Guier is a wrapper library for the Google Maps API. Guier specifically targets users who are looking for a more simplified way to work with data Google's API returns when working with reverse-geocoding (returning a human-readable location from coordinates).

As with most JavaScript libraries, you'll first want to grab a copy of the library and add it into your page after the Maps API script tag:

<script src="http://www.google.com/jsapi"></script>
<script src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"></script>
<script src="guier.js"></script>

From here, you have two different methods in which you can use Guier to get your location data:

1. Call Guier's init() method in a basic onload event, explicitly defining the coordinates to use:

   // We start by initializing the Google Maps objects to enforce loose coupling
   var geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();
   var latlng = new google.maps.Latlng(41.87885150, -87.63647820000001);
   
   // Now we pass the Geocoder and Latlng objects into Guier's init() method
   Guier.init({
   	geocoder: geocoder,
   	coordinates: latlng
   });
   
   console.log(Guier.get('city'));	// Outputs 'Chicago'

2. Utilize the HTML5 Geolocation API and initialize Guier within the geolocation object's callback:

   // Checking first for geolocation support of course
   var geolocation = navigator.geolocation ? navigator.geolocation : false;
   if (!!geolocation) {
   	geolocation.getCurrentPosition(function () {
   		// Now we can create the coordinates and initalize Guier
   		var geocoder = new google.maps.Geocoder();
   		var latlng = new google.maps.Latlng(position.coords.latitude, position.coords.longitude);
   
   		Guier.init({
   			geocoder: geocoder,
   			coordinates: latlng
   		});
   	});
   }

Q: What's the goal of this library? A: To be a simple, (hopefully) lightweight wrapper library that helps developers with headaches when attempting to work with the returned data from Google's Geocoder object, specifically in the case of reverse geocoding.

Q: Guier? Huh? A: I was searching for a unique name that I could use to make the library stand out. After reading Wikipedia's article on the origins of GPS, I opted to name the library after William Guier since he was an early pioneer in the technology (plus his last name is pretty cool).