Add explainer diagrams (#413)

docs/development/adding_a_manipulator.md

@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 By the end of this section, you will be able to add a manipulator platform to Ephys Link and control it using the server
-API. This is a software development guide and assumes you have experience with Python.
+API. This is a software development guide and assumes you have experience with Python. It is encouraged to
+read [how the system works first](../home/how_it_works.md) before proceeding.
 
 ## Set Up for Development
 
 1. Fork the [Ephys Link repository](https://github.com/VirtualBrainLab/ephys-link).
-2. Follow the instructions for [installing Ephys Link for development](index.md/#installing-for-development) to get all
+2. Follow the instructions for [installing Ephys Link for development](index.md#installing-for-development) to get all
    the necessary dependencies and tools set up. In this case, you'll want to clone your fork.
 
 ## Create a Manipulator Binding

docs/home/how_it_works.md

@@ -1,7 +1,74 @@
 This section provides an overview of how Ephys Link works. It is intended for users who want to understand the
 software's architecture and how it interacts with other systems.
 
-!!! warning "Under Construction"
+## Why Ephys Link?
 
-    This documentation page is still under construction. Please come back later for more information!
+There exists many manipulator platforms in neuroscience research, each with their own API and software. This diversity
+makes it difficult for tool developers to support multiple platforms. Ephys Link aims to solve this problem by providing
+a unified API for interacting with manipulators. This allows developers to write code that works with any manipulator
+supported by Ephys Link.
 
+## Ephys Link Architecture
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart LR
+    n1["Client Application"]
+    n3["Manipulator 1"]
+    n4["Manipulator 2"]
+    subgraph s1["Ephys Link"]
+        n6["Rectangle"]
+        n2["Server"]
+    end
+    n6["Bindings"] ---|" Manipulator 1 API "| n3
+    n1 ---|" Send Request "| n2
+    n2 ---|" Callback Response "| n1
+    n6 ---|" Manipulator 2 API "| n4
+    n3 --- n6
+    n4 --- n6
+    n2 ---|" Parse Request "| n6
+    n6 ---|" Send Response "| n2
+```
+
+This diagram shows the high-level architecture of Ephys Link. Ephys Link acts as an intermediary between client
+applications and manipulators.
+
+Within Ephys Link, there is a server component that handled external communication and there are the bindings for each
+proprietary manipulator platform API. The server passes requests from client applications to the appropriate manipulator
+bindings which convert the requests to the appropriate manipulator API calls.
+
+## Example Message Flow
+
+Consider the following example of a request to move a manipulator to a specific position:
+
+```mermaid
+sequenceDiagram
+    participant C as Client Application
+    box Ephys Link
+        participant S as Server
+        participant B as Bindings
+    end
+    participant M as Manipulator Platform
+    C ->> S: Move manipulator to position (x, y, z)
+    S ->> B: set_position(x, y, z)
+    B ->> M: move(a, b, c, d)
+    loop Update Position
+        C -->> S: Get current position
+        S -->> B: get_position()
+        B -->> M: position()
+        M -->> B: Now at (a, b, c, d)
+        B -->> S: Now at (x, y, z)
+        S -->> C: Now at (x, y, z)
+    end
+    M ->> B: Completed move, at (a, b, c, d)
+    B ->> S: Completed move, at (x, y, z)
+    S ->> C: Completed move, at (x, y, z)
+```
+
+Some things to notice:
+
+- The client application only ever speaks in (x, y, z) coordinates, never in the native manipulator platform's
+  coordinate system. The binding handles the conversion.
+- While one command is being fulfilled, the client application can still query the manipulator's current position.
+  Later, the manipulator can report when it is done and complete the movement request.
+- The manipulator often has a different API than Ephys Link (`move` vs `set_position`), but the binding handles the
+  translation.

docs/home/installation.md

@@ -34,4 +34,4 @@ pipx install ephys-link
 
 ## Install for Development
 
-See [development documentation](../development/index.md/#installing-for-development) for more information.
+See [development documentation](../development/index.md#installing-for-development) for more information.

mkdocs.yml

@@ -52,7 +52,11 @@ markdown_extensions:
   - attr_list
   - md_in_html
   - pymdownx.details
-  - pymdownx.superfences
+  - pymdownx.superfences:
+      custom_fences:
+        - name: mermaid
+          class: mermaid
+          format: !!python/name:pymdownx.superfences.fence_code_format
   - pymdownx.highlight:
       anchor_linenums: true
       line_spans: __span