diff --git a/example_basiccalculator1_test.go b/example_basiccalculator1_test.go
index 03a801c..4191f9d 100644
--- a/example_basiccalculator1_test.go
+++ b/example_basiccalculator1_test.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func Example_basicCalculator1() {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Implementation of the calculator
+// Implementation of the parser
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 // CalculateSimple interprets a simple calculation, consisting of only integers
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func Example_basicCalculator1() {
 func ComputeSimple(calculation string) (int64, *parsekit.Error) {
 	calculator := &simpleCalculator{op: +1}
 	parser := parsekit.NewParser(calculator.number)
-	_, err, _ := parser.Parse(calculation).Next()
+	err := parser.Execute(calculation)
 	return calculator.Result, err
 }
 
diff --git a/example_basiccalculator2_test.go b/example_basiccalculator2_test.go
index 659f1cd..1b5cda0 100644
--- a/example_basiccalculator2_test.go
+++ b/example_basiccalculator2_test.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func Example_basicCalculator2() {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Implementation of the calculator
+// Implementation of the parser
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 // calculator implements a recursive descent parser that is responsible for parsing
@@ -79,14 +79,13 @@ type calculator struct {
 func Compute(input string) (float64, *parsekit.Error) {
 	c := &calculator{}
 	parser := parsekit.NewParser(c.computation)
-	_, err, _ := parser.Parse(input).Next()
+	err := parser.Execute(input)
 	return c.result, err
 }
 
 func (c *calculator) computation(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
 	p.Handle(c.expr)
 	p.ExpectEndOfFile()
-	p.Handle(c.factor)
 
 	c.result = c.interpreter.result
 }
diff --git a/example_dutchpostcode_test.go b/example_dutchpostcode_test.go
index d96735a..82de3e3 100644
--- a/example_dutchpostcode_test.go
+++ b/example_dutchpostcode_test.go
@@ -9,6 +9,43 @@ import (
 	"git.makaay.nl/mauricem/go-parsekit"
 )
 
+func Example_dutchPostcodeUsingMatcher() {
+	parser := createPostcodeMatcher()
+
+	for i, input := range []string{
+		"1234  AB",
+		"2233Ab",
+		"1001\t\tab",
+		"1818ab",
+		"1212abc",
+		"1234",
+		"huh",
+		"",
+		"\xcd2222AB",
+	} {
+		output, err := parser.Execute(input)
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Error: %s\n", i, input, err.ErrorFull())
+		} else {
+			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Output: %s\n", i, input, output)
+		}
+	}
+	// Output:
+	// [0] Input: "1234  AB" Output: 1234 AB
+	// [1] Input: "2233Ab" Output: 2233 AB
+	// [2] Input: "1001\t\tab" Output: 1001 AB
+	// [3] Input: "1818ab" Output: 1818 AB
+	// [4] Input: "1212abc" Error: unexpected character '1' (expected a Dutch postcode) at line 1, column 1
+	// [5] Input: "1234" Error: unexpected character '1' (expected a Dutch postcode) at line 1, column 1
+	// [6] Input: "huh" Error: unexpected character 'h' (expected a Dutch postcode) at line 1, column 1
+	// [7] Input: "" Error: unexpected end of file (expected a Dutch postcode) at line 1, column 1
+	// [8] Input: "\xcd2222AB" Error: invalid UTF8 character in input (expected a Dutch postcode) at line 1, column 1
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Implementation of the parser
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 func createPostcodeMatcher() *parsekit.Matcher {
 	// Easy access to the parsekit definitions.
 	c, a, m := parsekit.C, parsekit.A, parsekit.M
@@ -24,36 +61,9 @@ func createPostcodeMatcher() *parsekit.Matcher {
 	pcLetter := c.Any(a.ASCIILower, a.ASCIIUpper)
 	pcLetters := m.ToUpper(c.Seq(pcLetter, pcLetter))
 	space := m.Replace(c.Opt(a.Whitespace), " ")
-	postcode := c.Seq(pcDigits, space, pcLetters)
+	postcode := c.Seq(pcDigits, space, pcLetters, a.EndOfFile)
 
 	// Create a Matcher that wraps the 'postcode' TokenHandler and allows
 	// us to match some input against that handler.
 	return parsekit.NewMatcher(postcode, "a Dutch postcode")
 }
-
-func Example_dutchPostcodeUsingMatcher() {
-	pcParser := createPostcodeMatcher()
-
-	for i, input := range []string{
-		"1234  AB",
-		"2233Ab",
-		"1001\t\tab",
-		"1818ab",
-		"1234",
-		"huh",
-	} {
-		output, err, ok := pcParser.Parse(input)
-		if !ok {
-			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Error: %s\n", i, input, err)
-		} else {
-			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Output: %s\n", i, input, output)
-		}
-	}
-	// Output:
-	// [0] Input: "1234  AB" Output: 1234 AB
-	// [1] Input: "2233Ab" Output: 2233 AB
-	// [2] Input: "1001\t\tab" Output: 1001 AB
-	// [3] Input: "1818ab" Output: 1818 AB
-	// [4] Input: "1234" Error: unexpected character '1' (expected a Dutch postcode)
-	// [5] Input: "huh" Error: unexpected character 'h' (expected a Dutch postcode)
-}
diff --git a/example_hellomatcher_test.go b/example_hellomatcher_test.go
index 11b4988..acc33f1 100644
--- a/example_hellomatcher_test.go
+++ b/example_hellomatcher_test.go
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 //
 // The implementation uses only parser/combinator TokenHandler functions and does
 // not implement a full-fledged state-based Parser for it. If you want to see the
-// same kind of functionality, implementated using a Paser, take a look at the
-// HelloWorldUsingParser example.
+// same kind of functionality, implementated using a Parser, take a look at the
+// HelloWorldUsingParser examples.
 package parsekit_test
 
 import (
@@ -13,24 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"git.makaay.nl/mauricem/go-parsekit"
 )
 
-func createHelloMatcher() *parsekit.Matcher {
-	// Easy access to parsekit definition.
-	c, a, m := parsekit.C, parsekit.A, parsekit.M
-
-	// Using the parser/combinator support of parsekit, we create a TokenHandler function
-	// that does all the work. The 'greeting' TokenHandler matches the whole input and
-	// drops all but the name from it.
-	hello := c.StrNoCase("hello")
-	comma := c.Seq(c.Opt(a.Whitespace), a.Comma, c.Opt(a.Whitespace))
-	separator := c.Any(comma, a.Whitespace)
-	name := c.OneOrMore(c.Not(a.Excl))
-	greeting := c.Seq(m.Drop(hello), m.Drop(separator), name, m.Drop(a.Excl))
-
-	// Create a Matcher that wraps the 'greeting' TokenHandler and allows
-	// us to match some input against that handler.
-	return parsekit.NewMatcher(greeting, "a friendly greeting")
-}
-
 func Example_helloWorldUsingMatcher() {
 	parser := createHelloMatcher()
 
@@ -43,9 +25,9 @@ func Example_helloWorldUsingMatcher() {
 		"Hello, world",
 		"Hello,!",
 	} {
-		output, err, ok := parser.Parse(input)
-		if !ok {
-			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Error: %s\n", i, input, err)
+		output, err := parser.Execute(input)
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Error: %s\n", i, input, err.ErrorFull())
 		} else {
 			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Output: %s\n", i, input, output)
 		}
@@ -55,7 +37,29 @@ func Example_helloWorldUsingMatcher() {
 	// [1] Input: "HELLO ,Johnny!" Output: Johnny
 	// [2] Input: "hello , Bob123!" Output: Bob123
 	// [3] Input: "hello Pizza!" Output: Pizza
-	// [4] Input: "Oh no!" Error: unexpected character 'O' (expected a friendly greeting)
-	// [5] Input: "Hello, world" Error: unexpected character 'H' (expected a friendly greeting)
-	// [6] Input: "Hello,!" Error: unexpected character 'H' (expected a friendly greeting)
+	// [4] Input: "Oh no!" Error: unexpected character 'O' (expected a friendly greeting) at line 1, column 1
+	// [5] Input: "Hello, world" Error: unexpected character 'H' (expected a friendly greeting) at line 1, column 1
+	// [6] Input: "Hello,!" Error: unexpected character 'H' (expected a friendly greeting) at line 1, column 1
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Implementation of the parser
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+func createHelloMatcher() *parsekit.Matcher {
+	// Easy access to parsekit definition.
+	c, a, m := parsekit.C, parsekit.A, parsekit.M
+
+	// Using the parser/combinator support of parsekit, we create a TokenHandler function
+	// that does all the work. The 'greeting' TokenHandler matches the whole input and
+	// drops all but the name from it.
+	hello := c.StrNoCase("hello")
+	comma := c.Seq(c.Opt(a.Whitespace), a.Comma, c.Opt(a.Whitespace))
+	separator := c.Any(comma, a.Whitespace)
+	name := c.OneOrMore(c.Not(a.Excl))
+	greeting := c.Seq(m.Drop(hello), m.Drop(separator), name, m.Drop(a.Excl), a.EndOfFile)
+
+	// Create a Matcher that wraps the 'greeting' TokenHandler and allows
+	// us to match some input against that handler.
+	return parsekit.NewMatcher(greeting, "a friendly greeting")
 }
diff --git a/example_helloparser1_test.go b/example_helloparser1_test.go
index 97fb94c..3e0abfe 100644
--- a/example_helloparser1_test.go
+++ b/example_helloparser1_test.go
@@ -1,15 +1,18 @@
 // In this example, a parser is created that is able to parse input that looks
 // like "Hello, <name>!", and that extracts the name from it.
 //
-// This implementation uses a state-based Parser for it, and it does not implement
-// any custom parser/combinator TokenHandler functions. Note that things are much
-// easier to implement using custom TokenHandlers (see the other HelloWorldUsingMatcher
-// example for this). Doing this fully parser-based implementation is mainly for your
-// learning pleasure.
+// This implementation uses a state-based Parser for it, and it does not
+// implement any custom parser/combinator TokenHandler functions. Note that
+// things are much easier to implement using custom TokenHandlers (see the other
+// HelloWorldUsingMatcher example for this). Doing this fully parser-based
+// implementation is mainly for your learning pleasure.
 //
-// One big difference between the Matcher-based example and this one, is that the
-// state-based parser reports errors much more fine-grained. This might or might
-// not be useful for your specific use case.
+// One big difference between the Matcher-based example and this one, is that
+// this parser reports errors much more fine-grained. This might or might not be
+// useful for your specific use case.  If you need error reporting like this,
+// then also take a look at the HelloWorldUsingParser2 example, which does the
+// same thing as this version, only more concise.
+
 package parsekit_test
 
 import (
@@ -19,57 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"git.makaay.nl/mauricem/go-parsekit"
 )
 
-const greeteeItem parsekit.ItemType = 1
-
-func stateStartOfGreeting(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
-	c := parsekit.C
-	p.Expects("hello")
-	if p.On(c.StrNoCase("hello")).Skip() {
-		p.RouteTo(stateComma)
-	}
-}
-
-func stateComma(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
-	a := parsekit.A
-	p.Expects("comma")
-	switch {
-	case p.On(a.Whitespace).Skip():
-		p.RouteRepeat()
-	case p.On(a.Comma).Skip():
-		p.RouteTo(stateName)
-	}
-}
-
-func stateName(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
-	a := parsekit.A
-	p.Expects("name")
-	switch {
-	case p.On(a.Excl).Skip():
-		p.RouteTo(stateEndOfGreeting)
-	case p.On(a.AnyRune).Accept():
-		p.RouteRepeat()
-	}
-}
-
-func stateEndOfGreeting(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
-	p.Expects("end of greeting")
-	if p.On(a.EndOfFile).Stay() {
-		name := strings.TrimSpace(p.BufLiteral())
-		if name == "" {
-			p.EmitError("The name cannot be empty")
-		} else {
-			p.Emit(greeteeItem, name)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-func createHelloParser() *parsekit.Parser {
-	return parsekit.NewParser(stateStartOfGreeting)
-}
-
 func Example_helloWorldUsingParser1() {
-	parser := createHelloParser()
-
 	for i, input := range []string{
 		"Hello, world!",
 		"HELLO ,Johnny!",
@@ -86,11 +39,11 @@ func Example_helloWorldUsingParser1() {
 		"Oh no!",
 		"hello,!",
 	} {
-		item, err, ok := parser.Parse(input).Next()
-		if !ok {
+		name, err := (&helloparser1{}).Parse(input)
+		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Error: %s\n", i, input, err)
 		} else {
-			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Output: %s\n", i, input, item.Value)
+			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Output: %s\n", i, input, name)
 		}
 	}
 	// Output:
@@ -109,3 +62,63 @@ func Example_helloWorldUsingParser1() {
 	// [12] Input: "Oh no!" Error: unexpected character 'O' (expected hello)
 	// [13] Input: "hello,!" Error: The name cannot be empty
 }
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Implementation of the parser
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+type helloparser1 struct {
+	greetee string
+}
+
+func (h *helloparser1) Parse(input string) (string, *parsekit.Error) {
+	parser := parsekit.NewParser(h.start)
+	err := parser.Execute(input)
+	return h.greetee, err
+}
+
+func (h *helloparser1) start(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
+	c := parsekit.C
+	p.Expects("hello")
+	if p.On(c.StrNoCase("hello")).Skip() {
+		p.Handle(h.comma)
+	}
+}
+
+func (h *helloparser1) comma(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
+	a := parsekit.A
+	p.Expects("comma")
+	p.On(a.Whitespace).Skip()
+	if p.On(a.Comma).Skip() {
+		p.Handle(h.name)
+	}
+}
+
+func (h *helloparser1) name(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
+	a := parsekit.A
+	p.Expects("name")
+	switch {
+	case p.On(a.Excl).Skip():
+		p.Handle(h.end)
+	case p.On(a.AnyRune).Accept():
+		p.Handle(h.name)
+	}
+}
+
+// Here we could have used p.ExpectEndOfFile() as well, but a slightly
+// different route was taken to implement a more friendly 'end of greeting'
+// error message.
+func (h *helloparser1) end(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
+	if !p.On(a.EndOfFile).Stay() {
+		p.Expects("end of greeting")
+		p.UnexpectedInput()
+		return
+	}
+
+	h.greetee = strings.TrimSpace(p.BufLiteral())
+	if h.greetee == "" {
+		p.EmitError("The name cannot be empty")
+	} else {
+		p.Stop()
+	}
+}
diff --git a/example_helloparser2_test.go b/example_helloparser2_test.go
index a125ad4..0c3bdb2 100644
--- a/example_helloparser2_test.go
+++ b/example_helloparser2_test.go
@@ -1,7 +1,16 @@
-// This is the same as the example helloWorldUsingParser1, except that in
-// this implementation the state machine is implemented using a combination
-// of some TokenHandlers and only a single state, in which multiple
-// ParseAPI.On() calls are combined to do all the work in one go.
+// This is the same as the example HelloWorldUsingParser1, except that in this
+// implementation the state machine is implemented using a combination of some
+// TokenHandlers and only a single state, in which multiple ParseAPI.On() calls
+// are combined to do all the work in one go.
+//
+// Note that things are much easier to implement using custom TokenHandlers (see
+// the other HelloWorldUsingMatcher example for this). Doing this implementation
+// is mainly for your learning pleasure.
+//
+// One big difference between the Matcher-based example and this one, is that
+// this parser reports errors much more fine-grained. This might or might not be
+// useful for your specific use case.:0
+
 package parsekit_test
 
 import (
@@ -10,43 +19,8 @@ import (
 	"git.makaay.nl/mauricem/go-parsekit"
 )
 
-const greeteeItem2 parsekit.ItemType = 1
-
-func stateFullGreeting(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
-	c, a, m := parsekit.C, parsekit.A, parsekit.M
-	if !p.On(c.StrNoCase("hello")).Skip() {
-		p.EmitError("the greeting is not being friendly")
-		return
-	}
-	if !p.On(c.Seq(c.Opt(a.Whitespace), a.Comma, c.Opt(a.Whitespace))).Skip() {
-		p.EmitError("the greeting is not properly separated")
-		return
-	}
-	if !p.On(m.Trim(c.OneOrMore(c.Except(a.Excl, a.AnyRune)), " \t")).Accept() {
-		p.EmitError("the greeting is targeted at thin air")
-		return
-	}
-	if !p.On(a.Excl).Stay() {
-		p.EmitError("the greeting is not loud enough")
-		return
-	}
-	if !p.On(a.EndOfFile).Stay() {
-		p.EmitError("too much stuff going on after the closing '!'")
-		return
-	}
-
-	name := p.BufLiteral()
-	if name == "" {
-		p.EmitError("the name cannot be empty")
-	} else {
-		p.Emit(greeteeItem, name)
-	}
-
-	p.ExpectEndOfFile()
-}
-
 func Example_helloWorldUsingParser2() {
-	parser := parsekit.NewParser(stateFullGreeting)
+	parser := &helloparser2{}
 
 	for i, input := range []string{
 		"Hello, world!",
@@ -65,17 +39,17 @@ func Example_helloWorldUsingParser2() {
 		"hello,!",
 		"HELLO, Buster! Eat this!",
 	} {
-		item, err, ok := parser.Parse(input).Next()
-		if !ok {
+		name, err := parser.Parse(input)
+		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Error: %s\n", i, input, err)
 		} else {
-			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Output: %s\n", i, input, item.Value)
+			fmt.Printf("[%d] Input: %q Output: %s\n", i, input, name)
 		}
 	}
 	// Output:
-	// [0] Input: "Hello, world!" Error: too much stuff going on after the closing '!'
-	// [1] Input: "HELLO ,Johnny!" Error: too much stuff going on after the closing '!'
-	// [2] Input: "hello , Bob123!" Error: too much stuff going on after the closing '!'
+	// [0] Input: "Hello, world!" Output: world
+	// [1] Input: "HELLO ,Johnny!" Output: Johnny
+	// [2] Input: "hello , Bob123!" Output: Bob123
 	// [3] Input: "hello Pizza!" Error: the greeting is not properly separated
 	// [4] Input: "" Error: the greeting is not being friendly
 	// [5] Input: " " Error: the greeting is not being friendly
@@ -83,9 +57,54 @@ func Example_helloWorldUsingParser2() {
 	// [7] Input: "hello," Error: the greeting is targeted at thin air
 	// [8] Input: "hello , " Error: the greeting is targeted at thin air
 	// [9] Input: "hello , Droopy" Error: the greeting is not loud enough
-	// [10] Input: "hello , Droopy!" Error: too much stuff going on after the closing '!'
-	// [11] Input: "hello , \t \t Droopy \t !" Error: too much stuff going on after the closing '!'
+	// [10] Input: "hello , Droopy!" Output: Droopy
+	// [11] Input: "hello , \t \t Droopy \t !" Output: Droopy
 	// [12] Input: "Oh no!" Error: the greeting is not being friendly
 	// [13] Input: "hello,!" Error: the greeting is targeted at thin air
 	// [14] Input: "HELLO, Buster! Eat this!" Error: too much stuff going on after the closing '!'
 }
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Implementation of the parser
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+type helloparser2 struct {
+	greetee string
+}
+
+func (h *helloparser2) Parse(input string) (string, *parsekit.Error) {
+	parser := parsekit.NewParser(h.start)
+	err := parser.Execute(input)
+	return h.greetee, err
+}
+
+// Note:
+// For efficiency, we could have either:
+//
+// 1) added a return after every call to p.EmitError()
+// 2) done an 'else if' for every 'if' after the first
+//
+// For code readability, I omitted these however. The ParseAPI knows it
+// should ignore any upcoming call after an error has been set, so after
+// an error the p.On() calls will be invoked, however they will always
+// return false.
+func (h *helloparser2) start(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
+	c, a, m := parsekit.C, parsekit.A, parsekit.M
+	if !p.On(c.StrNoCase("hello")).Skip() {
+		p.EmitError("the greeting is not being friendly")
+	} else if !p.On(c.Seq(c.Opt(a.Whitespace), a.Comma, c.Opt(a.Whitespace))).Skip() {
+		p.EmitError("the greeting is not properly separated")
+	} else if !p.On(m.TrimSpace(c.OneOrMore(c.Except(a.Excl, a.AnyRune)))).Accept() {
+		p.EmitError("the greeting is targeted at thin air")
+	} else if !p.On(a.Excl).Skip() {
+		p.EmitError("the greeting is not loud enough")
+	} else if !p.On(a.EndOfFile).Stay() {
+		p.EmitError("too much stuff going on after the closing '!'")
+	} else {
+		h.greetee = p.BufLiteral()
+		if h.greetee == "" {
+			p.EmitError("the name cannot be empty")
+		}
+		p.Stop()
+	}
+}
diff --git a/examples_test.go b/examples_test.go
index a1a1a2d..1211225 100644
--- a/examples_test.go
+++ b/examples_test.go
@@ -6,53 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"git.makaay.nl/mauricem/go-parsekit"
 )
 
-func ExampleItemType() {
-	// Make use of positive values. Ideally, define your ItemTypes using
-	// iota for easy automatic value management like this:
-	const (
-		ItemWord parsekit.ItemType = iota
-		ItemNumber
-		ItemBlob
-		// ...
-	)
-}
-
-func ExampleItem() {
-	// Easy access to the parsekit definitions.
-	c := parsekit.C
-
-	// You define your own item types for your specific parser.
-	const QuestionItem = parsekit.ItemType(42)
-
-	// A ParseHandler function can use the defined item type by means of
-	// the p.Emit* methods on parsekit.P.
-	// When errors occur, or the end of the file is reached, then the built-in
-	// types parsekit.ItemEOF and parsekit.ItemError will be emitted by parsekit.
-	stateHandler := func(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
-		if p.On(c.Str("question")).Accept() {
-			p.EmitLiteral(QuestionItem)
-		}
-		p.ExpectEndOfFile()
-	}
-
-	// Successful match
-	item, _, ok := parsekit.NewParser(stateHandler).Parse("question").Next()
-	fmt.Println(ok, item.Type == QuestionItem, item.Value)
-
-	// End of file reached
-	item, _, ok = parsekit.NewParser(stateHandler).Parse("").Next()
-	fmt.Println(ok, item.Type == parsekit.ItemEOF)
-
-	// An error occurred
-	item, err, ok := parsekit.NewParser(stateHandler).Parse("answer").Next()
-	fmt.Println(ok, item.Type == parsekit.ItemError, err)
-
-	// Output:
-	// true true question
-	// false true
-	// false true unexpected character 'a' (expected end of file)
-}
-
 func ExampleError() {
 	err := &parsekit.Error{
 		Message: "it broke down",
@@ -66,7 +19,7 @@ func ExampleError() {
 	// Output:
 	// it broke down
 	// it broke down
-	// it broke down after line 10, column 42
+	// it broke down at line 10, column 42
 }
 
 func ExampleError_Error() {
@@ -92,31 +45,26 @@ func ExampleError_ErrorFull() {
 
 	fmt.Println(err.ErrorFull())
 	// Output:
-	// it broke down after line 10, column 42
+	// it broke down at line 10, column 42
 }
 
 func ExampleMatchAnyRune() {
 	// Easy access to the parsekit definitions.
 	a := parsekit.A
 
+	matches := []string{}
+
 	stateHandler := func(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
-		p.Expects("Any valid rune")
-		if p.On(a.AnyRune).Accept() {
-			p.EmitLiteral(TestItem)
-			p.RouteRepeat()
+		for p.On(a.AnyRune).Accept() {
+			matches = append(matches, p.BufLiteral())
+			p.BufClear()
 		}
+		p.ExpectEndOfFile()
 	}
 	parser := parsekit.NewParser(stateHandler)
-	run := parser.Parse("¡Any / valid / character will dö!")
+	err := parser.Execute("¡Any will dö!")
 
-	for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
-		match, _, _ := run.Next()
-		fmt.Printf("Match = %q\n", match.Value)
-	}
+	fmt.Printf("Matches = %q, Error = %s\n", matches, err)
 	// Output:
-	// Match = "¡"
-	// Match = "A"
-	// Match = "n"
-	// Match = "y"
-	// Match = " "
+	// Matches = ["¡" "A" "n" "y" " " "w" "i" "l" "l" " " "d" "ö" "!"], Error = <nil>
 }
diff --git a/parsehandler.go b/parsehandler.go
index 27b7783..00ecb8c 100644
--- a/parsehandler.go
+++ b/parsehandler.go
@@ -25,8 +25,9 @@ type ParseAPI struct {
 	expecting    string         // a description of what the current state expects to find (see P.Expects())
 	buffer       stringBuffer   // an efficient buffer, used to build string values (see P.Accept())
 	items        []Item         // a slice of resulting Parser items (see P.Emit())
-	item         Item           // the current item as reached by Next() and retrieved by Get()
-	err          *Error         // an error when parsing failed, can be retrieved by Error()
+	item         Item           // the current item as reached by Next(), retrieved by Get()
+	err          *Error         // error during parsing, retrieved by Error(), further ParseAPI calls are ignored
+	stopped      bool           // a boolean set to true by Stop(), further ParseAPI calls are ignored
 
 	LastMatch string // a string representation of the last matched input data
 }
diff --git a/parsehandler_emit.go b/parsehandler_emit.go
index e8cfb6f..c1c9c8e 100644
--- a/parsehandler_emit.go
+++ b/parsehandler_emit.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ const ItemEOF ItemType = -1
 const ItemError ItemType = -2
 
 // Emit passes a Parser item to the client, including the provided string.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *ParseAPI) Emit(t ItemType, v string) {
 	p.items = append(p.items, Item{t, v})
 	p.buffer.reset()
@@ -39,13 +40,14 @@ func (p *ParseAPI) Emit(t ItemType, v string) {
 // linefeed (ASCII char 10).
 //
 // Retrieving the buffer contents will not affect the buffer itself. New runes can
-// still be added to it. Only when calling P.Emit(), the buffer will be cleared.
+// still be added to it. Only when calling P.BufClear(), the buffer will be cleared.
 func (p *ParseAPI) BufLiteral() string {
 	return p.buffer.asLiteralString()
 }
 
 // EmitLiteral passes a parser Item to the client, including the accumulated
 // string buffer data as a literal string.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *ParseAPI) EmitLiteral(t ItemType) {
 	p.Emit(t, p.BufLiteral())
 }
@@ -114,25 +116,43 @@ func (err *Error) Error() string {
 // ErrorFull returns the current error message, including information about
 // the position in the input where the error occurred.
 func (err *Error) ErrorFull() string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s after line %d, column %d", err, err.Line, err.Column)
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s at line %d, column %d", err, err.Line, err.Column)
 }
 
-// EmitError emits a parser error item to the client.
+// EmitError sets an error message in the parser API. This error message
+// will eventually be returned by the Parser.Execute() method.
 func (p *ParseAPI) EmitError(format string, args ...interface{}) {
 	message := fmt.Sprintf(format, args...)
-	p.Emit(ItemError, message)
+	p.err = &Error{message, p.cursorLine, p.cursorColumn}
 }
 
-// EmitEOF emits an EOF to the client. In effect, this will stop the parsing process.
-func (p *ParseAPI) EmitEOF() {
-	p.Emit(ItemEOF, "EOF")
+// Stop is used by the parser impementation to tell the API that it has
+// completed the parsing process successfully.
+//
+// When the parser implementation returns without stopping first, the
+// Parser.Execute() will assume that something went wrong and calls
+// ParserAPI.UnexpectedInput() to report an error about this.
+//
+// The parser implementation can define what was being expected, by
+// providing a description to ParseAPI.Expecting().
+func (p *ParseAPI) Stop() {
+	p.stopped = true
 }
 
-// UnexpectedInput is used by a ParseHandler function to emit an error item
-// that tells the client that an unexpected rune was encountered in the input.
+// UnexpectedInput is used to set an error that tells the user that some
+// unexpected input was encountered.
+//
+// It can automatically produce an error message for a couple of situations:
+// 1) input simply didn't match the expectation
+// 2) the end of the input was reached
+// 3) there was an invalid UTF8 character on the input.
+//
+// The parser implementation can provide some feedback for this error by
+// calling ParseAPI.Expects() to set the expectation. When set, the
+// expectation is included in the error message.
 func (p *ParseAPI) UnexpectedInput() {
 	// When some previous parsing step yielded an error, skip this operation.
-	if p.err != nil {
+	if p.err != nil || p.stopped {
 		return
 	}
 	r, _, ok := p.peek(0)
diff --git a/parsehandler_expects.go b/parsehandler_expects.go
index 7e6d80a..266510e 100644
--- a/parsehandler_expects.go
+++ b/parsehandler_expects.go
@@ -16,5 +16,8 @@ package parsekit
 func (p *ParseAPI) Expects(description string) {
 	// TODO make this into some debugging tool?
 	// fmt.Printf("Expecting %s @ line %d, col %d\n", description, p.cursorLine, p.cursorColumn)
+	if p.err != nil || p.stopped {
+		return
+	}
 	p.expecting = description
 }
diff --git a/parsehandler_on.go b/parsehandler_on.go
index 7066ac3..f0d65a4 100644
--- a/parsehandler_on.go
+++ b/parsehandler_on.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ package parsekit
 //     }
 func (p *ParseAPI) On(tokenHandler TokenHandler) *MatchAction {
 	// When some previous parsing step yielded an error, skip this operation.
-	if p.err != nil {
+	if p.err != nil || p.stopped {
 		return &MatchAction{
 			p:  p,
 			ok: false,
diff --git a/parsehandler_route.go b/parsehandler_route.go
index d66eae3..52356a5 100644
--- a/parsehandler_route.go
+++ b/parsehandler_route.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ package parsekit
 func (p *ParseAPI) Handle(handlers ...ParseHandler) {
 	for _, handler := range handlers {
 		// When some previous parsing step yielded an error, skip this operation.
-		if p.err != nil {
+		if p.err != nil || p.stopped {
 			break
 		}
 		handler(p)
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ func (p *ParseAPI) Handle(handlers ...ParseHandler) {
 
 // RouteTo tells the parser what ParseHandler function to invoke on
 // the next parse cycle.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *ParseAPI) RouteTo(handler ParseHandler) *RouteFollowupAction {
 	p.nextState = handler
 	return &RouteFollowupAction{p}
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ func (p *ParseAPI) RouteTo(handler ParseHandler) *RouteFollowupAction {
 
 // RouteRepeat tells the parser that on the next parsing cycle, the current
 // ParseHandler must be reinvoked.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *ParseAPI) RouteRepeat() {
 	p.RouteTo(p.state)
 }
@@ -33,12 +35,14 @@ func (p *ParseAPI) RouteRepeat() {
 // p.RouteTo(subroutine).ThenReturnHere()), you can refrain from
 // providing an explicit routing decision from that handler. The parser will
 // automatically assume a RouteReturn() in that case.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *ParseAPI) RouteReturn() {
 	p.nextState = p.popRoute()
 }
 
 // RouteFollowupAction chains parsing routes.
 // It allows for routing code like p.RouteTo(handlerA).ThenTo(handlerB).
+// Deprecated
 type RouteFollowupAction struct {
 	p *ParseAPI
 }
@@ -48,6 +52,7 @@ type RouteFollowupAction struct {
 // For example:
 //
 //    p.RouteTo(handlerA).ThenTo(handlerB)
+// Deprecated
 func (a *RouteFollowupAction) ThenTo(state ParseHandler) {
 	a.p.pushRoute(state)
 }
@@ -57,17 +62,20 @@ func (a *RouteFollowupAction) ThenTo(state ParseHandler) {
 // For example:
 //
 //    p.RouteTo(handlerA).ThenReturnHere()
+// Deprecated
 func (a *RouteFollowupAction) ThenReturnHere() {
 	a.p.pushRoute(a.p.state)
 }
 
 // pushRoute adds the ParseHandler to the route stack.
 // This is used for implementing nested parsing.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *ParseAPI) pushRoute(state ParseHandler) {
 	p.routeStack = append(p.routeStack, state)
 }
 
 // popRoute pops the last pushed ParseHandler from the route stack.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *ParseAPI) popRoute() ParseHandler {
 	last := len(p.routeStack) - 1
 	head, tail := p.routeStack[:last], p.routeStack[last]
@@ -92,13 +100,14 @@ func (p *ParseAPI) popRoute() ParseHandler {
 //    }
 func (p *ParseAPI) ExpectEndOfFile() {
 	// When some previous parsing step yielded an error, skip this operation.
-	if p.err == nil {
-		if p.On(A.EndOfFile).Stay() {
-			p.EmitEOF()
-		} else {
-			p.Expects("end of file")
-			p.UnexpectedInput()
-		}
+	if p.err != nil || p.stopped {
+		return
+	}
+	if p.On(A.EndOfFile).Stay() {
+		p.Stop()
+	} else {
+		p.Expects("end of file")
+		p.UnexpectedInput()
 	}
 }
 
@@ -115,11 +124,12 @@ func (p *ParseAPI) ExpectEndOfFile() {
 // yourself too. Simply emit an ItemEOF when the end of the input was reached
 // to stop the parser loop:
 //
-//     p.EmitEOF()
+//     p.Stop()
 // TODO meh, get rid of this one, once we don't use state scheduling anymore.
+// Deprecated
 func ExpectEndOfFile(p *ParseAPI) {
 	p.Expects("end of file")
 	if p.On(A.EndOfFile).Stay() {
-		p.EmitEOF()
+		p.Stop()
 	}
 }
diff --git a/parsekit.go b/parsekit.go
index a18f939..f3d9ff2 100644
--- a/parsekit.go
+++ b/parsekit.go
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import (
 // Parser is the top-level struct that holds the configuration for a parser.
 // The Parser can be instantiated using the parsekit.NewParser() method.
 type Parser struct {
-	startState ParseHandler // the function that handles the very first state
+	startHandler ParseHandler // the function that handles the very first state
 }
 
 // NewParser instantiates a new Parser.
@@ -19,28 +19,48 @@ type Parser struct {
 // parsing. This style of parser is typically used for parsing programming
 // languages and structured data formats (like json, xml, toml, etc.)
 //
-// To start parsing input data, use the method Parser.Parse().
-func NewParser(startState ParseHandler) *Parser {
-	return &Parser{startState: startState}
+// To parse input data, use the method Parser.Execute().
+func NewParser(startHandler ParseHandler) *Parser {
+	return &Parser{startHandler: startHandler}
 }
 
 // ParseRun represents a single parse run for a Parser.
+// Deprecated
 type ParseRun struct {
 	p *ParseAPI // holds parser state and provides an API to ParseHandler functions
 }
 
+// Execute starts the parser for the provided input.
+// When an error occurs during parsing, then this error is returned. Nil otherwise.
+func (p *Parser) Execute(input string) *Error {
+	api := &ParseAPI{
+		input:        input,
+		len:          len(input),
+		cursorLine:   1,
+		cursorColumn: 1,
+		nextState:    p.startHandler,
+	}
+	p.startHandler(api)
+	if !api.stopped {
+		api.UnexpectedInput()
+	}
+	return api.err
+}
+
 // Parse starts a parse run on the provided input data.
 // To retrieve emitted parser Items from the run, make use of the ParseRun.Next() method.
+// Deprecated
 func (p *Parser) Parse(input string) *ParseRun {
-	return &ParseRun{
-		p: &ParseAPI{
-			input:        input,
-			len:          len(input),
-			cursorLine:   1,
-			cursorColumn: 1,
-			nextState:    p.startState,
-		},
-	}
+	panic("Parse() is deprecated, use Execute()")
+	// return &ParseRun{
+	// 	p: &ParseAPI{
+	// 		input:        input,
+	// 		len:          len(input),
+	// 		cursorLine:   1,
+	// 		cursorColumn: 1,
+	// 		nextState:    p.startHandler,
+	// 	},
+	// }
 }
 
 // Next retrieves the next parsed item for a parse run.
@@ -146,6 +166,7 @@ func (run *ParseRun) invokeNextParseHandler(state ParseHandler) {
 // Matcher.Parse().
 type Matcher struct {
 	parser *Parser
+	match  string
 }
 
 // NewMatcher instantiates a new Matcher.
@@ -157,20 +178,32 @@ type Matcher struct {
 // The 'expects' parameter is used for creating an error message in case parsed
 // input does not match the TokenHandler.
 func NewMatcher(tokenHandler TokenHandler, expects string) *Matcher {
-	stateHandler := func(p *ParseAPI) {
-		p.Expects(expects)
+	matcher := &Matcher{}
+	matcher.parser = NewParser(func(p *ParseAPI) {
 		if p.On(tokenHandler).Accept() {
-			p.EmitLiteral(0) // ItemType is irrelevant
+			matcher.match = p.BufLiteral()
+			p.Stop()
+		} else {
+			p.Expects(expects)
+			p.UnexpectedInput()
 		}
-	}
-	return &Matcher{parser: NewParser(stateHandler)}
+	})
+	return matcher
+}
+
+// Execute feeds the input to the wrapped TokenHandler function.
+// It returns the matched input string and an error. When an error
+// occurred during parsing, the error will be set, nil otherwise.
+func (m *Matcher) Execute(input string) (string, *Error) {
+	err := m.parser.Execute(input)
+	return m.match, err
 }
 
 // Parse checks for a match on the provided input data.
-func (m *Matcher) Parse(input string) (string, *Error, bool) {
+func (m *Matcher) Parse(input string) (string, *Error) {
 	item, err, ok := m.parser.Parse(input).Next()
 	if !ok {
-		return "", err, false
+		return "", err
 	}
-	return item.Value, nil, true
+	return item.Value, nil
 }
diff --git a/parsekit_test.go b/parsekit_test.go
index f40a4d5..f70c416 100644
--- a/parsekit_test.go
+++ b/parsekit_test.go
@@ -28,16 +28,16 @@ func RunTokenHandlerTests(t *testing.T, testSet []TokenHandlerTest) {
 }
 
 func RunTokenHandlerTest(t *testing.T, test TokenHandlerTest) {
-	output, err, ok := parsekit.NewMatcher(test.tokenHandler, "a match").Parse(test.input)
+	output, err := parsekit.NewMatcher(test.tokenHandler, "a match").Execute(test.input)
 
 	if test.mustMatch {
-		if !ok {
+		if err != nil {
 			t.Errorf("Test %q failed with error: %s", test.input, err)
 		} else if output != test.expected {
 			t.Errorf("Test %q failed: not expected output:\nexpected: %q\nactual: %q\n", test.input, test.expected, output)
 		}
 	} else {
-		if ok {
+		if err == nil {
 			t.Errorf("Test %q failed: should not match, but it did", test.input)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/tokenhandlers_builtin.go b/tokenhandlers_builtin.go
index b18ece2..bfd5ce0 100644
--- a/tokenhandlers_builtin.go
+++ b/tokenhandlers_builtin.go
@@ -518,6 +518,7 @@ var M = struct {
 	Trim             func(handler TokenHandler, cutset string) TokenHandler // TODO reverse arguments?
 	TrimLeft         func(handler TokenHandler, cutset string) TokenHandler // TODO reverse arguments?
 	TrimRight        func(handler TokenHandler, cutset string) TokenHandler // TODO reverse arguments?
+	TrimSpace        func(handler TokenHandler) TokenHandler
 	ToLower          func(TokenHandler) TokenHandler
 	ToUpper          func(TokenHandler) TokenHandler
 	Replace          func(handler TokenHandler, replaceWith string) TokenHandler // TODO reverse arguments?
@@ -527,6 +528,7 @@ var M = struct {
 	Trim:             ModifyTrim,
 	TrimLeft:         ModifyTrimLeft,
 	TrimRight:        ModifyTrimRight,
+	TrimSpace:        ModifyTrimSpace,
 	ToLower:          ModifyToLower,
 	ToUpper:          ModifyToUpper,
 	Replace:          ModifyReplace,
@@ -589,6 +591,13 @@ func modifyTrim(handler TokenHandler, cutset string, trimLeft bool, trimRight bo
 	return ModifyByCallback(handler, modfunc)
 }
 
+// ModifyTrimSpace creates a TokenHandler that checks if the provided TokenHandler applies.
+// If it does, then its output is taken and whitespace characters as defined by unicode
+// are are trimmed from the left and right of the output.
+func ModifyTrimSpace(handler TokenHandler) TokenHandler {
+	return ModifyByCallback(handler, strings.TrimSpace)
+}
+
 // ModifyToUpper creates a TokenHandler that checks if the provided TokenHandler applies.
 // If it does, then its output is taken and characters from the provided
 // cutset are converted into upper case.
diff --git a/tokenhandlers_builtin_test.go b/tokenhandlers_builtin_test.go
index 4d86970..f7e4c38 100644
--- a/tokenhandlers_builtin_test.go
+++ b/tokenhandlers_builtin_test.go
@@ -205,18 +205,20 @@ func TestSequenceOfRunes(t *testing.T) {
 		a.Backquote, a.CurlyOpen, a.Pipe, a.CurlyClose, a.Tilde,
 	)
 	input := "#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\\]^_`{|}~"
+	output := ""
 	parser := parsekit.NewParser(func(p *parsekit.ParseAPI) {
 		p.Expects("Sequence of runes")
 		if p.On(sequence).Accept() {
-			p.EmitLiteral(TestItem)
+			output = p.BufLiteral()
+			p.Stop()
 		}
 	})
-	item, err, ok := parser.Parse(input).Next()
-	if !ok {
+	err := parser.Execute(input)
+	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Parsing failed: %s", err)
 	}
-	if item.Value != input {
-		t.Fatalf("Unexpected output from parser:\nexpected: %s\nactual: %s\n", input, item.Value)
+	if output != input {
+		t.Fatalf("Unexpected output from parser:\nexpected: %s\nactual: %s\n", input, output)
 	}
 }