= Prototype
==== An object-oriented JavaScript framework
 
Prototype is a JavaScript framework that aims to ease development of dynamic 
web applications.  It offers a familiar class-style OO framework, extensive
Ajax support, higher-order programming constructs, and easy DOM manipulation.
 
=== Targeted platforms
 
Prototype currently targets the following platforms:
 
* Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows, version 6.0 and higher
* Mozilla Firefox 1.5 and higher
* Apple Safari 2.0 and higher
* Opera 9.25 and higher
 
== Using Prototype
 
To use Prototype in your application, download the latest release from the 
Prototype web site (http://prototypejs.org/download) and copy 
<tt>dist/prototype.js</tt> to a suitable location. Then include it in your HTML
like so:
 
  <script type="text/javascript" src="/path/to/prototype.js"></script>
 
=== Building Prototype from source
 
<tt>prototype.js</tt> is a composite file generated from many source files in 
the <tt>src/</tt> directory. To build Prototype, you'll need:
 
* a copy of the Prototype source tree, either from a distribution tarball or
  from the Subversion repository (see below)
* Ruby 1.8.2 or higher (http://www.ruby-lang.org/)
* Rake -- Ruby Make (http://rake.rubyforge.org/)
* RDoc, if your Ruby distribution does not include it
 
From the root Prototype directory,
 
* <tt>rake dist</tt> will preprocess the Prototype source using ERB and 
  generate the composite <tt>dist/prototype.js</tt>.
* <tt>rake package</tt> will create a distribution tarball in the 
  <tt>pkg/</tt> directory.
 
== Contributing to Prototype
 
Check out the Prototype source with 
  $ git clone git://github.com/sstephenson/prototype.git
 
Find out how to contribute:
  http://prototypejs.org/contribute
 
== Documentation
 
Please see the online Prototype API:
  http://prototypejs.org/api