In this chapter, we will speak about physics engine, but the first question is "what is a physics engine?" so let's explain it.

A physics engine is a software or library that is able to simulate Physics, for example, the Newton-Euler equation that describes the movement of a rigid body. A physics engine is also able to manage collisions, and some of them can deal with soft bodies and even fluids.

There are different kinds of physics engines, mainly categorized into real-time engine and non-real-time engine. The first one is mostly used in video games or simulators and the second one is used in high performance scientific simulation, in the conception of special effects in cinema and animations.

As our goal is to use the engine in a video game, let's focus on real-time-based engine. Here again, there are two important types of engines. The first one is for 2D and the other for 3D. Of course you can use a 3D engine in a 2D world, but it's preferable to use a 2D engine...