chicago/README.md

A front-end JavaScript library for user-interface developers.

#Chicago.js
##A front-end JavaScript library for user-interface developers.
***
###Intro

Chicago.js is a small, fast JavaScript library built specifically with front-end and user-experience developers in mind. Primarily, the library is a collection of useful utility and cross-browser support functions, allowing for quicker and easier development it fewer bugs and cross-browser/device issues.

Given that there are already a ton of JS libraries out there, I've created several goals for this project:

* To be fast, lightweight, and easily deployable
* To create and allow for a consistent cross-browser/device experience
* To find real solutions for real problems - to not be repetitive
* To be modular and extendable - creating a plugin for the library should be easy
* To always be reliable through rigorous testing
* To allow for easy contribution in the spirit of open-source software

Here are some links for quick reference:

* [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/nielse63/Chicago/)
* [Issues](https://github.com/nielse63/Chicago/issues/)
* [Releases](https://github.com/nielse63/Chicago/releases/)
* [Contributing Guidelines](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/contributing.html)
* [API Documentation](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs.html)
* [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/chicago)

***
###Dependensites

**Note**: Chicago.js is, for the time being, dependent on jQuery. Make sure to reference jQuery before you include Chicago.js in your project.

***
###Installation

Chicago.js can be installed several different ways:

####Manually:
* [Download the latest release](https://github.com/nielse63/Chicago/archive/1.0.0.zip) from GitHub
* Unzip the package
* Copy ```dist/Chicago.js``` or ```dist/Chicago.min.js``` from the package into your project's folder
* Reference the file in the footer of your HTML pages:

```
<script src="Chicago.js"></script>
```
####Using Bower
```
cd ~/your/project
bower install Chicago
```
####Using NPM
```
cd ~/your/project
npm install chicago
```

***

###Usage

How to use Chicago.js

Chicago.js creates an object on the window/global called Chicago. You can access this object and it's methods/properties by referencing the global object directly:

```
var myChicago = window.Chicago;
```

The recommended way to access the global Chicago object is by passing it as an argument of an anonymous closure:

```
;(function(_c) {

	// Now we can use _c to access Chicago...
	console.log( _c.version ); // will output 1.0.0

})(Chicago);
```
Learn more about anonymous closures and the module design pattern [on MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Closures#Emulating_private_methods_with_closures).

***

###API Docs

*[You can access all documentation from this link](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs.html).*

Chicago.js is broken down into modules. Each module contains it's own methods and properties. Below are links to the docs for each module:

* [Prototype Extensions](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs-extensions.html)
* [Chicago.Core](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs-core.html)
* [Chicago.Support](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs-support.html)
* [Chicago.Utils](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs-utils.html)
* [Chicago.Events](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs-events.html)
* [Chicago.Plugins](https://nielse63.github.io/Chicago/docs-plugins.html)