minor Readme work

README.txt

@@ -8,40 +8,47 @@ Documentation:   http://asm-soft.com/mangle/docs
 
 
 
-Mangle stands for Minimal Abstraction Game Layer, and it's meant to
-become a small set of generic interfaces for various game middleware
-libraries, such as sound, input, graphics, and so on. It consists of
-several independent modules, one for each of these areas. These may be
-used together to build an entire game engine, or they can be used
+Mangle is the project name for a small set of generic interfaces for
+various game middleware libraries, such as sound, input, graphics, and
+so on. You can imagine that it stands for "Minimal Abstraction Game
+Layer", if you like. It will consist of several more or less
+independent modules, one for each of these areas. These may be used
+together to build an entire game engine, or they can be used
 individually as separate libraries.
 
 However, Mangle does NOT actually implement a game engine, or any new
 fundamental functionality. More on that below.
 
-Currently there's modules for sound and streams / archives (file
-access). More will come in the future (including input, 2D/3D
+Currently there's modules for sound and streams / archives (virtual
+file systems.) More will come in the future (including input, 2D/3D
 graphics, GUI, physics, and more.)
 
 
 Main idea
 ---------
 
-The idea behind to provide a uniform, consistent interface to other
-game libraries. The library does not provide ANY functionality on its
-own. Instead it connects to a backend implementation of your choice.
+The idea behind Mangle is to provide a uniform, consistent interface
+to other game libraries. The library does not provide ANY
+functionality on its own. Instead it connects to a backend
+implementation of your choice (or of your making.)
 
 The Sound module, for example, currently has backends for OpenAL
 (output only), FFmpeg (input only) and for Audiere. Hopefully we'll
-soon add IrrKlang, FMod, DirectSound and Miles to that. It can combine
-libraries to get more complete functionality (like using OpenAL for
-output and FFmpeg to decode sound files), and it's also easy to write
-your own backend if you're using a different (or home-brewed) sound
-system.
+add IrrKlang, FMod, DirectSound, Miles and more in the future It can
+combine libraries to get more complete functionality (like using
+OpenAL for output and FFmpeg to decode sound files), and it's also
+easy to write your own backend if you're using a different (or
+home-brewed) sound system.
 
-Regardless of what backend you use, the front-end interface (found in
-sound/sound.h) is identical, and as a library user you shouldn't
-notice much difference at all if you swap one backend for another at a
-later point.
+Regardless of what backend you use, the front-end interfaces (found
+eg. in sound/output.h) is identical, and as a library user you
+shouldn't notice much difference at all if you swap one backend for
+another at a later point. It should Just Work.
+
+The interfaces themselves are also quite simple. Setting up a sound
+stream from FFmpeg or other decoder into OpenAL can be quite hairy -
+but with Mangle the hairy parts have already been written for you. You
+just plug the parts together.
 
 The goal in the long run is to support a wide variety of game-related
 libraries, and as many backend libraries (free and commercial) as
@@ -66,24 +73,27 @@ you in many ways:
   The Mangle interfaces can help you keep your code clean, and its
   user interface is often simpler than the exteral library one.
 
+- If you want to quickly connect different libraries together, it
+  really helps if they have speak a common language. The Mangle
+  interfaces are exactly that. Need to load Audiere sounds from a
+  weird archive format only implemented for PhysFS, all channeled
+  through the OGRE resource system? No problem!
+
 - If you are creating a library that depends on a specific feature
   (such as sound), but you don't want to lock your users into any
   specific sound library. Mangle works as an abstraction that lets
-  your users select their own implementation. My own Monster scripting
-  language ( http://monsterscript.net ) will use this tactic, to
-  provide native-but-generic sound, input and GUI support, among other
-  features.
+  your users select their own implementation.
 
 - If you want to support multiple backends, or make it possible to
   easily switch backends later. You can select backends at compile
-  time or even at runtime. Maybe you decide to switch to to a
-  commercial library at a late stage in development, or you discover
-  that your favorite backend doesn't work on all the platforms you
-  want to reach.
+  time or even at runtime. For example you might want to switch to to
+  a commercial sound library at a later stage in development, or you
+  may want to use a different input library on console platforms than
+  on PC.
 
 The Mangle implementations are extremely light-weight - often just one
-or two cpp/h pairs. You plug them directly into your program, there's
-no separate build step required.
+or two cpp/h pairs per module. You can plug them directly into your
+program, there's no separate library building step required.
 
 Since the library aims to be very modularly put together, you can
 also, in many cases, just copy-and-paste the parts you need and ignore
@@ -94,15 +104,15 @@ come crashing down, because there is no big 'system' to speak of.
 Past and future 
 ---------------
 
-Mangle started out as a spin-off from OpenMW, another project of mine
-( http://openmw.sourceforge.net ). OpenMW is an attempt to recreate
-the engine behind the commercial game Morrowind, using only open
-source software.
+Mangle started out as (and still is) a spin-off from OpenMW, another
+project I am personally working on ( http://openmw.sourceforge.net ).
+OpenMW is an attempt to recreate the engine behind the commercial game
+Morrowind, using only open source software.
 
-The projects are still tightly interlinked, and the will continue to
-be until OpenMW is finished. That means that all near-future work on
-Mangle for my part will be more or less guided by what OpenMW
-needs. But I'll gladly accept external contributions that are not
+The projects are still tightly interlinked, and they will continue to
+be until OpenMW is finished. Most near-future work on Mangle will be
+focused chiefly on OpenMW at the moment. However I will gladly
+implement external contributions and suggestions that are not
 OpenMW-related.