diff --git a/test/grammar/Makefile b/test/grammar/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e32548
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/grammar/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+TOPDIR = ../..
+
+GENERATED_STD         = grammartest.l grammartest.y grammartest.ebnf include/grammartest.h
+
+# These types are meant to be cut off the tree and turned into hand coded flex
+# regexes
+#TRIM_SYMBOLS          = blah
+TRIM_SYMBOLS          = 
+GENERATE_LOG_LEVEL   ?= notice
+FIX_EXTENSIONS       ?= discard
+CHECK_SYMBOLS        ?= --check-symbols=all
+
+
+GRAMMAR_INPUT        ?= grammartest-input.ebnf
+GENERATED             = grammartest-dense.ebnf $(GENERATED_STD)
+GENERATE_PY           = ./generate.py
+GENERATE              = python ./$(GENERATE_PY) --log-level $(GENERATE_LOG_LEVEL) create \
+				--fix-extensions $(FIX_EXTENSIONS) \
+				--unroll-lists \
+				--unroll-options \
+				$(CHECK_SYMBOLS) \
+				--trim-symbols=$(shell echo $(TRIM_SYMBOLS) | sed 's/  */,/g') \
+				$(CREATE_EXTRA_ARGS)
+CHECK_SYMBOLS         ?= special_character
+
+FB_NAME_PREFIX       ?= grammartest_
+FB_HDRDIR            ?= include
+FB_BISON_OUT_EXT     ?= cpp
+FB_FLEX_OUT_EXT      ?= cpp
+FB_CASE_INSENSITIVE  ?= true
+FB_SRC               ?= $(filter %.y %.l,$(GENERATED))
+
+include $(TOPDIR)/make/proj.mk
+include $(MODDIR)/make/flex-bison.mk
+include $(MODDIR)/make/py-defs.mk
+
+all:
+debug-all:
+	GENERATE_LOG_LEVEL=debug make all 2>&1 | tee run.out
+
+generate: $(GENERATED)
+
+grammartest.y: include/grammartest.h
+lex.grammartest.c: grammartest.l
+
+check: $(GRAMMAR_INPUT) $(GENERATE_PY) Makefile
+	python ./$(GENERATE_PY) --log-level info check --fix-extensions unroll --unroll-lists --unroll-options --check-symbols='$(CHECK_SYMBOLS)' $<
+
+grammartest-dense.ebnf: $(GRAMMAR_INPUT) $(GENERATE_PY)
+	python ./$(GENERATE_PY) --log-level $(GENERATE_LOG_LEVEL) create --fix-extensions keep $< grammartest.ebnf > $@.tmp
+	mv $@.tmp $@
+
+define generate_rule
+$(1): $$(GRAMMAR_INPUT) $$(GENERATE_PY) Makefile
+	$$(GENERATE) $$< $$(patsubst grammartest.%,grammartest.%,$$@) > $$@.tmp
+	mv $$@.tmp $$@
+endef
+$(foreach target,$(GENERATED_STD),$(eval $(call generate_rule,$(target))))
+
+clean.generated:
+	rm -f $(GENERATED)
+clean: clean.generated
+echo-generated:
+	@echo GENERATED = $(GENERATED)
+
+help:
+	$(GENERATE) --help
+
+expand-macros:
+	make 2>/dev/null | sed '/g++/ !d; s/g++\|gcc//; s/-o .*//' | xargs g++ -E -C | indent
diff --git a/test/grammar/generate.py b/test/grammar/generate.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0c2c19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/grammar/generate.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+#!/usr/bin/python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+import argparse
+import sys
+import re
+import textwrap
+from collections import OrderedDict
+from abc import abstractmethod
+
+import jwutils
+
+from jwutils.log import *
+from jwutils import grammar
+
+base = 'grammartest'
+mip = '_JW_PYTHON_' + base + base.upper()
+namespace = base
+
+def create_grammartest_ebnf(grammar):
+    print(jwutils.grammar.create_ebnf(grammar))
+
+def create_grammartest_y(grammar):
+    print(jwutils.grammar.create_yacc(grammar))
+
+def create_grammartest_l(grammar):
+    print(jwutils.grammar.create_lex(grammar))
+
+def create_include_grammartest_h(grammar):
+    print(jwutils.grammar.create_header(grammar, mip=mip, namespace=namespace))
+
+class GrammarCmd(jwutils.grammar.GrammarCmd):
+
+    def __init__(self, name, help):
+        super(GrammarCmd, self).__init__(name, help=help)
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def _run(self, grammar):
+        pass
+
+    def add_parser(self, parsers):
+        p = super(GrammarCmd, self).add_parser(parsers)
+        return p
+
+    def run(self, args):
+        with open(args.input, 'r') as infile:
+            contents = infile.read()
+        grammar = jwutils.grammar.grammar_parse_ebnf(contents)
+
+        slog(INFO, "grammar size is", len(grammar))
+        for t in grammar.keys():
+            slog(INFO, "key =", t)
+        slog(INFO, "grammar size is", len(grammar))
+        jwutils.grammar.dump_grammar(INFO, grammar)
+        grammar = super(GrammarCmd, self).processGrammar(args, grammar)
+        self._run(args, grammar)
+
+class CmdCreate(GrammarCmd):
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        super(CmdCreate, self).__init__("create", help="Create a file")
+
+    def add_parser(self, parsers):
+        p = super(CmdCreate, self).add_parser(parsers)
+        p.add_argument("output", help="output file")
+        return p
+
+    def _run(self, args, grammar):
+        cmd = getattr(sys.modules[__name__], 'create_' + re.sub(r'[-./]', '_', args.output))
+        cmd(grammar)
+
+class CmdCheck(GrammarCmd):
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        super(CmdCheck, self).__init__("check", help="Check grammar")
+
+    def add_parser(self, parsers):
+        p = super(CmdCheck, self).add_parser(parsers)
+        return p
+
+    def _run(self, args, grammar):
+        pass
+
+jwutils.run_sub_commands('generate Test parser files')
diff --git a/test/grammar/grammartest-input.ebnf b/test/grammar/grammartest-input.ebnf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4cbb0e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/grammar/grammartest-input.ebnf
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+ (* a simple program syntax in EBNF − Wikipedia *)
+ program = 'PROGRAM', white space, identifier, white space, 
+            'BEGIN', white space, 
+            { assignment, ";", white space }, 
+            'END.' ;
+ identifier = alphabetic character, { alphabetic character | digit } ;
+ number = [ "-" ], digit, { digit } ;
+ string = '"' , { all characters - '"' }, '"' ;
+ assignment = identifier , ":=" , ( number | identifier | string ) ;
+ alphabetic character = "A" | "B" | "C" | "D" | "E" | "F" | "G"
+                      | "H" | "I" | "J" | "K" | "L" | "M" | "N"
+                      | "O" | "P" | "Q" | "R" | "S" | "T" | "U"
+                      | "V" | "W" | "X" | "Y" | "Z" ;
+ digit = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9" ;
+ white space = ? white space characters ? ;
+ all characters = ? all visible characters ? ;
diff --git a/test/grammar/grammartest.code b/test/grammar/grammartest.code
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..386e6ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/grammar/grammartest.code
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+ PROGRAM DEMO1
+ BEGIN
+   A:=3;
+   B:=45;
+   H:=-100023;
+   C:=A;
+   D123:=B34A;
+   BABOON:=GIRAFFE;
+   TEXT:="Hello world!";
+ END.
diff --git a/test/grammar/include/defs.h b/test/grammar/include/defs.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b677234
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/grammar/include/defs.h
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#ifndef _JW_PYTHON_GRAMMARTEST_PARSER_DEFS_H
+#define _JW_PYTHON_GRAMMARTEST_PARSER_DEFS_H
+
+#define YY_NO_INPUT
+#define YY_NO_UNPUT
+// #define YY_NO_UNISTD_H
+
+struct context {
+	int line;
+};
+
+union YYSTYPE;
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+/* defined in grammartest-parser.l */
+struct vp_scanner;
+struct vp_scanner *grammartest_default_init_scanner(const char *str);
+void *grammartest_default_scanner_get_data(const struct vp_scanner *scanner);
+void grammartest_default_cleanup_scanner(struct vp_scanner *scanner);
+
+void FB_SYM(error)(struct context *context, void *scanner, const char *s);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+} // extern "C"
+#endif
+
+#define YY_DECL int FB_SYM(lex)(YYSTYPE *yylval_param, struct context *context, void *yyscanner)
+
+#endif /* #ifndef _JW_PYTHON_GRAMMARTEST_PARSER_DEFS_H */
diff --git a/tools/python/jwutils/grammar.py b/tools/python/jwutils/grammar.py
index e6420b9..7e1387e 100644
--- a/tools/python/jwutils/grammar.py
+++ b/tools/python/jwutils/grammar.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import sys
 import re
 import lxml.etree as ET
 import textwrap
+import itertools
+import copy
 from collections import OrderedDict
 from abc import abstractmethod
 
@@ -83,21 +85,34 @@ token_regexes = {
     "PSL_Verification_Unit"      : "(vunit|vpkg|vprop|vmode)[^{]*{[^}]*}",
 }
 
+quotechars = [ '"', "'" ]
+
 def dump(obj):
   for c, v in obj.iteritems():
     slog(INFO, "obj.%s = %s (=> %s)" % (str(type(c)), str(c), str(v)))
 
+def dump_grammar(prio, grammar):
+    for t, p in grammar.iteritems():
+    	p.dump(prio)
+
 def cleanup_token(tok):
     tok = tok.strip()
     if len(tok) == 0:
         return None
+    if tok[0] == "'" and tok[-1] == "'":
+        tok = '"' + tok[1:-1] + '"'
     return tok
 
 def is_terminal(tok):
-    if not tok.startswith('"'):
+    size = len(tok)
+    if size < 2:
         return None
-    if not tok.endswith('"'):
-        raise Exception('Token "' + tok + '" isn\'t entirely enclosed in quotes, ends with "' + tok[-1:] + '"')
+    first = tok[0]
+    last = tok[-1]
+    if (not first in quotechars) and (not last in quotechars):
+        return None
+    if first != last:
+        raise Exception('Token >"' + tok + '"< isn\'t symmetrically enclosed in quotes')
     return tok[1:-1]
 
 def tok2name(tok):
@@ -129,6 +144,29 @@ def format_rule(rule):
 def format_rules(rules):
     return ', '.join(format_rule(rule) for rule in rules)
 
+def format_ebnf_rule(grammar, rule):
+    r = ""
+    last = None
+    for comp in rule:
+        if last is not None:
+            if comp.tp == t_grammar:
+                if last.tp == t_grammar:
+                    pass
+                else:
+                    if comp.token in [ '[', '(', '{', '<' ]:
+                        r += ','
+            else:
+                if last.tp == t_grammar:
+                    if comp.token in [ ']', ')', '}', '>' ]:
+                        r += ','
+                else:
+                        r += ','
+        r += ' ' + comp.token
+        last = comp
+    if len(r) == 0:
+        return r
+    return r.strip()
+
 def format_yacc_rule(rule):
     r = ''
     for c in rule:
@@ -140,7 +178,7 @@ class RuleComp:
     def __init__(self, token, tp):
         self.token = token
         self.tp = tp
-        slog(INFO, "creating rule >" + self.str() + "<")
+        slog(INFO, "creating rule component >" + self.str() + "<")
 
     def __eq__(self, rhs):
         if self.token != rhs.token:
@@ -153,7 +191,14 @@ class RuleComp:
         return not self.__eq__(rhs)
 
     def str(self):
-        return "{" + self.tp + ": " + self.token + "}"
+        tp = 'u'
+        if self.tp == t_grammar:
+            tp = 'g'
+        elif self.tp == t_target_lang:
+            tp = 'l'
+        else:
+            tp = self.tp
+        return "{" + tp + ": " + self.token + "}"
 
 class State:
 
@@ -192,13 +237,13 @@ class Symbol:
     def __init__(self, token, tp = p_ruleset, rules = None):
         self.tp = tp
         self.token = token
-	self.name = tok2name(token)
-	self.sym = tok2sym(token)
-	self.term = None
+        self.name = tok2name(token)
+        self.sym = tok2sym(token)
+        self.term = None
         self.regex = None
-	self.is_lexical_element = False
-	self.rules = []
-	self.datatype = None
+        self.is_lexical_element = False
+        self.rules = []
+        self.datatype = None
         if rules is not None:
             self.rules = rules
         self.set_type(tp)
@@ -244,17 +289,82 @@ class Symbol:
         return True
 
     def dump(self, prio = NOTICE, msg=""):
-	slog(prio, ",----------------", msg)
-	slog(prio, "| type          =", self.tp)
-	slog(prio, "| name          =", self.name)
+        slog(prio, ",----------------", msg)
+        slog(prio, "| type          =", self.tp)
+        slog(prio, "| name          =", self.name)
         slog(prio, "| token         =", self.token)
-	slog(prio, "| sym           =", self.sym)
-	slog(prio, "| term          =", self.term)
+        slog(prio, "| sym           =", self.sym)
+        slog(prio, "| term          =", self.term)
         slog(prio, "| regex         =", self.regex)
         slog(prio, "| datatype      =", self.datatype)
-	slog(prio, "| is_lexical_element =", self.is_lexical_element)
-	slog(prio, "| rules         =", format_rules(self.rules))
-	slog(prio, "`----------------", msg)
+        slog(prio, "| is_lexical_element =", self.is_lexical_element)
+        slog(prio, "| rules         =", format_rules(self.rules))
+        slog(prio, "`----------------", msg)
+
+def split_list_by(l_, tok):
+    l = copy.deepcopy(l_)
+    return [list(x[1]) for x in itertools.groupby(l, lambda x: x==tok) if not x[0]]
+
+def grammar_parse_ebnf(content_):
+
+    # remove comments
+    in_comment = False
+    quoted = None
+    raw_tokens = re.split("([, ])", content_)
+    tokens = []
+    for t in raw_tokens:
+        t = t.strip()
+        if not len(t):
+            continue
+        if quoted:
+            if t == quoted: # FIXME: check backslash before
+                quoted = None
+        elif in_comment:
+            if t == '*)':
+                in_comment = False
+            continue
+        elif t == '(*':
+            in_comment = True
+            continue
+        elif t in [ '"', "'" ]:
+            quoted = t
+        tokens.append(t)
+
+    grammar = OrderedDict()
+    raw_productions = split_list_by(tokens, ';')
+    #slog(INFO, "raw_productions =", raw_productions)
+    for raw_production in raw_productions:
+        #slog(INFO, "raw_production =", '@'.join(raw_production))
+        raw_lhs_rhs = split_list_by(raw_production, '=')
+        #slog(INFO, "raw_lhs_rhs =", raw_lhs_rhs)
+        assert(len(raw_lhs_rhs) == 2)
+        lhs = ' '.join(raw_lhs_rhs[0])
+        p = Symbol(lhs)
+        raw_rules = split_list_by(raw_lhs_rhs[1], '|')
+        #slog(INFO, "raw_lhs_rhs[1] = ", raw_lhs_rhs[1])
+        for raw_rule in raw_rules:
+            #slog(INFO, "raw_rule =", raw_rule)
+            rule_tokens = split_list_by(raw_rule, ',')
+            #slog(INFO, "rule_tokens =", rule_tokens)
+            rule = []
+            for raw_tok in rule_tokens:
+                tok = cleanup_token(' '.join(raw_tok))
+                tp = t_target_lang
+                if is_terminal(tok) is not None:
+                    if not tok in grammar.keys():
+                        litp = Symbol(tok, p_terminal)
+                        slog(INFO, "Appending terminal production>" + tok + "< -> ", litp.str())
+                        grammar[tok] = litp
+                    tp = t_target_lang
+                elif tok in [ '{', '}', '[', ']', '<', '>', '(', ')' ]:
+                    tp = t_grammar
+                rule.append(RuleComp(tok, tp))
+            p.rules.append(rule)
+        slog(INFO, "Appending production>" + lhs + "< -> ", p.str())
+        grammar[lhs] = p
+
+    dump_grammar(INFO, grammar)
+    return grammar
 
 def grammar_get_types(grammar):
     types = dict()
@@ -292,10 +402,10 @@ def grammar_fix_extensions(grammar, mode):
             prefix = ""
             paren = 0
             for c in rule:
-                if c.tp != t_target_lang:
-                    if c.token == '(':
+                if c.tp == t_grammar and c.token in ['<', '>']:
+                    if c.token == '<':
                         paren += 1
-                    elif c.token == ')':
+                    elif c.token == '>':
                         paren -= 1
                     if paren <= 1: # don't add first level of control chars
                         continue
@@ -309,9 +419,9 @@ def grammar_fix_extensions(grammar, mode):
                     prefix = prefix[1:]
                     slog(INFO, "Found prefix", prefix)
                     if mode == mode_keep:
-                        newrule.append(RuleComp('(', t_grammar))
+                        newrule.append(RuleComp('<', t_grammar))
                         newrule.append(RuleComp(prefix, t_target_lang))
-                        newrule.append(RuleComp(')', t_grammar))
+                        newrule.append(RuleComp('>', t_grammar))
                         newrule.append(c)
                     elif mode == mode_discard:
                         prefix = ''
@@ -362,8 +472,12 @@ def grammar_unroll_lists(grammar):
                         if rule.tp != t_target_lang:
                             continue
                         name += tok2name(rule.token) + "_"
-                    if len(delpos) != 1:
-                        raise Exception("need exactly one delimiter in list rule:", ' '.join(listrule))
+
+                    # not really: there are lists without delimiters, too
+                    #if len(delpos) != 1:
+                    #    p.dump(ERR)
+                    #    raise Exception("need exactly one delimiter in list rule:", format_rule(listrule))
+
                     name = name + "my_list"
                     newrule.append(RuleComp(name, t_target_lang))
                     p = Symbol(name, rules=[[], listrule])
@@ -447,15 +561,6 @@ def grammar_unroll_options(grammar):
         grammar[tok].rules = rules_unroll_options(p.rules)
     return grammar
 
-def format_ebnf_rule(grammar, rule):
-    r = ""
-    for comp in rule:
-        if comp.tp == t_grammar:
-            r = r + " " + comp.token
-            continue
-        r = r + " " + comp.token
-    return r.strip()
-
 def step_out(grammar, terminals, orphans, lexicals, tok, depth, checked = None, found = None):
     if checked is None:
         checked = set()
@@ -538,14 +643,14 @@ def step_out(grammar, terminals, orphans, lexicals, tok, depth, checked = None,
     slog(INFO, indent, "returning", r, "for token", tok)
     return r
 
-def grammar_check(grammar, selements = None):
-    if selements is None:
-        selements = []
+def grammar_check(grammar, check_symbols = None):
     terminals = {tok for tok, p in grammar.iteritems() if p.term is not None}
     orphans   = {tok for tok, p in grammar.iteritems() if p.token not in grammar}
     lexicals  = {tok for tok, p in grammar.iteritems() if p.is_lexical_element is True}
     elements  = set()
-    if len(selements) == 0:
+    if check_symbols is None:
+        check_symbols = []
+    if len(check_symbols) == 0:
         for tok, p in grammar.iteritems():
             if p.is_lexical_element:
                 elements.add(tok)
@@ -555,9 +660,9 @@ def grammar_check(grammar, selements = None):
                     if c.tp == t_grammar:
                         continue
                     elements.add(c.token)
-        selements = sorted(list(elements))
+        check_symbols = sorted(list(elements))
     found = dict()
-    for tok in selements:
+    for tok in check_symbols:
         slog(INFO, "======= checking", tok)
         rr = step_out(grammar, terminals, orphans, lexicals, tok, 0, checked=set(), found=found)
         if rr == sys.maxint:
@@ -683,14 +788,18 @@ def grammar_trim_symbols(grammar, symbols):
 
 def create_ebnf(grammar):
     indent = 40
+    slog(INFO, "creating ebnf from grammar of size", len(grammar))
+    out = ''
     for t, p in grammar.iteritems():
+        slog(INFO, "formatting rule", t)
         if not len(p.rules):
             slog(INFO, "ignoring " + t + " (has no rules)\n")
             continue
-        out = t + ' ' * (indent - len(t)) + " = " + format_ebnf_rule(grammar, p.rules[0])
+        out += t + ' ' * (indent - len(t)) + " = " + format_ebnf_rule(grammar, p.rules[0]) + '\n'
         for rule in p.rules[1:]:
-            out += "\n" + ' ' * indent + " | " + format_ebnf_rule(grammar, rule)
-        return out + "\n"
+            out += ' ' * indent + " | " + format_ebnf_rule(grammar, rule) + '\n'
+	out += ' ' * indent + ' ;\n'
+    return out
 
 def create_yacc(grammar):
     indent = ' ' * 40