Improve README and add public roadmap

[vinitkumar]

Summary

• Adds a clearer why/quick-start/performance story near the top of README.rst
• Adds ROADMAP.md so users and contributors can see project direction
• Updates CONTRIBUTING.rst with good first contribution paths and current Rust benchmark language

Notes

This is a visibility and contributor-onboarding pass; no runtime code changed.

Summary by Sourcery

Clarify project direction and onboarding for users and contributors through documentation-only changes.

Documentation:

• Revise README to better communicate purpose, quick start, and performance story for json2xml.
• Add a public ROADMAP.md outlining current focus, near-term work, and future ideas for the project.
• Update CONTRIBUTING.rst with clearer guidance on good first contributions and current Rust benchmarking context.

[sourcery-ai]

Reviewer's Guide

Improves contributor-facing documentation by restructuring the README with clearer positioning and quick-start guidance, introducing a public ROADMAP, and updating CONTRIBUTING with more concrete contribution paths and current benchmark/implementation language, without changing any runtime code.

Flow diagram for new contributor decision paths using README, CONTRIBUTING, and ROADMAP

flowchart LR
  A[Read README.rst
  - Why json2xml
  - Quick start
  - Performance story] --> B{Is json2xml a good fit?}
  B -- No --> C[Leave or compare with other tools]
  B -- Yes --> D[Open ROADMAP.md
  - Current focus
  - Near term work
  - Larger ideas]
  D --> E{Want to contribute now?}
  E -- No --> F[Use library or CLI in own projects]
  E -- Yes --> G[Open CONTRIBUTING.rst
  - Good first contribution paths
  - Benchmark and Rust notes]
  G --> H{Preferred contribution type}
  H -- Docs or examples --> I[Pick issue labeled docs or good first issue]
  H -- CLI UX --> J[Pick issue labeled cli or help wanted]
  H -- Performance or Rust --> K[Pick issue labeled performance or work on Rust extension]
  H -- Unsure --> L[Open focused proposal issue]
  I --> M[Implement change and open PR]
  J --> M
  K --> M
  L --> M

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File-Level Changes

Change	Details	Files
Restructure and clarify top-level project messaging and onboarding in README.	Refine the introductory section to emphasize the project’s purpose, quick-start usage, and performance story earlier in the document Improve scan-ability for new users by reorganizing or tightening early README content	README.rst
Add a public roadmap to communicate project direction and contribution opportunities.	Create a ROADMAP document that outlines current focus areas, near-term work, and larger future ideas Highlight documentation, CLI UX, performance/benchmarks, and Rust extension as distinct roadmap areas List concrete "good first issues" and labels to guide new contributors	ROADMAP.md
Update contributing guidelines to better support new contributors and reflect current implementation/benchmark context.	Add explicit starter contribution paths aligned with examples and tests Update language around Rust benchmarks and native acceleration to match current project positioning	CONTRIBUTING.rst

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 96.07%. Comparing base (e39ab2b) to head (08a2b10).
⚠️ Report is 1 commits behind head on master.

Additional details and impacted files

@@           Coverage Diff           @@
##           master     #287   +/-   ##
=======================================
  Coverage   96.07%   96.07%           
=======================================
  Files           6        6           
  Lines         484      484           
=======================================
  Hits          465      465           
  Misses         19       19           

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	96.07% <ø> (ø)

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