diff --git a/buffer/bs_peek.c b/buffer/bs_peek.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0c784b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buffer/bs_peek.c
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+#include "parse.h"
+
+unsigned char bs_peek(struct bytestream* bs) {
+  unsigned char r;
+  char c;
+  if (bs->cur>=bs->max) {	// EOF or already error state?
+    bs->max=0;	// signal error
+    bs->cur=1;
+    return 0;	// return 0
+  }
+  switch (bs->type) {
+
+  case MEMBUF:
+    r=bs->u.base[bs->cur];
+    break;
+
+  case IOBUF:
+    {
+      int ret=buffer_peekc(bs->u.b, &c);
+      if (ret==1) {
+	r=c;
+      } else {
+	bs->max=0;
+	bs->cur=1;
+	return 0;
+      }
+    }
+    break;
+
+  case BSTREAM:
+    r=bs_peek(bs->u.bs);
+    break;
+
+  default:
+    r=0;	// cannot happen
+  }
+  return r;
+}
+
+#ifdef UNITTEST
+#include <assert.h>
+
+int main() {
+  struct bytestream bs = BS_FROM_MEMBUF("fx", 1);
+
+  /* first test: membuf.
+   * See if we get all the bytes we put in and then error is signaled */
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_get(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 0);
+  assert(bs_err(&bs));
+
+  /* second test: iobuf with no limit. Otherwise the same. */
+  struct buffer b;
+  buffer_init_staticcontents(&b, "fx", 1);
+  bs_init_iobuf(&bs, &b);
+
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_get(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 0);
+  assert(bs_err(&bs));
+
+  /* third test: iobuf with limit. Otherwise the same. */
+  buffer_init_staticcontents(&b, "fx", 2);
+  bs_init_iobuf_size(&bs, &b, 1);
+
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_get(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 0);
+  assert(bs_err(&bs));
+
+  /* fourth test: iobuf with EOF */
+  buffer_init_staticcontents(&b, "fx", 1);
+  bs_init_iobuf(&bs, &b);	// bytestream has no limit but will hit EOF in backing buffer
+
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_get(&bs) == 'f');
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+  assert(bs_peek(&bs) == 0);
+  assert(bs_err(&bs));
+  return 0;
+}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/buffer/prs_asciiz.c b/buffer/prs_asciiz.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8011671
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buffer/prs_asciiz.c
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#include "parse.h"
+
+static const size_t max_ssize_t = (((size_t)1) << (sizeof(size_t)*8-1))-1;
+
+/* Read an asciiz string from the byte stream, up to len bytes (including the 0 terminator). */
+/* Return number of bytes consumed (excluding the 0 terminator), i.e. strlen(dest) */
+/* If there is no 0 byte in these len bytes, set error flag in stream and return -1. */
+/* Calling this function with len==0 is an error. */
+/* destsize will be clamped to the maximum number representable in ssize_t */
+ssize_t prs_asciiz(struct bytestream* bs, char* dest, size_t len) {
+  size_t i;
+  /* The maximum value of ssize_t is half that of size_t.
+   * So we arbitrarily decide to limit len to it here. */
+  if (len>max_ssize_t) len=max_ssize_t;
+  if (len==0) {
+    bs->cur = 1;	// mark bytestream state as erroneous
+    bs->max = 0;
+    return -1;
+  }
+
+  for (i=0; i+1<len; ++i)
+    if ((dest[i] = bs_get(bs)) == 0) {
+      /* we might get here either because there actually was a 0 byte in
+       * the stream, or because we hit EOF. So check if we hit EOF here
+       * and return -1 then. */
+      return (bs->cur<=bs->max) ? (ssize_t)i : -1;
+    }
+  /* if we get here, we read len-1 bytes and there was no 0 byte. */
+  if ((dest[i] = bs_peek(bs))) {	// the loop went till i+1<len and we checked that len!=0
+    // the next byte was not 0, so signal error
+    bs->cur = 1;
+    bs->max = 0;
+    // but still write 0 terminator to dest
+    dest[i] = 0;
+    return -1;
+  } else {
+    bs_get(bs);	// the next byte was 0, so consume it
+    return i;
+  }
+}
+
+#ifdef UNITTEST
+#include <assert.h>
+
+#undef UNITTEST
+#include "buffer/bs_init_membuf.c"
+#include "buffer/bs_get.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_peekc.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_getc.c"
+#include "buffer/bs_peek.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_feed.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_stubborn2.c"
+
+int main() {
+  struct bytestream bs = BS_FROM_MEMBUF("fnord\n\0x",8);
+  char buf[100];
+  assert(prs_asciiz(&bs, buf, sizeof buf) == 6);	// return value should be strlen("fnord\n")
+  assert(!memcmp(buf,"fnord\n",7));	// returned string should be "fnord\n" with 0 terminator
+  assert(bs_get(&bs) == 'x');		// should have consumed the 0 terminator from bytestream
+
+  bs_init_membuf(&bs, "fnord\n\0x", 8);
+  assert(prs_asciiz(&bs, buf, 5) == -1);	// no 0 terminator in first 5 bytes, expect error
+  assert(!memcmp(buf,"fnor",5));		// expect 4 bytes + 0 terminator in dest buf
+  assert(bs_err(&bs));			// bytestream should be in error state now
+}
+#endif
diff --git a/buffer/prs_asciiz_fixedlen.c b/buffer/prs_asciiz_fixedlen.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b88640
--- /dev/null
+++ b/buffer/prs_asciiz_fixedlen.c
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+#include "parse.h"
+
+static const size_t max_ssize_t = (((size_t)1) << (sizeof(size_t)*8-1))-1;
+
+/* Some protocols have a fixed field length for a string,
+ * If the string is shorter than the field, the rest is filled with 0
+ * bytes. But it is not an error if there are no 0 bytes.
+ * This function is for those cases (the filename field in the tar file
+ * header is an example of this).
+ * For a field of length 8, you need to pass destsize as 9 so we can add
+ * a 0 terminator. This function will consume the 8 bytes and add a 0 byte.
+ * The return value is strlen(dest). */
+ssize_t prs_asciiz_fixedlen(struct bytestream* bs, char* dest, size_t len) {
+  size_t i;
+  ssize_t r=0;
+  /* The maximum value of ssize_t is half that of size_t.
+   * So we arbitrarily decide to limit len to it here. */
+  if (len>max_ssize_t) len=max_ssize_t;
+  if (len==0) {
+    bs->cur = 1;	// mark bytestream state as erroneous
+    bs->max = 0;
+    return -1;
+  }
+
+  for (i=0; i+1<len; ++i)
+    if ((dest[i] = bs_get(bs)) == 0 && r==0)
+      r=i;	// note the position of the first 0 byte
+  dest[i] = 0;	// add 0 terminator
+  if (dest[r]) r=i;
+  return bs_err(bs) ? -1 : r;
+}
+
+#ifdef UNITTEST
+#include <assert.h>
+
+#undef UNITTEST
+#include "buffer/bs_init_membuf.c"
+#include "buffer/bs_get.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_peekc.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_getc.c"
+#include "buffer/bs_peek.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_feed.c"
+#include "buffer/buffer_stubborn2.c"
+
+int main() {
+  struct bytestream bs = BS_FROM_MEMBUF("fnord\n\0x",8);
+  char buf[100];
+  assert(prs_asciiz_fixedlen(&bs, buf, 8) == 6);	// return value should be strlen("fnord\n")
+  assert(!memcmp(buf,"fnord\n\0\0",8));	// returned string should be "fnord\n" and the rest filled with 0 bytes
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));
+
+  bs_init_membuf(&bs, "fnord\n\0x", 8);
+  assert(prs_asciiz_fixedlen(&bs, buf, 5) == 4);	// no 0 terminator in first 4 bytes
+  assert(!memcmp(buf,"fnor",5));	// expect 4 bytes + 0 terminator in dest buf
+  assert(bs_get(&bs) == 'd');		// 0 terminator in buf was artificial, 'd' was not consumed
+  assert(!bs_err(&bs));			// bytestream should be ok
+}
+#endif
diff --git a/parse.h b/parse.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ff6c94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parse.h
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+/* this header file comes from libowfat, http://www.fefe.de/libowfat/ */
+#ifndef PARSE_H
+#define PARSE_H
+
+/* for size_t: */
+#include <stddef.h>
+/* for uint32_t: */
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+#include <libowfat/buffer.h>
+
+#include <libowfat/uint16.h>
+#include <libowfat/uint32.h>
+#include <libowfat/uint64.h>
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+/* This file declares an API for decoding binary messages.
+   Goals:
+
+     - You say in advance if there is a message size limit
+
+     - The object can be bound to a memory buffer of an I/O buffer
+
+     - After having set up the object, you get two APIs:
+
+       1. read bytes
+       2. was there an error?
+
+       If you parse a memory buffer manually, you need to do range
+       checking for every byte. If you parse from an I/O buffer
+       manually, you need to check for end of file or I/O error after
+       every byte.
+
+       This API will return 0 bytes and set the error flag when you read
+       past the limit. That way you don't have to check after every
+       byte, but only once at the end of each sub-message.
+
+     - Many binary protocols have a message length and then sub-packets.
+       For example, an IPv4 packet has a header with a length and the IP
+       options. With this abstraction here, you would have one
+       bytestream for the packet (with size limit set to how many bytes
+       came in from the network) and then you would make a new
+       bytestream for the IP header and another one for the option
+       headers. Each would only let you read bytes from that subregion,
+       and would do bounds checking at instantiation time to make sure
+       it physically fits into to upper layer space.
+*/
+
+struct bytestream {
+  enum {
+    MEMBUF,
+    IOBUF,
+    BSTREAM
+  } type;
+  size_t cur, max;
+  union {
+    const unsigned char* base;
+    struct buffer* b;
+    struct bytestream* bs;
+  } u;
+};
+
+void bs_init_membuf(struct bytestream* bs,const unsigned char* membuf,size_t len);
+
+void bs_init_iobuf(struct bytestream* bs,struct buffer* b);
+void bs_init_iobuf_size(struct bytestream* bs,struct buffer* b,size_t maxlen);
+
+void bs_init_bstream_size(struct bytestream* bs,struct bytestream* parent,size_t maxlen);
+
+#define BS_FROM_MEMBUF(buf,len) { .type=MEMBUF, .max=(len), .u.base=(const unsigned char*)(buf) }
+#define BS_FROM_BUFFER(buffer) { .type=IOBUF, .max=(size_t)-1, .u.b=(buffer) }
+#define BS_FROM_BUFFER_SIZE(buffer,len) { .type=IOBUF, .max=(len), u.b=(buffer) }
+
+/* return next byte from stream or 0 if EOF or read error. */
+unsigned char bs_get(struct bytestream* bs);
+
+/* like bs_get but do not advance position in stream. */
+unsigned char bs_peek(struct bytestream* bs);
+
+/* was there a read error or did we attempt to read more than maxlen bytes? */
+int bs_err(struct bytestream* bs);
+
+/* Can we read this much more bytes from the bytestream? */
+int bs_capacitycheck(struct bytestream* bs,size_t capacity);
+
+uint16_t prs_u16(struct bytestream* bs);
+uint16_t prs_u16_big(struct bytestream* bs);
+uint32_t prs_u32(struct bytestream* bs);
+uint32_t prs_u32_big(struct bytestream* bs);
+uint64_t prs_u64(struct bytestream* bs);
+uint64_t prs_u64_big(struct bytestream* bs);
+
+/* Read an asciiz string from the byte stream, up to len bytes (including the 0 terminator). */
+/* Return number of bytes consumed (excluding the 0 terminator), i.e. strlen(dest) */
+/* If there is no 0 byte in these len bytes, set error flag in stream and return -1. */
+/* Calling this function with destsize==0 is an error. */
+/* destsize will be clamped to the maximum number representable in ssize_t */
+ssize_t prs_asciiz(struct bytestream* bs, char* dest, size_t destsize);
+
+/* Some protocols have a fixed field length for a string,
+ * If the string is shorter than the field, the rest is filled with 0
+ * bytes. But it is not an error if there are no 0 bytes.
+ * This function is for those cases (the filename field in the tar file
+ * header is an example of this).
+ * For a field of length 8, you need to pass destsize as 9 so we can add
+ * a 0 terminator. This function will consume the 8 bytes and add a 0 byte.
+ * The return value is strlen(dest). */
+ssize_t prs_asciiz_fixedlen(struct bytestream* bs, char* dest, size_t destsize);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif