added docblocks, contract, and service provider

README.md

@@ -1,4 +1,118 @@
-Laravel Meta-Articles Package
+# Laravel Meta-Articles
+
+[![Build Status][ico-build]][link-travis]
+[![Quality Score][ico-scrutinizer]][link-scrutinizer]
+[![Latest Unstable Version][ico-unstable]][link-packagist]
+[![License][ico-license]][link-license]
+[![Total Downloads][ico-downloads]][link-packagist]
+[![Latest Stable Version][ico-stable]][link-packagist]
+
+The Framework for Meta enabled Laravel models.
+
+
+## Install
+
+Via Composer
+
+``` bash
+$ composer require glmdev/meta
+```
+
+### Update the Laravel Framework
+
+Add the following provider to config/app.php
+
+``` php
+'providers' => [
+    Glmdev\Meta\MetaServiceProvider::class
+]
+```
+
+
+## Usage
+
+When declaring a new model, extend the Meta model:
+
+``` php
+<?php
+
+namespace App;
+
+use Glmdev\Meta\Meta;
+
+class Post extends Meta 
+{
+    // fillable, hidden, etc. arrays
+}
+```
+
+> *Important*: do not extend the Model class, Meta does this for you
+
+Then, include the 'meta' and 'uuid' columns in your database table:
+
+In your migration,
+``` php
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+
+use Glmdev\Meta\Meta;
+
+class CreatePostsTable extends Migration
+{
+    public function up()
+    {
+        Schema::create('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            // all your table values
+            Meta::formTable($table);
+        });
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Then, when you create a new model, a Post in this case, your function would look something like this:
+
+``` php
+public function createPost () {
+    $post = Post::create([
+        // post data
+    ]);
+    
+    $post->setUuid();
+}
+```
+
+You now have access to a universal identifier for every model in the entire project.
+
+You can check if a model has a UUID, and get it if it does:
+``` php
+$post->hasUuid(); // returns true or false
+$post->getUuid(); // returns the UUID if it exists, else null
+```
+
+The other big feature of the Meta model is saving meta information.
+This information is stored in the database in one column: 'meta'
+
+To save meta information, use the 'write' method.
+``` php
+$post->write('author', 'Bob Saget');
+```
+
+And to retrieve meta information, use the 'read' method.
+``` php
+$post->read('author'); //returns 'Bob Saget'
+```
+
+
+## Credits
+
+- [Garrett Mills][link-author]
+- [All Contributors][link-contributors]
+
+
+## License and Copyright
+
     Copyright (C) 2016 Garrett Mills
 
     This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
@@ -12,4 +126,20 @@ Laravel Meta-Articles Package
     GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
 
     You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
-    along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+    along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+Please see [License File][link-license] for more details.
+
+[ico-stable]: https://poser.pugx.org/glmdev/meta/v/stable
+[ico-unstable]: https://poser.pugx.org/glmdev/meta/v/unstable
+[ico-downloads]: https://poser.pugx.org/glmdev/meta/downloads
+[ico-license]: https://poser.pugx.org/glmdev/meta/license
+[ico-scrutinizer]: https://scrutinizer-ci.com/g/glmdev/meta/badges/quality-score.png?b=master
+[ico-build]: https://travis-ci.org/glmdev/meta.svg
+
+[link-travis]: https://travis-ci.org/glmdev/meta
+[link-packagist]: https://packagist.org/packages/glmdev/meta
+[link-scrutinizer]: https://scrutinizer-ci.com/g/glmdev/meta
+[link-license]: ./LICENSE
+[link-author]: https://github.com/glmdev
+[link-contributors]: ../../contributors