diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/AccessException.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/AccessException.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2a2e4d014a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/AccessException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * An AccessException is thrown by an accessor if it has an unexpected problem.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public class AccessException extends Exception {
+
+	/**
+	 * Create an AccessException with a specific message and cause.
+	 * 
+	 * @param message the message
+	 * @param cause the cause
+	 */
+	public AccessException(String message, Exception cause) {
+		super(message, cause);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Create an AccessException with a specific message.
+	 * 
+	 * @param message the message
+	 */
+	public AccessException(String message) {
+		super(message);
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/CacheablePropertyAccessor.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/CacheablePropertyAccessor.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4e654b54907
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/CacheablePropertyAccessor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+// TODO (asc) Do we need a 'caching is allowed' option to be configurable at parse time?
+/**
+ * A CacheablePropertyAccessor is an optimized PropertyAccessor where the two parts of accessing the
+ * property are separated: (1) resolving the property and (2) retrieving its value.  In some cases there is 
+ * a large cost to discovering which property an expression refers to and once discovered it will 
+ * always resolve to the same property.  In these situations a CacheablePropertyAccessor enables the 
+ * resolution to be done once and a reusable object (an executor) returned that can be called over and 
+ * over to retrieve the property value without going through resolution again.
+ * <p>
+ *  
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public abstract class CacheablePropertyAccessor implements PropertyAccessor {
+
+	/**
+	 * Attempt to resolve the named property and return an executor that can be called to
+	 * get the value of that property.  Return null if the property cannot be resolved.
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context
+	 * @param target the target upon which the property is being accessed
+	 * @param name the name of the property being accessed
+	 * @return a reusable executor that can retrieve the property value
+	 */
+	public abstract PropertyReaderExecutor getReaderAccessor(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name);
+
+	/**
+	 * Attempt to resolve the named property and return an executor that can be called to
+	 * set the value of that property.  Return null if the property cannot be resolved.
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context
+	 * @param target the target upon which the property is being accessed
+	 * @param name the name of the property to be set
+	 * @return a reusable executor that can set the property value
+	 */
+	public abstract PropertyWriterExecutor getWriterAccessor(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name);
+
+	// Implementation of PropertyAccessor follows, based on the resolver/executor model
+	
+	public final boolean canRead(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name) throws AccessException {
+		return getReaderAccessor(context,target,name) != null;
+	}
+
+	public final boolean canWrite(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name) throws AccessException {
+		return getWriterAccessor(context,target,name) != null;
+	}
+
+	public final Object read(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name) throws AccessException {
+		return getReaderAccessor(context,target,name).execute(context,target);
+	}
+
+	public final void write(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name, Object newValue) throws AccessException {
+		getWriterAccessor(context,target,name).execute(context,target,newValue);
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ConstructorExecutor.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ConstructorExecutor.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..11e1225f63e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ConstructorExecutor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+// TODO (asc) Is the resolver/executor model too pervasive in this package?
+/**
+ * Executors are built by resolvers and can be cached by the infrastructure to repeat an operation quickly without going
+ * back to the resolvers. For example, the particular constructor to run on a class may be discovered by the reflection
+ * constructor resolver - it will then build a ConstructorExecutor that executes that constructor and the
+ * ConstructorExecutor can be reused without needing to go back to the resolver to discover the constructor again.
+ * 
+ * They can become stale, and in that case should throw an AccessException - this will cause the infrastructure to go
+ * back to the resolvers to ask for a new one.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface ConstructorExecutor {
+
+	/**
+	 * Execute a constructor in the specified context using the specified arguments.
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the command is being executed
+	 * @param arguments the arguments to the constructor call, should match (in terms of number and type) whatever the
+	 * command will need to run
+	 * @return the new object
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is a problem executing the command or the CommandExecutor is no longer valid
+	 */
+	Object execute(EvaluationContext context, Object... arguments) throws AccessException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ConstructorResolver.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ConstructorResolver.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..87037c64c55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ConstructorResolver.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * A constructor resolver attempts locate a constructor and returns a ConstructorExecutor that can be used to invoke
+ * that constructor. The ConstructorExecutor will be cached but if it 'goes stale' the resolvers will be called again.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface ConstructorResolver {
+
+	/**
+	 * Within the supplied context determine a suitable constructor on the supplied type that can handle the specified
+	 * arguments. Return a ConstructorExecutor that can be used to invoke that constructor (or null if no constructor
+	 * could be found).
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the current evaluation context
+	 * @param typename the type upon which to look for the constructor
+	 * @param argumentTypes the arguments that the constructor must be able to handle
+	 * @return a ConstructorExecutor that can invoke the constructor, or null if non found
+	 */
+	ConstructorExecutor resolve(EvaluationContext context, String typename, Class<?>[] argumentTypes)
+			throws AccessException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/EvaluationContext.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/EvaluationContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d6ac1f80e93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/EvaluationContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.springframework.expression.spel.standard.StandardEvaluationContext;
+import org.springframework.expression.spel.standard.StandardTypeUtilities;
+
+/**
+ * Expressions are executed in an evaluation context. It is in this context that references are resolved when
+ * encountered during expression evaluation.
+ * 
+ * There is a default implementation of the EvaluationContext, {@link StandardEvaluationContext} that can be extended,
+ * rather than having to implement everything.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface EvaluationContext {
+
+	/**
+	 * @return the root context object against which unqualified properties/methods/etc should be resolved
+	 */
+	Object getRootContextObject();
+
+	/**
+	 * @return a TypeUtilities implementation that can be used for looking up types, converting types, comparing types,
+	 * and overloading basic operators for types. A standard implementation is provided in {@link StandardTypeUtilities}
+	 */
+	TypeUtils getTypeUtils();
+
+	/**
+	 * Look up a named variable within this execution context.
+	 * 
+	 * @param name variable to lookup
+	 * @return the value of the variable
+	 */
+	Object lookupVariable(String name);
+
+	/**
+	 * Set a named variable within this execution context to a specified value.
+	 * 
+	 * @param name variable to set
+	 * @param value value to be placed in the variable
+	 */
+	void setVariable(String name, Object value);
+
+	// TODO (asc) lookupReference() - is it too expensive to return all objects within a context?
+	/**
+	 * Look up an object reference in a particular context. If no contextName is specified (null), assume the default
+	 * context. If no objectName is specified (null), return all objects in the specified context (List<Object>).
+	 * 
+	 * @param contextName the context in which to perform the lookup (or null for default context)
+	 * @param objectName the object to lookup in the context (or null to get all objects)
+	 * @return a specific object or List<Object>
+	 */
+	Object lookupReference(Object contextName, Object objectName) throws EvaluationException;
+
+	/**
+	 * @return a list of resolvers that will be asked in turn to locate a constructor
+	 */
+	List<ConstructorResolver> getConstructorResolvers();
+
+	/**
+	 * @return a list of resolvers that will be asked in turn to locate a method
+	 */
+	List<MethodResolver> getMethodResolvers();
+
+	/**
+	 * @return a list of accessors that will be asked in turn to read/write a property
+	 */
+	List<PropertyAccessor> getPropertyAccessors();
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/EvaluationException.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/EvaluationException.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..264e0f7a0d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/EvaluationException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ * 
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * 
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+// TODO (asc) This class needs a better name? I might have used EvaluationException if it wasn't also used for parsing issues
+/**
+ * Base class for exceptions occurring during expression parsing and evaluation.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public class EvaluationException extends Exception {
+
+	/**
+	 * The expression string.
+	 */
+	private String expressionString;
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression exception. The expressionString field should be set by a later call to
+	 * setExpressionString().
+	 * 
+	 * @param cause the underlying cause of this exception
+	 */
+	public EvaluationException(Throwable cause) {
+		super(cause);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression parsing exception.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string that could not be parsed
+	 * @param cause the underlying cause of this exception
+	 */
+	public EvaluationException(String expressionString, Throwable cause) {
+		this(expressionString, "Exception occurred whilst handling '" + expressionString + "'", cause);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression exception.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string
+	 * @param message a descriptive message
+	 * @param cause the underlying cause of this exception
+	 */
+	public EvaluationException(String expressionString, String message, Throwable cause) {
+		super(message, cause);
+		this.expressionString = expressionString;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression exception.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string
+	 * @param message a descriptive message
+	 */
+	public EvaluationException(String expressionString, String message) {
+		super(message);
+		this.expressionString = expressionString;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression exception. The expressionString field should be set by a later call to
+	 * setExpressionString().
+	 * 
+	 * @param message a descriptive message
+	 */
+	public EvaluationException(String message) {
+		super(message);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Set the expression string, called on exceptions where the expressionString is not known at the time of exception
+	 * creation.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string
+	 */
+	protected final void setExpressionString(String expressionString) {
+		this.expressionString = expressionString;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return the expression string
+	 */
+	public final String getExpressionString() {
+		return expressionString;
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/MethodExecutor.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/MethodExecutor.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..99bf35aabc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/MethodExecutor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * MethodExecutors are built by the resolvers and can be cached by the infrastructure to repeat an operation quickly
+ * without going back to the resolvers. For example, the particular method to run on an object may be discovered by the
+ * reflection method resolver - it will then build a MethodExecutor that executes that method and the MethodExecutor can
+ * be reused without needing to go back to the resolver to discover the method again.
+ * <p>
+ * They can become stale, and in that case should throw an AccessException - this will cause the infrastructure to go
+ * back to the resolvers to ask for a new one.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface MethodExecutor {
+
+	/**
+	 * Execute a command using the specified arguments, and using the specified expression state.
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the command is being executed
+	 * @param target the target object of the call - null for static methods
+	 * @param methodArguments the arguments to the executor, should match (in terms of number and type) whatever the
+	 * command will need to run
+	 * @return the value returned from execution
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is a problem executing the command or the MethodExecutor is no longer valid
+	 */
+	Object execute(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object... methodArguments) throws AccessException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/MethodResolver.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/MethodResolver.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e766214eafb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/MethodResolver.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * A method resolver attempts locate a method and returns a command executor that can be used to invoke that method. The
+ * command executor will be cached but if it 'goes stale' the resolvers will be called again.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface MethodResolver {
+
+	/**
+	 * Within the supplied context determine a suitable method on the supplied object that can handle the specified
+	 * arguments. Return a MethodExecutor that can be used to invoke that method (or null if no method
+	 * could be found).
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the current evaluation context
+	 * @param targetObject the object upon which the method is being called
+	 * @param argumentTypes the arguments that the constructor must be able to handle
+	 * @return a MethodExecutor that can invoke the method, or null if the method cannot be found
+	 */
+	MethodExecutor resolve(EvaluationContext context, Object targetObject, String name, Class<?>[] argumentTypes) throws AccessException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/Operation.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/Operation.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4fd211bd67c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/Operation.java
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+
+/**
+ * Supported operations that an {@link OperatorOverloader} can implement for any pair of operands.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public enum Operation {
+	ADD, SUBTRACT, DIVIDE, MULTIPLY, MODULUS;
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/OperatorOverloader.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/OperatorOverloader.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..022cdc38f1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/OperatorOverloader.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+
+/**
+ * By default the mathematical operators {@link Operation} support simple types like numbers. By providing an
+ * implementation of OperatorOverloader, a user of the expression language can support these operations on other types.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface OperatorOverloader {
+
+	// TODO (asc) does this need a better type name?
+	// TODO (asc) needs some testing!
+	
+	/**
+	 * Return true if the operator overloader supports the specified operation between the two operands and so should be
+	 * invoked to handle it.
+	 * 
+	 * @param operation the operation to be performed
+	 * @param leftOperand the left operand
+	 * @param rightOperand the right operand
+	 * @return true if the OperatorOverloader supports the specified operation between the two operands
+	 * @throws EvaluationException if there is a problem performing the operation
+	 */
+	boolean overridesOperation(Operation operation, Object leftOperand, Object rightOperand) throws EvaluationException;
+
+	/**
+	 * Execute the specified operation on two operands, returning a result. See {@link Operation} for supported
+	 * operations.
+	 * 
+	 * @param operation the operation to be performed
+	 * @param leftOperand the left operand
+	 * @param rightOperand the right operand
+	 * @return the result of performing the operation on the two operands
+	 * @throws EvaluationException if there is a problem performing the operation
+	 */
+	Object operate(Operation operation, Object leftOperand, Object rightOperand) throws EvaluationException;
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ParseException.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ParseException.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..30531d2d141
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/ParseException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ * 
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * 
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+// TODO (asc) This class needs a better name? I might have used EvaluationException if it wasn't also used for parsing issues
+/**
+ * Base class for exceptions occurring during expression parsing and evaluation.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public class ParseException extends Exception {
+
+	/**
+	 * The expression string.
+	 */
+	private String expressionString;
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression exception. The expressionString field should be set by a later call to
+	 * setExpressionString().
+	 * 
+	 * @param cause the underlying cause of this exception
+	 */
+	public ParseException(Throwable cause) {
+		super(cause);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression parsing exception.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string that could not be parsed
+	 * @param cause the underlying cause of this exception
+	 */
+	public ParseException(String expressionString, Throwable cause) {
+		this(expressionString, "Exception occurred whilst handling '" + expressionString + "'", cause);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression exception.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string
+	 * @param message a descriptive message
+	 * @param cause the underlying cause of this exception
+	 */
+	public ParseException(String expressionString, String message, Throwable cause) {
+		super(message, cause);
+		this.expressionString = expressionString;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates a new expression exception.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string
+	 * @param message a descriptive message
+	 */
+	public ParseException(String expressionString, String message) {
+		super(message);
+		this.expressionString = expressionString;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Set the expression string, called on exceptions where the expressionString is not known at the time of exception
+	 * creation.
+	 * 
+	 * @param expressionString the expression string
+	 */
+	protected final void setExpressionString(String expressionString) {
+		this.expressionString = expressionString;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @return the expression string
+	 */
+	public final String getExpressionString() {
+		return expressionString;
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyAccessor.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyAccessor.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dd54f38c6b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyAccessor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * A property accessor is able to read (and possibly write) to object properties. The interface places no restrictions
+ * and so implementors are free to access properties directly as fields or through getters or in any other way they see
+ * as appropriate. A resolver can optionally specify an array of target classes for which it should be called - but if
+ * it returns null from getSpecificTargetClasses() then it will be called for all property references and given a chance
+ * to determine if it can read or write them. Property resolvers are considered to be ordered and each will be called in
+ * turn. The only rule that affects the call order is that any naming the target class directly in
+ * getSpecifiedTargetClasses() will be called first, before the general resolvers.
+ * <p>
+ * If the cost of locating the property is expensive, in relation to actually retrieving its value, consider
+ * extending CacheablePropertyAccessor rather than directly implementing PropertyAccessor.  A CacheablePropertyAccessor
+ * enables the discovery (resolution) of the property to be done once and then an object (an executor) returned
+ * and cached by the infrastructure that can be used repeatedly to retrieve the property value.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface PropertyAccessor {
+
+	/**
+	 * Return an array of classes for which this resolver should be called. Returning null indicates this is a general
+	 * resolver that can be called in an attempt to resolve a property on any type.
+	 * 
+	 * @return an array of classes that this resolver is suitable for (or null if a general resolver)
+	 */
+	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+	public Class[] getSpecificTargetClasses();
+
+	/**
+	 * Called to determine if a resolver instance is able to access a specified property on a specified target object.
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the access is being attempted
+	 * @param target the target object upon which the property is being accessed
+	 * @param name the name of the property being accessed
+	 * @return true if this resolver is able to read the property
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is any problem determining whether the property can be read
+	 */
+	public boolean canRead(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name) throws AccessException;
+
+	/**
+	 * Called to read a property from a specified target object
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the access is being attempted
+	 * @param target the target object upon which the property is being accessed
+	 * @param name the name of the property being accessed
+	 * @return Object the value of the property
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is any problem accessing the property value
+	 */
+	public Object read(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name) throws AccessException;
+
+	/**
+	 * Called to determine if a resolver instance is able to write to a specified property on a specified target object.
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the access is being attempted
+	 * @param target the target object upon which the property is being accessed
+	 * @param name the name of the property being accessed
+	 * @return true if this resolver is able to write to the property
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is any problem determining whether the property can be written to
+	 */
+	public boolean canWrite(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name) throws AccessException;
+
+	/**
+	 * Called to write to a property on a specified target object. Should only succeed if canWrite() also returns true.
+	 * 
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the access is being attempted
+	 * @param target the target object upon which the property is being accessed
+	 * @param name the name of the property being accessed
+	 * @param newValue the new value for the property
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is any problem writing to the property value
+	 */
+	public void write(EvaluationContext context, Object target, Object name, Object newValue) throws AccessException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyReaderExecutor.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyReaderExecutor.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d29f0ad9d19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyReaderExecutor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * If a property accessor is built upon the CacheablePropertyAccessor class then once the property
+ * has been resolved the accessor will return an instance of this PropertyReaderExecutor interface
+ * that can be cached and repeatedly called to access the value of the property. 
+ * <p>
+ * They can become stale, and in that case should throw an AccessException - this will cause the 
+ * infrastructure to go back to the resolvers to ask for a new one.
+ *
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface PropertyReaderExecutor {
+
+	/**
+	 * Return the value of a property for the specified target.
+	 *
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the command is being executed
+	 * @param targetObject the target object on which property access is being attempted
+	 * @return the property value
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is a problem accessing the property or this executor has become stale
+	 */
+	Object execute(EvaluationContext context, Object targetObject) throws AccessException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyWriterExecutor.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyWriterExecutor.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ad61d8ee4f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/PropertyWriterExecutor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * If a property accessor is built upon the CacheablePropertyAccessor class then once the property
+ * has been resolved the accessor will return an instance of this PropertyWriterExecutor interface
+ * that can be cached and repeatedly called to set the value of the property. 
+ * <p>
+ * They can become stale, and in that case should throw an AccessException - this will cause the 
+ * infrastructure to go back to the resolvers to ask for a new one.
+ *
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface PropertyWriterExecutor {
+
+	/**
+	 * Set the value of a property to the supplied new value.
+	 *
+	 * @param context the evaluation context in which the command is being executed
+	 * @param targetObject the target object on which property write is being attempted
+	 * @param newValue the new value for the property
+	 * @throws AccessException if there is a problem setting the property or this executor has become stale
+	 */
+	void execute(EvaluationContext evaluationContext, Object targetObject, Object newValue) throws AccessException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeComparator.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeComparator.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ef4329bf69d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeComparator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * Instances of a type comparator should be able to compare pairs of objects for equality, the specification of the
+ * return value is the same as for {@link Comparable}.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface TypeComparator {
+
+	/**
+	 * Compare two objects.
+	 * 
+	 * @param firstObject the first object
+	 * @param secondObject the second object
+	 * @return 0 if they are equal, <0 if the first is smaller than the second, or >0 if the first is larger than the
+	 * second
+	 * @throws EvaluationException if a problem occurs during comparison (or they are not comparable)
+	 */
+	int compare(Object firstObject, Object secondObject) throws EvaluationException;
+
+	/**
+	 * Return true if the comparator can compare these two objects
+	 * 
+	 * @param firstObject the first object
+	 * @param secondObject the second object
+	 * @return true if the comparator can compare these objects
+	 */
+	public boolean canCompare(Object firstObject, Object secondObject);
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeConverter.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeConverter.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e11f016fd4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeConverter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+import org.springframework.expression.spel.standard.StandardIndividualTypeConverter;
+import org.springframework.expression.spel.standard.StandardTypeConverter;
+
+/**
+ * A type converter can convert values between different types.  There is a default implementation called {@link StandardTypeConverter}
+ * that supports some basic conversions.  That default implementation can be extended through subclassing or
+ * via registration of new {@link StandardIndividualTypeConverter} instances with the StandardTypeConverter.
+ *
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface TypeConverter {
+// TODO (asc) replace this stuff with Keiths spring-binding conversion code
+// TODO (asc) should ExpressionException be thrown for lost precision in the case of coercion?
+
+	/**
+	 * Convert (may coerce) a value from one type to another, for example from a boolean to a string.
+	 * 
+	 * @param value the value to be converted
+	 * @param targetType the type that the value should be converted to if possible
+	 * @return the converted value
+	 * @throws EvaluationException if conversion is not possible
+	 */
+	Object convertValue(Object value, Class<?> targetType) throws EvaluationException;
+
+
+	/**
+	 * Return true if the type converter can convert the specified type to the desired target type.
+	 * 
+	 * @param sourceType the type to be converted from
+	 * @param targetType the type to be converted to
+	 * @return true if that conversion can be performed
+	 */
+	public boolean canConvert(Class<?> sourceType, Class<?> targetType);
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeLocator.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeLocator.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b35fa022cfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeLocator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+import org.springframework.expression.spel.standard.StandardTypeLocator;
+
+/**
+ * Implementors of this interface are expected to be able to locate types. They may use custom classloaders or the
+ * and deal with common package prefixes (java.lang, etc) however they wish. See
+ * {@link StandardTypeLocator} for an example implementation.
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface TypeLocator {
+
+	/**
+	 * Find a type by name. The name may or may not be fully qualified (eg. String or java.lang.String)
+	 * 
+	 * @param type the type to be located
+	 * @return the class object representing that type
+	 * @throw ExpressionException if there is a problem finding it
+	 */
+	Class<?> findType(String typename) throws EvaluationException;
+
+}
diff --git a/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeUtils.java b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeUtils.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..13d55d5a07a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.springframework.expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/TypeUtils.java
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2004-2008 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.expression;
+
+/**
+ * TypeUtilities brings together the various kinds of type related function that may occur
+ * whilst working with expressions.  An implementor is providing support for four type related
+ * facilities:
+ * <ul>
+ * <li>a mechanism for finding types
+ * <li>a mechanism for comparing types
+ * <li>a mechanism for type conversion/coercion
+ * <li>a mechanism for overloading mathematical operations (add/subtract/etc)
+ * </ul>
+ * 
+ * @author Andy Clement
+ */
+public interface TypeUtils {
+
+	/**
+	 * @return a type locator that can be used to find types, either by short or fully qualified name.
+	 */
+	TypeLocator getTypeLocator();
+
+	/**
+	 * @return a type comparator for comparing pairs of objects for equality.
+	 */
+	TypeComparator getTypeComparator();
+
+	/**
+	 * @return a type converter that can convert (or coerce) a value from one type to another.
+	 */
+	TypeConverter getTypeConverter();
+
+	/**
+	 * @return an operator overloader that may support mathematical operations between more than the standard set of
+	 * types
+	 */
+	OperatorOverloader getOperatorOverloader();
+
+}