(function($){

	// set the defaults
	var defaults = {
		// use a comma as the string delimiter
		delimiter: ",",
		// the default key binding to check for when using the createCheckboxRange()
		checkboxRangeKeyBinding: "shiftKey",
		// for methods that could return either a string or array, decide default behavior
		useArray: false
	};

	// set default options
	$.Field = {
		version: "0.9.2",
		setDefaults: function(options){
			$.extend(defaults, options);
		},
		setProperty: function(prop, value){
			defaults[prop] = value;
		},
		getProperty: function(prop){
			return defaults[prop];
		}
	};  
	// the getValue() method -- break the chain
	$.fn.getValue = function(){
		// return the values as a comma-delimited string
		return getValue(this).join(defaults.delimiter);
	};

	/*
	 * getValue()
	 *
	 * returns Array - an array of values for the field
	 *
	 */
	// the getValue() method -- break the chain
	var getValue = function(jq){
		var v = [];

		jq.each(
			function (lc){
				// get the current type
				var t = getType(this);

				switch( t ){
					case "checkbox": case "radio":
						// if the checkbox or radio element is checked
						if( this.checked ) v.push(this.value);
					break;

					case "select":
						if( this.type == "select-one" ){
							v.push( (this.selectedIndex == -1) ? "" : getOptionVal(this[this.selectedIndex]) );
						} else {
							// loop through all element in the array for this field
							for( var i=0; i < this.length; i++ ){
								// if the element is selected, get the selected values
								if( this[i].selected ){
									// append the selected value, if the value property doesn't exist, use the text
									v.push(getOptionVal(this[i]));
								}
							}
						}
					break;

					case "text":
						v.push(this.value);
					break;
				}
			}
		);

		// return the values as an array
		return v;
	};   
	$.fn.limitSelection = function(limit, options){
		// get the options to use
		var opt = jQuery.extend(
			(limit && limit.constructor == Object ? limit : {
					limit: limit
				, onsuccess: function (limit){ return true; }
				, onfailure: function (limit){ alert("You can only select a maximum a of " + limit + " items."); return false; }
			})
			, options);
		
		var self = this;

		var getCount = function (el){
			if( el.type == "select-multiple" ) return $("option:selected", self).length;
			else if( el.type == "checkbox" ) return self.filter(":checked").length;
			return 0;
		};

		var undoSelect = function (){
			// reduce selection to n items
			setValue(self, getValue(self).slice(0, opt.limit));
			// do callback
			return opt.onfailure.apply(self, [opt.limit]);
		};

		return this.bind(
			(!!self[0] && self[0].type == "select-multiple") ? "change.limitSelection" : "click.limitSelection",
			function (){
				if( getCount(this) > opt.limit ){
					// run callback, it must return false to prevent action
					return (this.type == "select-multiple") ? undoSelect() : opt.onfailure.apply(self, [opt.limit]);
				}
				opt.onsuccess.apply(self, [opt.limit]);
				return true;
			}
		);
	}; 

	// determines how to process a field
	var getType = function (el){
		var t = el.type;

		switch( t ){
			case "select": case "select-one": case "select-multiple":
				t = "select";
				break;
			case "text": case "hidden": case "textarea": case "password": case "button": case "submit": case "submit":
				t = "text";
				break;
			case "checkbox": case "radio":
				t = t;
				break;
		}
		return t;
	};

	// gets the value of a select element
	var getOptionVal = function (el){
		 return jQuery.browser.msie && !(el.attributes['value'].specified) ? el.text : el.value;
	};

	// checks to see if a value exists in an array
	var valueExists = function (a, v){
		return ($.inArray(v, a) > -1);
	};

	// correctly gets the type of an object (including array/dates)
	var $type = function (o){
		var t = (typeof o).toLowerCase();

		if( t == "object" ){
			if( o instanceof Array ) t = "array";
	 		else if( o instanceof Date ) t = "date";
	 	}
	 	return t;
	};

	// checks to see if an object is the specified type
	var $isType = function (o, v){
		return ($type(o) == String(v).toLowerCase());
	};

})(jQuery);