public function limit($limit, $page = 1)
	{

		//put this in try...catch block for better error handling
		try{

			if ( empty($limit) ) 
			{
				//throw exception if value of limit passed is negative
				throw new MySQLException("Empty argument passed for $limit in method limit()", 1);

			}

		}

		//diplay error message
		catch(MySQLException $MySQLExceptionObject){

			//display error message
			$MySQLExceptionObject->errorShow();

		}

		//set the limits property
		$this->limits = $limit;

		//set the offset property
		$this->offset = (int)$limit * ($page - 1);

		//return this object instance
		return $this;

	}