[Docs] Add top-level README for examples

Added as part of OpenAssetIO#1324. Add a listing of known example usages of
OpenAssetIO, including the examples in the repo, and link to it from the
top-level README.

Signed-off-by: David Feltell <david.feltell@foundry.com>

Author: feltech

README.md

@@ -9,13 +9,12 @@ workflows in content creation tooling.
 
 > - 👋 Come chat with us on [ASWF Slack](https://academysoftwarefdn.slack.com/archives/C03Q36QS8N4)
 >   or our [mailing list](https://lists.aswf.io/g/openassetio-discussion).
-> - 🧰 Get started with the API [docs](https://openassetio.github.io/OpenAssetIO),
+> - 🧰 Get started with the [API docs](https://openassetio.github.io/OpenAssetIO),
 >   Manager plugin [template](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/Template-OpenAssetIO-Manager-Python),
->   [OpenAssetIO-MediaCreation](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/OpenAssetIO-MediaCreation#readme)
+>   and [MediaCreation](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/OpenAssetIO-MediaCreation#readme)
 >   for post-production workflows.
-> - 📖 Or see some examples: Ayon [manager plugin](https://github.com/ynput/ayon-openassetio-manager-plugin/tree/main#readme),
->   USD [Asset Resolver prototype](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/usdOpenAssetIOResolver#readme),
->   OTIO [media linker](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/otio-openassetio)
+> - 📖 Or see some [examples](examples/README.md) in the OpenAssetIO
+>   ecosystem.
 > - 👀 You can follow the development effort [here](https://github.com/orgs/OpenAssetIO/projects/1/views/7)
 >   and the longer term roadmap [here](ROADMAP.md).
 
@@ -239,4 +238,4 @@ During this period, one may assume that the `x` above is synonymous with
 major version, and the `y` with minor version, for the purpose of
 compatibility. This means patch versions will be rolled into minor
 versions, but you may still consult the [release
-notes](./RELEASE_NOTES.md) for specific compatibility information.
+notes](./RELEASE_NOTES.md) for specific compatibility information.

examples/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+# Examples
+
+There is an ever-growing list of example OpenAssetIO hosts and manager
+plugins. They cover a large range, including reference implementations,
+testing utilities, proof of concepts, and production integrations.
+
+## This repository
+
+In this repository you can find simple examples of host applications
+and manager plugins that make use of OpenAssetIO.
+
+### Hosts
+
+#### simpleResolver
+
+The [simpleResolver](host/simpleResolver/README.md) is a Python
+command-line tool that can take an entity reference and a list of
+trait IDs, `resolve` them, and present the results as a dictionary
+in the terminal.
+
+### Managers
+
+#### SimpleCppManager
+
+The [SimpleCppManager](manager/SimpleCppManager/README.md) is a C++
+OpenAssetIO manager plugin that provides functionality for a limited
+cross-section of the OpenAssetIO API. Its "database" of entities is
+taken directly from the settings provided by the host. It is designed to
+be used for testing C++ plugin support in host applications.
+
+## Other OpenAssetIO projects
+
+### Python manager plugin template
+
+The [Python manager plugin template](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/Template-OpenAssetIO-Manager-Python)
+provides a documentation-by-example implementation of a Python manager
+plugin.
+
+### Jupyter notebooks
+
+An ever-expanding collection of [Jupyter](https://jupyter.org/)
+notebooks is available as
+[examples in the MediaCreation](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/OpenAssetIO-MediaCreation/tree/main/examples)
+repository. These demonstrate core OpenAssetIO concepts alongside the
+wider ecosystem, in particular as it relates to the VFX and media
+creation industry, through executable Python snippets. The pre-rendered
+notebooks can be viewed directly in GitHub, so downloading to execute
+locally is not required.
+
+### Basic Asset Library
+
+The [Basic Asset Library
+(BAL)](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/OpenAssetIO-Manager-BAL) is a
+Python OpenAssetIO manager and plugin that is designed to enable host
+applications to test their integration against a wide spectrum of
+possible asset management system archetypes. It is designed to be fully
+puppetable, with responses controlled by a JSON configuration file. BAL
+is used extensively by the team for internal testing and demos of
+OpenAssetIO. Note that it is not intended as a reference implementation.
+
+### USD Ar2 shim plugin
+
+The [USD Asset Resolver plugin](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/usdOpenAssetIOResolver#readme)
+allows OpenAssetIO plugins to be used within the USD ecosystem, by
+adapting the Ar2 API to the OpenAssetIO API.
+
+### OpenTimelineIO media linker plugin
+
+The [OTIO media linker](https://github.com/OpenAssetIO/otio-openassetio)
+plugin allows OpenAssetIO entity references to be recognised within
+OTIO documents, and resolved to their file path when the document is
+loaded.
+
+## External projects
+
+### Nuke
+
+[Nuke](https://www.foundry.com/products/nuke-family/nuke) is the
+industry-leading commercial compositing tool by Foundry. As of
+version [15.1](https://campaigns.foundry.com/products/nuke-family/whats-new),
+Nuke has built-in support for OpenAssetIO as a headline feature.
+
+### Ayon manager plugin
+
+[Ayon by Ynput](https://ynput.io/ayon/) is an open source asset
+management system that forms part of Ynput's pipeline-as-service
+offering. Their
+[manager plugin](https://github.com/ynput/ayon-openassetio-manager-plugin)
+is available on GitHub.
+
+### Blender OpenAssetIO demo script
+
+[Blender](https://www.blender.org/) is an open source 3D digital content
+creation tool.
+
+The [Blender relationships demo script](https://github.com/elliotcmorris/openassetio-relationships-blender)
+adds UI elements to Blender that allow a user to load external geometry
+from an asset management system, and pick alternative proxy
+representations of that geometry by querying OpenAssetIO entity
+relationships.