#607028 by deviantintegral, marcvangend, uNeedStuff, jhodgdon, mokko, et al:...

#607028 by deviantintegral, marcvangend, uNeedStuff, jhodgdon, mokko, et al: Add README.txt to core. Provides some general information about Drupal and pointers to important reference pages.

README.txt

+// $Id$
+
+CONTENTS OF THIS FILE
+---------------------
+
+ * About Drupal
+ * Configuration and features
+ * Appearance
+ * Developing for Drupal
+
+ABOUT DRUPAL
+------------
+
+Drupal is an open source content management platform supporting a variety of
+websites ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven websites. For
+more information, see the Drupal website at http://drupal.org/, and join the
+Drupal community at http://drupal.org/community.
+
+Legal information about Drupal:
+ * Know your rights when using Drupal:
+   See LICENSE.txt in the same directory as this document.
+ * Learn about the Drupal trademark and logo policy:
+   http://drupal.com/trademark
+
+CONFIGURATION AND FEATURES
+--------------------------
+
+Drupal core (what you get when you download and unzip a drupal-x.y.tar.gz file
+from http://drupal.org/project/drupal) has what you need to get started with
+your website. It includes several modules (extensions that add functionality)
+for common website features, such as managing content, user accounts, image
+uploading, and search. Core comes with many options that allow site-specific
+configuration. In addition to the core modules, there are thousands of
+contributed modules (for functionality not included with Drupal core)
+available for download.
+
+More about configuration:
+ * Install, upgrade, and maintain Drupal:
+   See INSTALL.txt and UPGRADE.txt in the same directory as this document.
+ * Learn about how to use Drupal to create your site:
+   http://drupal.org/documentation
+ * Download contributed modules to sites/all/modules to extend Drupal's
+   functionality:
+   http://drupal.org/project/modules
+ * See also: "Developing for Drupal" for writing your own modules, below.
+
+APPEARANCE
+----------
+
+In Drupal, the appearance of your site is set by the theme (themes are
+extensions that set fonts, colors, and layout). Drupal core comes with several
+themes. More themes are available for download, and you can also create your
+own custom theme.
+
+More about themes:
+ * Download contributed themes to sites/all/themes to modify Drupal's
+   appearance:
+   http://drupal.org/project/themes
+ * Develop your own theme:
+   http://drupal.org/documentation/theme
+
+DEVELOPING FOR DRUPAL
+---------------------
+
+Drupal contains an extensive API that allows you to add to and modify the
+functionality of your site. The API consists of "hooks", which allow modules to
+react to system events and customize Drupal's behavior, and functions that
+standardize common operations such as database queries and form generation. The
+flexible hook architecture means that you should never need to directly modify
+the files that come with Drupal core to achieve the functionality you want;
+instead, functionality modifications take the form of modules.
+
+When you need new functionality for your Drupal site, search for existing
+contributed modules. If you find a module that matches except for a bug or an
+additional needed feature, change the module and contribute your improvements
+back to the project in the form of a "patch". Create new custom modules only
+when nothing existing comes close to what you need.
+
+More about developing:
+ * Search for existing contributed modules:
+   http://drupal.org/project/modules
+ * Contribute a patch:
+   http://drupal.org/patch/submit
+ * Develop your own module:
+   http://drupal.org/developing/modules
+ * Follow best practices:
+   http://drupal.org/best-practices
+ * Refer to the API documentation:
+   http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/7