conditional	if, else if, else:	when, else when
Counted Loop	repeat N times:	loop N, repeat N end
Delimiters	: + 4-space indent	end, done, {}