diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3389c86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+.zig-cache/
+zig-out/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c75ae6d..05371a9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ array::array's don't exist. Use json or toml or something
 data with newlines must have a length:7:foo
 bar
 boolean value:bool:false
-  # Empty line separates records
+
+  # Empty line separates records, but comments don't count as empty
 key::this is the second record
 this is a number:num:42 
 null value:null:
diff --git a/build.zig b/build.zig
index 24ed72b..72d5034 100644
--- a/build.zig
+++ b/build.zig
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) void {
         // intend to expose to consumers that were defined in other files part
         // of this module, you will have to make sure to re-export them from
         // the root file.
-        .root_source_file = b.path("src/root.zig"),
+        .root_source_file = b.path("src/srf.zig"),
         // Later on we'll use this module as the root module of a test executable
         // which requires us to specify a target.
         .target = target,
diff --git a/src/main.zig b/src/main.zig
index 3802762..13ab026 100644
--- a/src/main.zig
+++ b/src/main.zig
@@ -1,27 +1,3 @@
 const std = @import("std");
-const srf = @import("srf");
 
-pub fn main() !void {
-    // Prints to stderr, ignoring potential errors.
-    std.debug.print("All your {s} are belong to us.\n", .{"codebase"});
-    try srf.bufferedPrint();
-}
-
-test "simple test" {
-    const gpa = std.testing.allocator;
-    var list: std.ArrayList(i32) = .empty;
-    defer list.deinit(gpa); // Try commenting this out and see if zig detects the memory leak!
-    try list.append(gpa, 42);
-    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(i32, 42), list.pop());
-}
-
-test "fuzz example" {
-    const Context = struct {
-        fn testOne(context: @This(), input: []const u8) anyerror!void {
-            _ = context;
-            // Try passing `--fuzz` to `zig build test` and see if it manages to fail this test case!
-            try std.testing.expect(!std.mem.eql(u8, "canyoufindme", input));
-        }
-    };
-    try std.testing.fuzz(Context{}, Context.testOne, .{});
-}
+pub fn main() !void {}
diff --git a/src/root.zig b/src/root.zig
deleted file mode 100644
index 94c7cd0..0000000
--- a/src/root.zig
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-//! By convention, root.zig is the root source file when making a library.
-const std = @import("std");
-
-pub fn bufferedPrint() !void {
-    // Stdout is for the actual output of your application, for example if you
-    // are implementing gzip, then only the compressed bytes should be sent to
-    // stdout, not any debugging messages.
-    var stdout_buffer: [1024]u8 = undefined;
-    var stdout_writer = std.fs.File.stdout().writer(&stdout_buffer);
-    const stdout = &stdout_writer.interface;
-
-    try stdout.print("Run `zig build test` to run the tests.\n", .{});
-
-    try stdout.flush(); // Don't forget to flush!
-}
-
-pub fn add(a: i32, b: i32) i32 {
-    return a + b;
-}
-
-test "basic add functionality" {
-    try std.testing.expect(add(3, 7) == 10);
-}
diff --git a/src/srf.zig b/src/srf.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..45b37ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/srf.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,584 @@
+//! By convention, root.zig is the root source file when making a library.
+const std = @import("std");
+
+const log = std.log.scoped(.srf);
+
+pub const ParseLineError = struct {
+    message: []const u8,
+    level: std.log.Level,
+    line: usize,
+    column: usize,
+
+    pub fn deinit(self: ParseLineError, allocator: std.mem.Allocator) void {
+        allocator.free(self.message);
+    }
+};
+pub const Diagnostics = struct {
+    errors: *std.ArrayList(ParseLineError),
+    stop_after: usize = 10,
+
+    pub fn addError(self: Diagnostics, allocator: std.mem.Allocator, err: ParseLineError) ParseError!void {
+        if (self.errors.items.len >= self.stop_after) {
+            err.deinit(allocator);
+            return ParseError.ParseFailed;
+        }
+        try self.errors.append(allocator, err);
+    }
+    pub fn deinit(self: Diagnostics, allocator: std.mem.Allocator) void {
+        for (self.errors) |e| e.deinit(allocator);
+        self.errors.deinit(allocator);
+    }
+};
+
+pub const ParseError = error{
+    ParseFailed,
+    ReadFailed,
+    StreamTooLong,
+    OutOfMemory,
+    EndOfStream,
+};
+
+const ItemValueWithMetaData = struct {
+    item_value: ?ItemValue,
+    error_parsing: bool = false,
+    ending_byte: usize,
+    column_set: bool = false,
+};
+pub const ItemValue = union(enum) {
+    number: f128,
+
+    /// Bytes are converted to/from base64, string is not
+    bytes: []const u8,
+
+    /// String is not touched in any way
+    string: []const u8,
+
+    boolean: bool,
+
+    pub fn format(self: ItemValue, writer: *std.Io.Writer) std.Io.Writer.Error!void {
+        switch (self) {
+            .number => try writer.print("num: {d}", .{self.number}),
+            .bytes => try writer.print("bytes: {x}", .{self.bytes}),
+            .string => try writer.print("string: {s}", .{self.string}),
+            .boolean => try writer.print("boolean: {}", .{self.boolean}),
+        }
+    }
+    pub fn deinit(self: ItemValue, allocator: std.mem.Allocator) void {
+        switch (self) {
+            .number, .boolean => {},
+            .bytes => |b| allocator.free(b),
+            .string => |s| allocator.free(s),
+        }
+    }
+    pub fn parse(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, str: []const u8, state: *ParseState, delimiter: u8, options: ParseOptions) ParseError!ItemValueWithMetaData {
+        const type_val_sep_raw = std.mem.indexOfScalar(u8, str, ':');
+        if (type_val_sep_raw == null) {
+            try parseError(allocator, options, "no type data or value after key", state.*);
+            return ParseError.ParseFailed;
+        }
+
+        const type_val_sep = type_val_sep_raw.?;
+        const metadata = str[0..type_val_sep];
+        const trimmed_meta = std.mem.trim(u8, metadata, &std.ascii.whitespace);
+        if (trimmed_meta.len == 0 or std.mem.eql(u8, "string", trimmed_meta)) {
+            // delimiter ended string
+            var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, str[type_val_sep + 1 ..], delimiter);
+            const val = it.first();
+            return .{
+                .item_value = .{ .string = try allocator.dupe(u8, val) },
+                .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+            };
+        }
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "binary", trimmed_meta)) {
+            // binary is base64 encoded, so we need to decode it, but we don't
+            // risk delimiter collision, so we don't need a length for this
+            var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, str[type_val_sep + 1 ..], delimiter);
+            const val = it.first();
+            const Decoder = std.base64.standard.Decoder;
+            const size = Decoder.calcSizeForSlice(val) catch {
+                try parseError(allocator, options, "error parsing base64 value", state.*);
+                return .{
+                    .item_value = null,
+                    .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+                    .error_parsing = true,
+                };
+            };
+            const data = try allocator.alloc(u8, size);
+            errdefer allocator.free(data);
+            Decoder.decode(data, val) catch {
+                try parseError(allocator, options, "error parsing base64 value", state.*);
+                allocator.free(data);
+                return .{
+                    .item_value = null,
+                    .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+                    .error_parsing = true,
+                };
+            };
+            return .{
+                .item_value = .{ .bytes = data },
+                .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+            };
+        }
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "num", trimmed_meta)) {
+            var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, str[type_val_sep + 1 ..], delimiter);
+            const val = it.first();
+            const val_trimmed = std.mem.trim(u8, val, &std.ascii.whitespace);
+            const number = std.fmt.parseFloat(@FieldType(ItemValue, "number"), val_trimmed) catch {
+                // TODO: in compact format we really need a column number here
+                try parseError(allocator, options, "error parsing numeric value", state.*);
+                return .{
+                    .item_value = null,
+                    .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+                    .error_parsing = true,
+                };
+            };
+            return .{
+                .item_value = .{ .number = number },
+                .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+            };
+        }
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "bool", trimmed_meta)) {
+            var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, str[type_val_sep + 1 ..], delimiter);
+            const val = it.first();
+            const val_trimmed = std.mem.trim(u8, val, &std.ascii.whitespace);
+            const boolean = blk: {
+                if (std.mem.eql(u8, "false", val_trimmed)) break :blk false;
+                if (std.mem.eql(u8, "true", val_trimmed)) break :blk true;
+
+                // TODO: in compact format we really need a column number here
+                try parseError(allocator, options, "error parsing boolean value", state.*);
+                return .{
+                    .item_value = null,
+                    .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+                    .error_parsing = true,
+                };
+            };
+            return .{
+                .item_value = .{ .boolean = boolean },
+                .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+            };
+        }
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "null", trimmed_meta)) {
+            return .{
+                .item_value = null,
+                .ending_byte = metadata.len + 2,
+            };
+        }
+        // Last chance...the thing between these colons is a usize indicating
+        // the number of bytes to grab for a string
+        const size = std.fmt.parseInt(usize, trimmed_meta, 0) catch {
+            log.debug("parseInt fail, trimmed_data: '{s}'", .{trimmed_meta});
+            try parseError(allocator, options, "unrecognized metadata for key", state.*);
+            return .{
+                .item_value = null,
+                .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1,
+                .error_parsing = true,
+            };
+        };
+        // If we are being asked specifically for bytes, we no longer care about
+        // delimiters. We just want raw bytes. This might adjust our line/column
+        // in the parse state
+        const rest_of_data = str[type_val_sep + 1 ..];
+        if (rest_of_data.len > size) {
+            // We fit on this line, everything is "normal"
+            const val = rest_of_data[0..size];
+            return .{
+                .item_value = .{ .string = val },
+                .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + val.len,
+            };
+        }
+        // This is not enough, we need more data from the reader
+        log.debug("item value includes newlines {f}", .{state});
+        // We need to advance the reader, so we need a copy of what we have so fa
+        const start = try allocator.dupe(u8, rest_of_data);
+        defer allocator.free(start);
+        // We won't do a parseError here. If we have an allocation error, read
+        // error, or end of stream, all of these are fatal. Our reader is currently
+        // past the newline, so we have to remove a character from size to account.
+        const end = try state.reader.readAlloc(allocator, size - rest_of_data.len - 1);
+        // However, we want to be past the end of the *next* newline too (in long
+        // format mode)
+        if (delimiter == '\n') state.reader.toss(1);
+        defer allocator.free(end);
+        // This \n is because the reader state will have advanced beyond the next newline, so end
+        // really should start with the newline. This only applies to long mode, because otherwise the
+        // entire record is a single line
+        const final = try std.mem.concat(allocator, u8, &.{ start, "\n", end });
+        // const final = if (delimiter == '\n')
+        //     try std.mem.concat(allocator, u8, &.{ start, "\n", end })
+        // else
+        //     try std.mem.concat(allocator, u8, &.{ start, end });
+        errdefer allocator.free(final);
+        log.debug("full val: {s}", .{final});
+        std.debug.assert(final.len == size);
+        // Now we need to get the parse state correct
+        state.line += std.mem.count(u8, final, "\n");
+        state.column = final.len - std.mem.lastIndexOf(u8, final, "\n").?;
+        return .{
+            .item_value = .{ .string = final },
+            .ending_byte = metadata.len + 1 + final.len, // This is useless here
+            .column_set = true,
+        };
+    }
+};
+
+pub const Item = struct {
+    key: []const u8,
+    value: ?ItemValue,
+
+    pub fn deinit(self: Item, allocator: std.mem.Allocator) void {
+        // std.debug.print("item deinit, key {s}, val: {?f}\n", .{ self.key, self.value });
+        allocator.free(self.key);
+        if (self.value) |v|
+            v.deinit(allocator);
+    }
+};
+
+pub const Record = struct {
+    items: []Item,
+
+    pub fn deinit(self: Record, allocator: std.mem.Allocator) void {
+        for (self.items) |i| i.deinit(allocator);
+        allocator.free(self.items);
+    }
+};
+
+pub const RecordList = struct {
+    items: []Record,
+
+    pub fn deinit(self: RecordList, allocator: std.mem.Allocator) void {
+        for (self.items) |r|
+            r.deinit(allocator);
+        allocator.free(self.items);
+    }
+    pub fn format(self: RecordList, writer: *std.Io.Writer) std.Io.Writer.Error!void {
+        _ = self;
+        _ = writer;
+    }
+};
+
+pub const ParseOptions = struct {
+    diagnostics: ?*Diagnostics = null,
+};
+
+const Directive = union(enum) {
+    magic,
+    long_format,
+    compact_format,
+    require_eof,
+    eof,
+
+    pub fn parse(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, str: []const u8, state: ParseState, options: ParseOptions) ParseError!?Directive {
+        if (!std.mem.startsWith(u8, str, "#!")) return null;
+        // strip any comments off
+        var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, str[2..], '#');
+        const line = std.mem.trimEnd(u8, it.first(), &std.ascii.whitespace);
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "srfv1", line)) return .magic;
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "requireeof", line)) return .require_eof;
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "requireof", line)) {
+            try parseError(allocator, options, "#!requireof found. Did you mean #!requireeof?", state);
+            return null;
+        }
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "eof", line)) return .eof;
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "compact", line)) return .compact_format;
+        if (std.mem.eql(u8, "long", line)) return .long_format;
+        return null;
+    }
+};
+pub const ParseState = struct {
+    reader: *std.Io.Reader,
+    line: usize,
+    column: usize,
+
+    pub fn format(self: ParseState, writer: *std.Io.Writer) std.Io.Writer.Error!void {
+        try writer.print("line: {}, col: {}", .{ self.line, self.column });
+    }
+};
+pub fn parse(reader: *std.Io.Reader, allocator: std.mem.Allocator, options: ParseOptions) ParseError!RecordList {
+    var long_format = false; // Default to compact format
+    var require_eof = false; // Default to no eof required
+    var eof_found: bool = false;
+    var state = ParseState{ .line = 0, .column = 0, .reader = reader };
+    const first_line = nextLine(reader, &state, '\n') orelse return ParseError.ParseFailed;
+
+    if (try Directive.parse(allocator, first_line, state, options)) |d| {
+        if (d != .magic) try parseError(allocator, options, "Magic header not found on first line", state);
+    } else try parseError(allocator, options, "Magic header not found on first line", state);
+
+    // Loop through the header material and configure our main parsing
+    var record_list: std.ArrayList(Record) = .empty;
+    errdefer {
+        for (record_list.items) |i| i.deinit(allocator);
+        record_list.deinit(allocator);
+    }
+    const first_data = blk: {
+        while (nextLine(reader, &state, '\n')) |line| {
+            if (try Directive.parse(allocator, line, state, options)) |d| {
+                switch (d) {
+                    .magic => try parseError(allocator, options, "Found a duplicate magic header", state),
+                    .long_format => long_format = true,
+                    .compact_format => long_format = false, // what if we have both?
+                    .require_eof => require_eof = true,
+                    .eof => {
+                        // there needs to be an eof then
+                        if (nextLine(reader, &state, '\n')) |_| {
+                            try parseError(allocator, options, "Data found after #!eof", state);
+                            return ParseError.ParseFailed; // this is terminal
+                        } else return .{ .items = try record_list.toOwnedSlice(allocator) };
+                    },
+                }
+            } else break :blk line;
+        }
+        return .{ .items = try record_list.toOwnedSlice(allocator) };
+    };
+
+    // Main parsing. We already have the first line of data, which could
+    // be a record (compact format) or a key/value pair (long format)
+    var line: ?[]const u8 = first_data;
+    var items: std.ArrayList(Item) = .empty;
+    errdefer {
+        for (items.items) |i| i.deinit(allocator);
+        items.deinit(allocator);
+    }
+
+    // Because in long format we don't have newline delimiter, that should really be a noop
+    // but we need this for compact format
+    const delimiter: u8 = if (long_format) '\n' else ',';
+    while (line) |l| {
+        if (std.mem.trim(u8, l, &std.ascii.whitespace).len == 0) {
+            // empty lines can be signficant (to indicate a new record, but only once
+            // a record is processed, which requires data first. That record processing
+            // is at the bottom of the loop, so if an empty line is detected here, we can
+            // safely ignore it
+            line = nextLine(reader, &state, '\n');
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (try Directive.parse(allocator, l, state, options)) |d| {
+            switch (d) {
+                .eof => {
+                    // there needs to be an eof then
+                    if (nextLine(reader, &state, '\n')) |_| {
+                        try parseError(allocator, options, "Data found after #!eof", state);
+                        return ParseError.ParseFailed; // this is terminal
+                    } else {
+                        eof_found = true;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                },
+                else => try parseError(allocator, options, "Directive found after data started", state),
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        // Real data: lfg
+        // Whatever the format, the beginning will always be the key data
+        // key:stuff:value
+        var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, l, ':');
+        const key = it.next().?; // first one we get for free
+        const value = try ItemValue.parse(
+            allocator,
+            it.rest(),
+            &state,
+            delimiter,
+            options,
+        );
+        if (!value.error_parsing) {
+            // std.debug.print("alloc on key: {s}, val: {?f}\n", .{ key, value.item_value });
+            try items.append(allocator, .{ .key = try allocator.dupe(u8, key), .value = value.item_value });
+        }
+
+        if (!value.column_set)
+            state.column = key.len + value.ending_byte;
+        // The difference between compact and line here is that compact we will instead of
+        // line = try nextLine, we will do something like line = line[42..]
+
+        if (long_format) {
+            const maybe_line = nextLine(reader, &state, '\n');
+            if (maybe_line == null) {
+                // close out record, return
+                try record_list.append(allocator, .{
+                    .items = try items.toOwnedSlice(allocator),
+                });
+                break;
+            }
+            line = maybe_line.?;
+            if (line.?.len == 0) {
+                // End of record
+                try record_list.append(allocator, .{
+                    .items = try items.toOwnedSlice(allocator),
+                });
+                line = nextLine(reader, &state, '\n');
+            }
+        } else {
+            line = l[state.column..];
+            if (line.?.len == 0) {
+                // close out record
+                try record_list.append(allocator, .{
+                    .items = try items.toOwnedSlice(allocator),
+                });
+                line = nextLine(reader, &state, '\n');
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    // Parsing complete. Add final record to list. Then, if there are any parse errors, throw
+    log.debug(
+        "Parse complete. Records parsed so far: {d}, Items in array (>0 means final record): {d}",
+        .{ record_list.items.len, items.items.len },
+    );
+    if (items.items.len > 0)
+        try record_list.append(allocator, .{
+            .items = try items.toOwnedSlice(allocator),
+        });
+    if (options.diagnostics) |d|
+        if (d.errors.items.len > 0) return ParseError.ParseFailed;
+    if (require_eof and !eof_found) return ParseError.ParseFailed;
+    return .{ .items = try record_list.toOwnedSlice(allocator) };
+}
+
+/// Takes the next line, trimming leading whitespace and ignoring comments
+/// Directives (comments starting with #!) are preserved
+fn nextLine(reader: *std.Io.Reader, state: *ParseState, delimiter: u8) ?[]const u8 {
+    while (true) {
+        state.line += 1;
+        state.column = 0;
+        const raw_line = (reader.takeDelimiter(delimiter) catch return null) orelse return null;
+        // we don't want to trim the end, as there might be a key/value field
+        // with a string including important trailing whitespace
+        const trimmed_line = std.mem.trimStart(u8, raw_line, &std.ascii.whitespace);
+        if (std.mem.startsWith(u8, trimmed_line, "#") and !std.mem.startsWith(u8, trimmed_line, "#!")) continue;
+        return trimmed_line;
+    }
+}
+
+inline fn parseError(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, options: ParseOptions, message: []const u8, state: ParseState) ParseError!void {
+    log.debug("Parse error. Parse state {f}, message: {s}", .{ state, message });
+    if (options.diagnostics) |d| {
+        try d.addError(allocator, .{
+            .message = try allocator.dupe(u8, message),
+            .level = .err,
+            .line = state.line,
+            .column = state.column,
+        });
+    } else {
+        return ParseError.ParseFailed;
+    }
+}
+
+test "long format single record, no eof" {
+    const data =
+        \\#!srfv1 # mandatory comment with format and version. Parser instructions start with #!
+        \\#!long # Mandatory to use multiline records, compact format is optional #!compact
+        \\# A comment
+        \\# empty lines ignored
+        \\
+        \\key::string value, with any data except a \n. an optional string length between the colons
+    ;
+
+    const allocator = std.testing.allocator;
+    var reader = std.Io.Reader.fixed(data);
+    const records = try parse(&reader, allocator, .{});
+    defer records.deinit(allocator);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 1), records.items.len);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 1), records.items[0].items.len);
+    const kvps = records.items[0].items;
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("key", kvps[0].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("string value, with any data except a \\n. an optional string length between the colons", kvps[0].value.?.string);
+}
+test "long format from README - generic data structures, first record only" {
+    const data =
+        \\#!srfv1 # mandatory comment with format and version. Parser instructions start with #!
+        \\#!requireeof # Set this if you want parsing to fail when #!eof not present on last line
+        \\#!long # Mandatory to use multiline records, compact format is optional #!compact
+        \\# A comment
+        \\# empty lines ignored
+        \\
+        \\this is a number:num: 5 
+        \\#!eof
+    ;
+
+    const allocator = std.testing.allocator;
+    var reader = std.Io.Reader.fixed(data);
+    const records = try parse(&reader, allocator, .{});
+    defer records.deinit(allocator);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 1), records.items.len);
+}
+
+test "long format from README - generic data structures" {
+    const data =
+        \\#!srfv1 # mandatory comment with format and version. Parser instructions start with #!
+        \\#!requireeof # Set this if you want parsing to fail when #!eof not present on last line
+        \\#!long # Mandatory to use multiline records, compact format is optional #!compact
+        \\# A comment
+        \\# empty lines ignored
+        \\
+        \\key::string value, with any data except a \n. an optional string length between the colons
+        \\this is a number:num: 5 
+        \\null value:null:
+        \\array::array's don't exist. Use json or toml or something
+        \\data with newlines must have a length:7:foo
+        \\bar
+        \\boolean value:bool:false
+        \\  # Empty line separates records
+        \\
+        \\key::this is the second record
+        \\this is a number:num:42 
+        \\null value:null:
+        \\array::array's still don't exist
+        \\data with newlines must have a length::single line
+        \\#!eof # eof marker, useful to make sure your file wasn't cut in half. Only considered if requireeof set at top
+    ;
+
+    const allocator = std.testing.allocator;
+    var reader = std.Io.Reader.fixed(data);
+    const records = try parse(&reader, allocator, .{});
+    defer records.deinit(allocator);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 2), records.items.len);
+    const first = records.items[0];
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 6), first.items.len);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("key", first.items[0].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("string value, with any data except a \\n. an optional string length between the colons", first.items[0].value.?.string);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("this is a number", first.items[1].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(f128, 5), first.items[1].value.?.number);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("null value", first.items[2].key);
+    try std.testing.expect(first.items[2].value == null);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("array", first.items[3].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("array's don't exist. Use json or toml or something", first.items[3].value.?.string);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("data with newlines must have a length", first.items[4].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("foo\nbar", first.items[4].value.?.string);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("boolean value", first.items[5].key);
+    try std.testing.expect(!first.items[5].value.?.boolean);
+
+    // TODO: Second record
+    const second = records.items[1];
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 5), second.items.len);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("key", second.items[0].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("this is the second record", second.items[0].value.?.string);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("this is a number", second.items[1].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(f128, 42), second.items[1].value.?.number);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("null value", second.items[2].key);
+    try std.testing.expect(second.items[2].value == null);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("array", second.items[3].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("array's still don't exist", second.items[3].value.?.string);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("data with newlines must have a length", second.items[4].key);
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("single line", second.items[4].value.?.string);
+}
+
+test "compact format from README - generic data structures" {
+    const lvl = std.testing.log_level;
+    defer std.testing.log_level = lvl;
+    std.testing.log_level = .debug;
+    if (true) return error.SkipZigTest;
+    const data =
+        \\#!srfv1 # mandatory comment with format and version. Parser instructions start with #!
+        \\key::string value must have a length between colons or end with a comma,this is a number:num:5 ,null value:null:,array::array's don't exist. Use json or toml or something,data with newlines must have a length:7:foo
+        \\bar,boolean value:bool:false
+        \\key::this is the second record
+    ;
+
+    const allocator = std.testing.allocator;
+    var reader = std.Io.Reader.fixed(data);
+    // We want "parse" and "parseLeaky" probably. Second parameter is a diagnostics
+    const records = try parse(&reader, allocator, .{});
+    defer records.deinit(allocator);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(usize, 2), records.items.len);
+}