diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
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@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ ramexample.root
 *.perf
 *.bam
 *.sam
-*.png
 *.bam.bai
 *.root
 *.root.idx
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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--- a/README.md
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@@ -1,26 +1,131 @@
-ROOT scripts to convert a SAM file to a RAM (ROOT Alignment/Map) file and to work on RAM files.
+# RAMTools - ROOT Alignment/Map Format Tools
 
-  - To convert a SAM file to a RAM file do:
+RAMTools provides efficient tools for converting SAM files to ROOT's modern, columnar RNTuple format (RAM - ROOT Alignment/Map) and working with genomic alignment data.
 
+## Features
+
+- High-performance SAM to RAM conversion with an RNTuple backend
+- Chromosome-based splitting for parallel processing
+- Region-based querying capabilities
+
+## Requirements
+
+- ROOT 6.26+
+- C++17 compatible compiler
+- CMake 3.16+
+
+## Quick Start
+```bash
+# 1. Build the tools
+mkdir build && cd build
+cmake ..
+make -j$(nproc)
+
+# 2. Convert a SAM file to the RAM format
+./tools/samtoramntuple ../test/samexample.sam output.root
+
+# 3. Query a specific region from the command line
+./tools/ramntupleview output.root "chr1:15700-15800"
+```
+
+## Command-Line Tools
+
+The primary way to interact with RAMTools is through these command-line executables.
+
+### SAM to RAM Conversion
+
+Convert a standard SAM file into the optimized RNTuple-based RAM format.
 ```bash
-  $ root
-  root [0] .x samtoram.C
-  root [1] .q
+# Basic conversion
+./tools/samtoramntuple input.sam output.root
+
+# Split by chromosome for parallel processing
+# (Creates output-chr1.root, output-chr2.root, etc.)
+./tools/samtoramntuple input.sam output -split
 ```
 
- - To test read a RAM file do:
+### Region Querying (RNTuple)
+
+Query a specific genomic region from a RAM file, similar to samtools view.
+```bash
+# Usage: ./tools/ramntupleview [input.root] "[chromosome]:[start]-[end]"
+./tools/ramntupleview output.root "chr1:10150-10300"
+```
+
+## Benchmark Results
+
+Tested with HG00154 sample from the 1000 Genomes Project (196M reads, 72GB SAM file):
+
+![File Size Comparison](./img/file-size-comparison.jpg)
+
+### Region Query Performance(LZMA Compression)
+
+| Format | Region | Time (s) | CPU (s) | Reads/sec | Total Reads |
+|--------|--------|----------|---------|-----------|-------------|
+| **TTree** | Small (100bp) | 4.18 | 1.50 | 4.7 | 7 |
+| | Gene (BRCA2) | 1.87 | 1.79 | 24,010 | 42,961 |
+| | 10Mb | 41.2 | 39.7 | 75,105 | 2,977,922 |
+| | 100Mb | 36.3 | 35.4 | 80,492 | 2,852,438 |
+| **RNTuple** | Small (100bp) | 4.10 | 2.55 | 2.7 | 7 |
+| | Gene (BRCA2) | 1.20 | 1.15 | 37,308 | 42,961 |
+| | 10Mb | 7.40 | 6.67 | 446,331 | 2,977,922 |
+| | 100Mb | 6.46 | 6.36 | 448,688 | 2,852,438 |
+
+### Region Query Performance (LZ4 Compression)
+
+| Format | Region | Time (s) | CPU (s) | Reads/sec | Total Reads |
+|--------|--------|----------|---------|-----------|-------------|
+| **TTree** | Small (100bp) | 3.23 | 1.86 | 3.8 | 7 |
+| | Gene (BRCA2) | 0.941 | 0.842 | 51,030 | 42,961 |
+| | 10Mb | 14.5 | 11.0 | 269,797 | 2,977,922 |
+| | 100Mb | 9.05 | 9.05 | 315,088 | 2,852,438 |
+| **RNTuple** | Small (100bp) | 2.98 | 1.67 | 4.2 | 7 |
+| | Gene (BRCA2) | 1.01 | 0.948 | 45,321 | 42,961 |
+| | 10Mb | 7.43 | 6.68 | 445,709 | 2,977,922 |
+| | 100Mb | 6.47 | 6.29 | 453,736 | 2,852,438 |
+
+### Region Query Performance (ZLIB Compression)
+
+| Format | Region | Time (s) | CPU (s) | Reads/sec | Total Reads |
+|--------|--------|----------|---------|-----------|-------------|
+| **TTree** | Small (100bp) | 4.19 | 2.31 | 3.0 | 7 |
+| | Gene (BRCA2) | 1.22 | 1.11 | 38,661 | 42,961 |
+| | 10Mb | 18.2 | 16.3 | 183,021 | 2,977,922 |
+| | 100Mb | 14.4 | 14.4 | 197,815 | 2,852,438 |
+| **RNTuple** | Small (100bp) | 2.85 | 1.73 | 4.0 | 7 |
+| | Gene (BRCA2) | 1.19 | 1.14 | 37,529 | 42,961 |
+| | 10Mb | 7.40 | 6.62 | 449,599 | 2,977,922 |
+| | 100Mb | 6.49 | 6.41 | 445,148 | 2,852,438 |
+
+**Key Findings**: 
+- RNTuple demonstrates **1.4-2.5x faster** query performance for large regions compared to TTree
+- LZ4 compression provides the best query performance among all compression algorithms
+- For a 100Mb region query: RNTuple processes **453,736 reads/sec** vs TTree+ZLIB's **197,815 reads/sec**
+
+## TTree Implementation (Legacy)
+
+ROOT scripts to convert a SAM file to a RAM (ROOT Alignment/Map) file using the older TTree format and to work with those files.
+
+### Convert SAM to RAM with TTree
+```bash
+$ root
+root [0] .x samtoram.C
+root [1] .q
+```
 
+### Read a RAM file (TTree)
 ```bash
-    $ root
-    root [0] .x ramreader.C
-    root [1] .q
+$ root
+root [0] .x ramreader.C
+root [1] .q
 ```
 
- - To view a region, the equivalent of `samtools view bamexample.bam chr1:10150-10300`, do:
+### View a specific region (TTree)
 
+To view a region, the equivalent of `samtools view bamexample.bam chr1:10150-10300`:
 ```bash
-    $ root
-    root [0] .x ramview.C("ramexample.root","chr1:10150-10300")
-    root [1] .q
+$ root
+root [0] .x ramview.C("ramexample.root","chr1:10150-10300")
+root [1] .q
 ```
 
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