diff --git a/.github/workflows/cifuzz.yml b/.github/workflows/cifuzz.yml
index fd0e53ff98..3f6893d634 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cifuzz.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cifuzz.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ jobs:
         dry-run: false
         language: jvm
     - name: Upload Crash
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@a8a3f3ad30e3422c9c7b888a15615d19a852ae32 # v3.1.3
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@5d5d22a31266ced268874388b861e4b58bb5c2f3 # v4.3.1
       if: failure() && steps.build.outcome == 'success'
       with:
         name: artifacts
diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 14b0e516cc..32760e48ba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ on:
     branches:
     - master
     - "3.0"
-    - "2.16"
+    - "2.17"
     paths-ignore:
     - "README.md"
     - "release-notes/*"
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ on:
     branches:
     - master
     - "3.0"
-    - "2.16"
+    - "2.17"
     paths-ignore:
     - "README.md"
     - "release-notes/*"
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ jobs:
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@b4ffde65f46336ab88eb53be808477a3936bae11 # v4.1.1
     - name: Set up JDK
-      uses: actions/setup-java@0ab4596768b603586c0de567f2430c30f5b0d2b0 # v3.13.0
+      uses: actions/setup-java@9704b39bf258b59bc04b50fa2dd55e9ed76b47a8 # v4.1.0
       with:
         distribution: 'temurin'
         java-version: ${{ matrix.java_version }}
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ jobs:
       run: ./mvnw -B -q -ff -ntp test
     - name: Publish code coverage
       if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' && matrix.java_version == '8'
-      uses: codecov/codecov-action@eaaf4bedf32dbdc6b720b63067d99c4d77d6047d # v3.1.4
+      uses: codecov/codecov-action@54bcd8715eee62d40e33596ef5e8f0f48dbbccab # v4.1.0
       with:
         token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
         file: ./target/site/jacoco/jacoco.xml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 8985c50222..723e56a357 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
           [[ "$TAG" =~ jackson-core-[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-rc[0-9]+)? ]] || exit 1
       - uses: actions/checkout@b4ffde65f46336ab88eb53be808477a3936bae11 # v4.1.1
       - name: Set up JDK
-        uses: actions/setup-java@0ab4596768b603586c0de567f2430c30f5b0d2b0 # v3.13.0
+        uses: actions/setup-java@9704b39bf258b59bc04b50fa2dd55e9ed76b47a8 # v4.1.0
         with:
           distribution: "temurin"
           java-version: "8"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/scorecard.yml b/.github/workflows/scorecard.yml
index b3e9d05ff3..0b7ace182a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/scorecard.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/scorecard.yml
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ jobs:
       # Upload the results as artifacts (optional). Commenting out will disable uploads of run results in SARIF
       # format to the repository Actions tab.
       - name: "Upload artifact"
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@a8a3f3ad30e3422c9c7b888a15615d19a852ae32 # v3.1.3
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@5d5d22a31266ced268874388b861e4b58bb5c2f3 # v4.3.1
         with:
           name: SARIF file
           path: results.sarif
@@ -60,6 +60,6 @@ jobs:
 
       # Upload the results to GitHub's code scanning dashboard.
       - name: "Upload to code-scanning"
-        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@74483a38d39275f33fcff5f35b679b5ca4a26a99 # v2.22.5
+        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@8a470fddafa5cbb6266ee11b37ef4d8aae19c571 # v3.24.6
         with:
           sarif_file: results.sarif
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1e23293b1d..a16f038064 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Project contains versions 2.0 and above: source code for earlier (1.x) versions
 | Artifact | [![Maven Central](https://maven-badges.herokuapp.com/maven-central/com.fasterxml.jackson.core/jackson-core/badge.svg)](https://maven-badges.herokuapp.com/maven-central/com.fasterxml.jackson.core/jackson-core) |
 | OSS Sponsorship | [![Tidelift](https://tidelift.com/badges/package/maven/com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core)](https://tidelift.com/subscription/pkg/maven-com-fasterxml-jackson-core-jackson-core?utm_source=maven-com-fasterxml-jackson-core-jackson-core&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=readme) |
 | Javadocs | [![Javadoc](https://javadoc.io/badge/com.fasterxml.jackson.core/jackson-core.svg)](https://javadoc.io/doc/com.fasterxml.jackson.core/jackson-core) |
-| Code coverage (2.15) | [![codecov.io](https://codecov.io/github/FasterXML/jackson-core/coverage.svg?branch=2.15)](https://codecov.io/github/FasterXML/jackson-core?branch=2.15) |
+| Code coverage (2.16) | [![codecov.io](https://codecov.io/github/FasterXML/jackson-core/coverage.svg?branch=2.16)](https://codecov.io/github/FasterXML/jackson-core?branch=2.16) |
 | CodeQ (ClusterFuzz) | [![Fuzzing Status](https://oss-fuzz-build-logs.storage.googleapis.com/badges/jackson-core.svg)](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/oss-fuzz/issues/list?sort=-opened&can=1&q=proj:jackson-core) |
 | OpenSSF Score | [![OpenSSF Scorecard](https://api.securityscorecards.dev/projects/github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core/badge)](https://securityscorecards.dev/viewer/?uri=github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core) |
 
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index dbe21dce77..47a3775d5f 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -8,12 +8,12 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson</groupId>
     <artifactId>jackson-base</artifactId>
-    <version>2.16.2</version>
+    <version>2.17.0</version>
   </parent>
   <groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
   <artifactId>jackson-core</artifactId>
   <name>Jackson-core</name>
-  <version>2.16.2</version>
+  <version>2.17.0</version>
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <description>Core Jackson processing abstractions (aka Streaming API), implementation for JSON</description>
   <licenses>
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
     <connection>scm:git:git@github.com:FasterXML/jackson-core.git</connection>
     <developerConnection>scm:git:git@github.com:FasterXML/jackson-core.git</developerConnection>
     <url>https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core</url>
-    <tag>jackson-core-2.16.2</tag>
+    <tag>jackson-core-2.17.0</tag>
   </scm>
 
   <properties>
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;version=${project.version}
     <packageVersion.package>${project.groupId}.json</packageVersion.package>
 
     <!-- for Reproducible Builds -->
-    <project.build.outputTimestamp>2024-03-09T18:40:39Z</project.build.outputTimestamp>
+    <project.build.outputTimestamp>2024-03-12T21:35:57Z</project.build.outputTimestamp>
   </properties>
 
   <!-- Alas, need to include snapshot reference since otherwise can not find
@@ -74,18 +74,6 @@ com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;version=${project.version}
     </repository>
   </repositories>
 
-  <dependencyManagement>
-    <dependencies>
-      <dependency>
-        <groupId>org.junit</groupId>
-        <artifactId>junit-bom</artifactId>
-        <version>5.9.3</version>
-        <type>pom</type>
-        <scope>import</scope>
-      </dependency>
-    </dependencies>
-  </dependencyManagement>
-
   <build>
 
     <plugins>
diff --git a/release-notes/CREDITS-2.x b/release-notes/CREDITS-2.x
index d5a7fb329f..b60d60bb62 100644
--- a/release-notes/CREDITS-2.x
+++ b/release-notes/CREDITS-2.x
@@ -128,7 +128,6 @@ Arnaud Roger (arnaudroger@github)
    to `writeRaw()` instead of `writeRawValue()`
    (2.10.2)
 
-
 Emily Selwood (emilyselwood@github)
   * Reported #382: ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException from UTF32Reader.read on invalid input
    (2.8.9)
@@ -396,6 +395,9 @@ Armin Samii (@artoonie)
 Joo Hyuk Kim (@JooHyukKim)
  * Contributed #1067: Add `ErrorReportConfiguration`
   (2.16.0)
+ * Contributed #507: Add `JsonWriteFeature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES`
+   to allow escaping of '/' for String values
+  (2.17.0)
 
 David Schlosnagle (@schlosna)
  * Contributed #1081: Make `ByteSourceJsonBootstrapper` use `StringReader` for < 8KiB
@@ -405,8 +407,30 @@ David Schlosnagle (@schlosna)
 Mario Fusco (@mariofusco)
  * Contributed #1064: Add full set of `BufferRecyclerPool` implementations
   (2.16.0)
+ * Contributed #1195: Use `BufferRecycler` provided by output (`OutputStream`,
+   `Writer`) object if available
+  (2.17.0)
+
+Robert Elliot (@Mahoney)
+ * Reported #1145: `JsonPointer.appendProperty(String)` does not escape the property name
+  (2.17.0)
+ * Reported #1168: `JsonPointer.append(JsonPointer.tail())` includes the original pointer
+  (2.16.1)
 
 Paul Bunyan (@hal7df)
  * Reported #1173: `JsonLocation` consistently off by one character for many invalid
    JSON parsing cases
   (2.17.0)
+
+Guillaume Lecroc (@gulecroc)
+ * Contributed #1179: Allow configuring `DefaultPrettyPrinter` separators for empty
+   Arrays and Objects
+  (2.17.0)
+
+Antonin Janec (@xtonic)
+ * Contributed #1203: Faster division by 1000
+  (2.17.0)
+ * Contributed #1217: Optimize char comparison using bitwise OR
+  (2.17.0)
+ * Contributed #1218: Simplify Unicode surrogate pair conversion for generation
+ (2.17.0)
diff --git a/release-notes/VERSION-2.x b/release-notes/VERSION-2.x
index 5308365f41..34bbd09d50 100644
--- a/release-notes/VERSION-2.x
+++ b/release-notes/VERSION-2.x
@@ -14,6 +14,43 @@ a pure JSON library.
 === Releases ===
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+2.17.0 (12-Mar-2024)
+
+#507: Add `JsonWriteFeature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES` to allow escaping of '/' for
+  String values
+ (contributed by Joo-Hyuk K)
+#1117: Change default `RecylerPool` implementation to `newLockFreePool` (from
+  `threadLocalPool`)
+#1137: Improve detection of "is a NaN" to only consider explicit cases,
+  not `double` overflow/underflow
+#1145: `JsonPointer.appendProperty(String)` does not escape the property name
+ (reported by Robert E)
+#1149: Add `JsonParser.getNumberTypeFP()`
+#1157: Use fast parser (FDP) for large `BigDecimal`s (500+ chars)
+ (contributed by @pjfanning)
+#1169: `ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException` for specific invalid content,
+  with Reader-based parser
+#1173: `JsonLocation` consistently off by one character for many
+  invalid JSON parsing cases
+ (reported by Paul B)
+#1179: Allow configuring `DefaultPrettyPrinter` separators for empty
+  Arrays and Objects
+ (contributed by Guillaume L)
+#1186: `BufferRecycler` should avoid setting replacement if one already returned, bigger
+ (suggested by @kkkkkhhhh)
+#1195: Use `BufferRecycler` provided by output (`OutputStream`, `Writer`) object if available
+ (contributed by Mario F)
+#1202: Add `RecyclerPool.clear()` method for dropping all pooled Objects
+#1203: Faster division by 1000
+ (contributed by @xtonik)
+#1205: JsonFactory.setStreamReadConstraints(StreamReadConstraints) fails to
+  update "maxNameLength" for symbol tables
+ (reported by @denizk)
+#1217: Optimize char comparison using bitwise OR
+ (contributed by @xtonik)
+#1218: Simplify Unicode surrogate pair conversion for generation
+ (contributed by @xtonik)
+
 2.16.2 (09-Mar-2024)
 
 No changes since 2.16.1
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Base64Variant.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Base64Variant.java
index e8f3539ae8..888fb8b958 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Base64Variant.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Base64Variant.java
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ public Base64Variant(String name, String base64Alphabet, boolean writePadding, c
 
         // Plus if we use padding, add that in too
         if (writePadding) {
-            _asciiToBase64[(int) paddingChar] = BASE64_VALUE_PADDING;
+            _asciiToBase64[paddingChar] = BASE64_VALUE_PADDING;
         }
 
         // By default, require padding on input if written on output; do not
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ public boolean acceptsPaddingOnRead() {
     }
 
     public boolean usesPaddingChar(char c) { return c == _paddingChar; }
-    public boolean usesPaddingChar(int ch) { return ch == (int) _paddingChar; }
+    public boolean usesPaddingChar(int ch) { return ch == _paddingChar; }
 
     /**
      * @return Indicator on how this Base64 encoding will handle possible padding
@@ -370,7 +370,7 @@ public boolean acceptsPaddingOnRead() {
      */
     public int decodeBase64Char(char c)
     {
-        int ch = (int) c;
+        int ch = c;
         return (ch <= 127) ? _asciiToBase64[ch] : BASE64_VALUE_INVALID;
     }
 
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ public int decodeBase64Char(int ch)
 
     public int decodeBase64Byte(byte b)
     {
-        int ch = (int) b;
+        int ch = b;
         // note: cast retains sign, so it's from -128 to +127
         if (ch < 0) {
             return BASE64_VALUE_INVALID;
@@ -578,9 +578,9 @@ public String encode(byte[] input, boolean addQuotes)
 
         while (inputPtr <= safeInputEnd) {
             // First, mash 3 bytes into lsb of 32-bit int
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             encodeBase64Chunk(sb, b24);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
                 // note: must quote in JSON value, so not really useful...
@@ -593,9 +593,9 @@ public String encode(byte[] input, boolean addQuotes)
         // And then we may have 1 or 2 leftover bytes to encode
         int inputLeft = inputEnd - inputPtr; // 0, 1 or 2
         if (inputLeft > 0) { // yes, but do we have room for output?
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
             if (inputLeft == 2) {
-                b24 |= (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                b24 |= ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
             }
             encodeBase64Partial(sb, b24, inputLeft);
         }
@@ -633,9 +633,9 @@ public String encode(byte[] input, boolean addQuotes, String linefeed)
         int safeInputEnd = inputEnd-3;
 
         while (inputPtr <= safeInputEnd) {
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             encodeBase64Chunk(sb, b24);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
                 sb.append(linefeed);
@@ -644,9 +644,9 @@ public String encode(byte[] input, boolean addQuotes, String linefeed)
         }
         int inputLeft = inputEnd - inputPtr;
         if (inputLeft > 0) {
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
             if (inputLeft == 2) {
-                b24 |= (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                b24 |= ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
             }
             encodeBase64Partial(sb, b24, inputLeft);
         }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonFactory.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonFactory.java
index 390f0eb650..73ec628d7e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonFactory.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonFactory.java
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@
 @SuppressWarnings("resource")
 public class JsonFactory
     extends TokenStreamFactory
-    implements Versioned,
-        java.io.Serializable // since 2.1 (for Android, mostly)
+    implements java.io.Serializable
 {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 2;
 
@@ -221,8 +220,11 @@ public static int collectDefaults() {
      * Each factory comes equipped with a shared root symbol table.
      * It should not be linked back to the original blueprint, to
      * avoid contents from leaking between factories.
+     *<p>
+     * NOTE: non-final since 2.17 due to need to re-create if
+     * {@link StreamReadConstraints} re-configured for factory.
      */
-    protected final transient CharsToNameCanonicalizer _rootCharSymbols;
+    protected transient CharsToNameCanonicalizer _rootCharSymbols;
 
     /**
      * Alternative to the basic symbol table, some stream-based
@@ -260,6 +262,9 @@ public static int collectDefaults() {
      */
 
     /**
+     * {@link RecyclerPool} configured for use by this factory: used for
+     * recycling underlying read and/or write buffers via {@link BufferRecycler}.
+     *
      * @since 2.16
      */
     protected RecyclerPool<BufferRecycler> _recyclerPool;
@@ -539,7 +544,7 @@ protected static <T> List<T> _copy(List<T> src) {
         if (src == null) {
             return src;
         }
-        return new ArrayList<T>(src);
+        return new ArrayList<>(src);
     }
 
     /*
@@ -867,7 +872,13 @@ public StreamWriteConstraints streamWriteConstraints() {
      * @since 2.15
      */
     public JsonFactory setStreamReadConstraints(StreamReadConstraints src) {
+        final int maxNameLen = _streamReadConstraints.getMaxNameLength();
         _streamReadConstraints = Objects.requireNonNull(src);
+        // 30-Jan-2024, tatu: [core#1207] Need to recreate if max-name-length
+        //    setting changes
+        if (_streamReadConstraints.getMaxNameLength() != maxNameLen) {
+            _rootCharSymbols = CharsToNameCanonicalizer.createRoot(this);
+        }
         return this;
     }
 
@@ -887,7 +898,7 @@ public JsonFactory setStreamReadConstraints(StreamReadConstraints src) {
      * @since 2.16
      */
     public JsonFactory setErrorReportConfiguration(ErrorReportConfiguration src) {
-        _errorReportConfiguration = Objects.requireNonNull(src, "Cannot pass null ErrorReportConfiguration");;
+        _errorReportConfiguration = Objects.requireNonNull(src, "Cannot pass null ErrorReportConfiguration");
         return this;
     }
 
@@ -2181,12 +2192,29 @@ public RecyclerPool<BufferRecycler> _getRecyclerPool() {
      * @return I/O context created
      */
     protected IOContext _createContext(ContentReference contentRef, boolean resourceManaged) {
-        // 21-Mar-2021, tatu: Bit of defensive coding for backwards compatibility
+        BufferRecycler br = null;
+        boolean recyclerExternal = false;
+
         if (contentRef == null) {
             contentRef = ContentReference.unknown();
+        } else {
+            Object content = contentRef.getRawContent();
+            // 18-Jan-2024, tatu: [core#1195] Let's see if we can reuse already allocated recycler
+            //   (is the case when SegmentedStringWriter / ByteArrayBuilder passed)
+            if (content instanceof BufferRecycler.Gettable) {
+                br = ((BufferRecycler.Gettable) content).bufferRecycler();
+                recyclerExternal = (br != null);
+            }
         }
-        return new IOContext(_streamReadConstraints, _streamWriteConstraints, _errorReportConfiguration,
-                _getBufferRecycler(), contentRef, resourceManaged);
+        if (br == null) {
+            br = _getBufferRecycler();
+        }
+        IOContext ctxt = new IOContext(_streamReadConstraints, _streamWriteConstraints, _errorReportConfiguration,
+                br, contentRef, resourceManaged);
+        if (recyclerExternal) {
+            ctxt.markBufferRecyclerReleased();
+        }
+        return ctxt;
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonGenerator.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonGenerator.java
index d524939aef..d4e18d64ba 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonGenerator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonGenerator.java
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser.NumberType;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.StreamWriteException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.CharacterEscapes;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.WritableTypeId;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.WritableTypeId.Inclusion;
@@ -265,7 +266,16 @@ public enum Feature {
          * @deprecated Use {@link com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonWriteFeature#WRITE_HEX_UPPER_CASE} instead
          */
         @Deprecated
-        WRITE_HEX_UPPER_CASE(true);
+        WRITE_HEX_UPPER_CASE(true),
+
+        /**
+         * Feature that specifies whether {@link JsonGenerator} should escape forward slashes.
+         * <p>
+         * Feature is disabled by default for Jackson 2.x version, and enabled by default in Jackson 3.0.
+         *
+         * @since 2.17
+         */
+        ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES(false);
 
         private final boolean _defaultState;
         private final int _mask;
@@ -410,8 +420,8 @@ public Object getOutputTarget() {
      * @since 2.13 (added as replacement for older {@link #getCurrentValue()}
      */
     public Object currentValue() {
-        // TODO: implement directly in 2.14 or later, make getCurrentValue() call this
-        return getCurrentValue();
+        JsonStreamContext ctxt = getOutputContext();
+        return (ctxt == null) ? null : ctxt.getCurrentValue();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -425,34 +435,36 @@ public Object currentValue() {
      * @since 2.13 (added as replacement for older {@link #setCurrentValue}
      */
     public void assignCurrentValue(Object v) {
-        // TODO: implement directly in 2.14 or later, make setCurrentValue() call this
-        setCurrentValue(v);
+        JsonStreamContext ctxt = getOutputContext();
+        if (ctxt != null) {
+            ctxt.setCurrentValue(v);
+        }
     }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
     /**
      * Alias for {@link #currentValue()}, to be deprecated in later
      * Jackson 2.x versions (and removed from Jackson 3.0).
      *
      * @return Location of the last processed input unit (byte or character)
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #currentValue()} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated
     public Object getCurrentValue() {
-        JsonStreamContext ctxt = getOutputContext();
-        return (ctxt == null) ? null : ctxt.getCurrentValue();
+        return currentValue();
     }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
     /**
      * Alias for {@link #assignCurrentValue}, to be deprecated in later
      * Jackson 2.x versions (and removed from Jackson 3.0).
      *
      * @param v Current value to assign for the current context of this generator
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #currentValue()} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated
     public void setCurrentValue(Object v) {
-        JsonStreamContext ctxt = getOutputContext();
-        if (ctxt != null) {
-            ctxt.setCurrentValue(v);
-        }
+        assignCurrentValue(v);
     }
 
     /*
@@ -2463,8 +2475,7 @@ public void copyCurrentEvent(JsonParser p) throws IOException
         final int token = (t == null) ? ID_NOT_AVAILABLE : t.id();
         switch (token) {
         case ID_NOT_AVAILABLE:
-            _reportError("No current event to copy");
-            break; // never gets here
+            throw _constructWriteException("No current event to copy");
         case ID_START_OBJECT:
             writeStartObject();
             break;
@@ -2478,7 +2489,7 @@ public void copyCurrentEvent(JsonParser p) throws IOException
             writeEndArray();
             break;
         case ID_FIELD_NAME:
-            writeFieldName(p.getCurrentName());
+            writeFieldName(p.currentName());
             break;
         case ID_STRING:
             _copyCurrentStringValue(p);
@@ -2527,8 +2538,7 @@ public void copyCurrentEventExact(JsonParser p) throws IOException
         final int token = (t == null) ? ID_NOT_AVAILABLE : t.id();
         switch (token) {
         case ID_NOT_AVAILABLE:
-            _reportError("No current event to copy");
-            break; // never gets here
+            throw _constructWriteException("No current event to copy");
         case ID_START_OBJECT:
             writeStartObject();
             break;
@@ -2542,7 +2552,7 @@ public void copyCurrentEventExact(JsonParser p) throws IOException
             writeEndArray();
             break;
         case ID_FIELD_NAME:
-            writeFieldName(p.getCurrentName());
+            writeFieldName(p.currentName());
             break;
         case ID_STRING:
             _copyCurrentStringValue(p);
@@ -2617,7 +2627,7 @@ public void copyCurrentStructure(JsonParser p) throws IOException
         // Let's handle field-name separately first
         int id = (t == null) ? ID_NOT_AVAILABLE : t.id();
         if (id == ID_FIELD_NAME) {
-            writeFieldName(p.getCurrentName());
+            writeFieldName(p.currentName());
             t = p.nextToken();
             id = (t == null) ? ID_NOT_AVAILABLE : t.id();
             // fall-through to copy the associated value
@@ -2647,7 +2657,7 @@ protected void _copyCurrentContents(JsonParser p) throws IOException
         while ((t = p.nextToken()) != null) {
             switch (t.id()) {
             case ID_FIELD_NAME:
-                writeFieldName(p.getCurrentName());
+                writeFieldName(p.currentName());
                 break;
 
             case ID_START_ARRAY:
@@ -2839,7 +2849,7 @@ protected void _copyCurrentStringValue(JsonParser p) throws IOException
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************************
-    /* Helper methods for sub-classes
+    /* Helper methods for sub-classes, error reporting
     /**********************************************************************
      */
 
@@ -2855,15 +2865,46 @@ protected void _copyCurrentStringValue(JsonParser p) throws IOException
      * @throws JsonGenerationException constructed
      */
     protected void _reportError(String msg) throws JsonGenerationException {
-        throw new JsonGenerationException(msg, this);
+        throw (JsonGenerationException) _constructWriteException(msg);
     }
 
     protected final void _throwInternal() { VersionUtil.throwInternal(); }
 
     protected void _reportUnsupportedOperation() {
-        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Operation not supported by generator of type "+getClass().getName());
+        _reportUnsupportedOperation("Operation not supported by `JsonGenerator` of type "+getClass().getName());
+    }
+
+    // @since 2.17
+    protected void _reportUnsupportedOperation(String msg) {
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException(msg);
+    }
+
+    // @since 2.17
+    protected StreamWriteException _constructWriteException(String msg) {
+        return new JsonGenerationException(msg, this);
+    }
+
+    // @since 2.17
+    protected StreamWriteException _constructWriteException(String msg, Object arg) {
+        return _constructWriteException(String.format(msg, arg));
     }
 
+    // @since 2.17
+    protected StreamWriteException _constructWriteException(String msg, Object arg1, Object arg2) {
+        return _constructWriteException(String.format(msg, arg1, arg2));
+    }
+
+    // @since 2.17
+    protected StreamWriteException _constructWriteException(String msg, Throwable t) {
+        return new JsonGenerationException(msg, t, this);
+    }
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************************
+    /* Helper methods for sub-classes, other
+    /**********************************************************************
+     */
+
     // @since 2.8
     protected final void _verifyOffsets(int arrayLength, int offset, int length)
     {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocation.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocation.java
index 589410e3d3..ce95f5cc05 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocation.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocation.java
@@ -152,10 +152,16 @@ public Object getSourceRef() {
     public int getLineNr() { return _lineNr; }
 
     /**
-     * Access for getting column position of this location, if available.
+     * Access for getting column offset of this location, if available.
      * Note that column position is typically not available for binary formats.
+     * Note: this returns an offset that is in units of input, so for {@code byte}-based
+     * input sources (like {@link java.io.InputStream}) this does not take into
+     * account multi-byte characters: one logical character can be 1, 2 or 3 bytes long.
+     * To calculate column position in characters either {@code char}-based input
+     * source (like {@link java.io.Reader}) needs to be used, or content needs to be
+     * explicitly decoded.
      *
-     * @return Column position of the location (1-based), if available; {@code -1} if not.
+     * @return Column offset of the location (1-based), if available; {@code -1} if not.
      */
     public int getColumnNr() { return _columnNr; }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParseException.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParseException.java
index a5eb101dcd..a84f83d89c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParseException.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParseException.java
@@ -18,14 +18,9 @@ public class JsonParseException
 {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 2L; // 2.7
 
-    @Deprecated // since 2.7
-    public JsonParseException(String msg, JsonLocation loc) {
-        super(msg, loc, null);
-    }
-
-    @Deprecated // since 2.7
-    public JsonParseException(String msg, JsonLocation loc, Throwable root) {
-        super(msg, loc, root);
+    // @since 2.15
+    public JsonParseException(String msg) {
+        this(null, msg, null, null);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -39,27 +34,33 @@ public JsonParseException(String msg, JsonLocation loc, Throwable root) {
      * @since 2.7
      */
     public JsonParseException(JsonParser p, String msg) {
-        super(p, msg);
+        this(p, msg, _currentLocation(p), null);
     }
 
     // @since 2.7
-    public JsonParseException(JsonParser p, String msg, Throwable root) {
-        super(p, msg, root);
+    public JsonParseException(JsonParser p, String msg, Throwable rootCause) {
+        this(p, msg, _currentLocation(p), rootCause);
     }
 
     // @since 2.7
     public JsonParseException(JsonParser p, String msg, JsonLocation loc) {
-        super(p, msg, loc);
+        this(p, msg, loc, null);
     }
 
+    // Canonical constructor
     // @since 2.7
-    public JsonParseException(JsonParser p, String msg, JsonLocation loc, Throwable root) {
-        super(p, msg, loc, root);
+    public JsonParseException(JsonParser p, String msg, JsonLocation loc, Throwable rootCause) {
+        super(p, msg, loc, rootCause);
     }
 
-    // @since 2.15
-    public JsonParseException(String msg) {
-        super(msg);
+    @Deprecated // since 2.7
+    public JsonParseException(String msg, JsonLocation loc) {
+        this(null, msg, loc, null);
+    }
+
+    @Deprecated // since 2.7
+    public JsonParseException(String msg, JsonLocation loc, Throwable rootCause) {
+        this(null, msg, loc, rootCause);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParser.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParser.java
index 50f454063c..03f0189fc1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonParser.java
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.async.NonBlockingInputFeeder;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.InputCoercionException;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonReadFeature;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.TypeReference;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.JacksonFeatureSet;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.RequestPayload;
@@ -26,12 +27,12 @@
 public abstract class JsonParser
     implements Closeable, Versioned
 {
-    private final static int MIN_BYTE_I = (int) Byte.MIN_VALUE;
+    private final static int MIN_BYTE_I = Byte.MIN_VALUE;
     // as per [JACKSON-804], allow range up to and including 255
-    private final static int MAX_BYTE_I = (int) 255;
+    private final static int MAX_BYTE_I = 255;
 
-    private final static int MIN_SHORT_I = (int) Short.MIN_VALUE;
-    private final static int MAX_SHORT_I = (int) Short.MAX_VALUE;
+    private final static int MIN_SHORT_I = Short.MIN_VALUE;
+    private final static int MAX_SHORT_I = Short.MAX_VALUE;
 
     /**
      * Enumeration of possible "native" (optimal) types that can be
@@ -39,7 +40,47 @@ public abstract class JsonParser
      */
     public enum NumberType {
         INT, LONG, BIG_INTEGER, FLOAT, DOUBLE, BIG_DECIMAL
-    };
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Enumeration of possible physical Floating-Point types that
+     * underlying format uses. Used to indicate most accurate (and
+     * efficient) representation if known (if not known,
+     * {@link NumberTypeFP#UNKNOWN} is used).
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public enum NumberTypeFP {
+        /**
+         * Special "mini-float" that some binary formats support.
+         */
+        FLOAT16,
+        
+        /**
+         * Standard IEEE-754 single-precision 32-bit binary value
+         */
+        FLOAT32,
+        
+        /**
+         * Standard IEEE-754 double-precision 64-bit binary value
+         */
+        DOUBLE64,
+        
+        /**
+         * Unlimited precision, decimal (10-based) values
+         */
+        BIG_DECIMAL,
+
+        /**
+         * Constant used when type is not known, or there is no specific
+         * type to match: most commonly used for textual formats like JSON
+         * where representation does not necessarily have single easily detectable
+         * optimal representation (for example, value {@code 0.1} has no
+         * exact binary representation whereas {@code 0.25} has exact representation
+         * in every binary type supported)
+         */
+        UNKNOWN;
+    }
 
     /**
      * Default set of {@link StreamReadCapability}ies that may be used as
@@ -741,22 +782,24 @@ public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation() {
         return getTokenLocation();
     }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
     /**
-     * Alias for {@link #currentLocation()}, to be deprecated in later
-     * Jackson 2.x versions (and removed from Jackson 3.0).
+     * Deprecated alias for {@link #currentLocation()} (removed from Jackson 3.0).
      *
      * @return Location of the last processed input unit (byte or character)
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #currentLocation()} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public abstract JsonLocation getCurrentLocation();
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
     /**
-     * Alias for {@link #currentTokenLocation()}, to be deprecated in later
-     * Jackson 2.x versions (and removed from Jackson 3.0).
+     * Deprecated alias for {@link #currentTokenLocation()} (removed from Jackson 3.0).
      *
      * @return Starting location of the token parser currently points to
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #currentTokenLocation()} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public abstract JsonLocation getTokenLocation();
 
     /**
@@ -775,8 +818,21 @@ public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation() {
      * @since 2.13 (added as replacement for older {@link #getCurrentValue()}
      */
     public Object currentValue() {
-        // TODO: implement directly in 2.14 or later, make getCurrentValue() call this
-        return getCurrentValue();
+        // Note: implemented directly in 2.17, no longer delegating to getCurrentValue()
+        JsonStreamContext ctxt = getParsingContext();
+        return (ctxt == null) ? null : ctxt.getCurrentValue();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Deprecated alias for {@link #currentValue()} (removed from Jackson 3.0).
+     *
+     * @return Location of the last processed input unit (byte or character)
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #currentValue()} instead
+     */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public Object getCurrentValue() {
+        return currentValue();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -790,34 +846,23 @@ public Object currentValue() {
      * @since 2.13 (added as replacement for older {@link #setCurrentValue}
      */
     public void assignCurrentValue(Object v) {
-        // TODO: implement directly in 2.14 or later, make setCurrentValue() call this
-        setCurrentValue(v);
-    }
-
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
-    /**
-     * Alias for {@link #currentValue()}, to be deprecated in later
-     * Jackson 2.x versions (and removed from Jackson 3.0).
-     *
-     * @return Location of the last processed input unit (byte or character)
-     */
-    public Object getCurrentValue() {
+        // Note: implemented directly in 2.17, no longer delegating to setCurrentValue()
         JsonStreamContext ctxt = getParsingContext();
-        return (ctxt == null) ? null : ctxt.getCurrentValue();
+        if (ctxt != null) {
+            ctxt.setCurrentValue(v);
+        }
     }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
     /**
-     * Alias for {@link #assignCurrentValue}, to be deprecated in later
-     * Jackson 2.x versions (and removed from Jackson 3.0).
+     * Deprecated alias for {@link #assignCurrentValue(Object)} (removed from Jackson 3.0).
      *
      * @param v Current value to assign for the current input context of this parser
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #assignCurrentValue} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public void setCurrentValue(Object v) {
-        JsonStreamContext ctxt = getParsingContext();
-        if (ctxt != null) {
-            ctxt.setCurrentValue(v);
-        }
+        assignCurrentValue(v);
     }
 
     /*
@@ -1041,7 +1086,7 @@ public JsonParser overrideFormatFeatures(int values, int mask) {
      * time to get the value for the field.
      * Method is most useful for iterating over value entries
      * of JSON objects; field name will still be available
-     * by calling {@link #getCurrentName} when parser points to
+     * by calling {@link #currentName} when parser points to
      * the value.
      *
      * @return Next non-field-name token from the stream, if any found,
@@ -1060,7 +1105,7 @@ public JsonParser overrideFormatFeatures(int values, int mask) {
      * and returns result of that comparison.
      * It is functionally equivalent to:
      *<pre>
-     *  return (nextToken() == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) &amp;&amp; str.getValue().equals(getCurrentName());
+     *  return (nextToken() == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) &amp;&amp; str.getValue().equals(currentName());
      *</pre>
      * but may be faster for parser to verify, and can therefore be used if caller
      * expects to get such a property name from input next.
@@ -1075,13 +1120,13 @@ public JsonParser overrideFormatFeatures(int values, int mask) {
      *   {@link JsonParseException} for decoding problems
      */
     public boolean nextFieldName(SerializableString str) throws IOException {
-        return (nextToken() == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) && str.getValue().equals(getCurrentName());
+        return (nextToken() == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) && str.getValue().equals(currentName());
     }
 
     /**
      * Method that fetches next token (as if calling {@link #nextToken}) and
      * verifies whether it is {@link JsonToken#FIELD_NAME}; if it is,
-     * returns same as {@link #getCurrentName()}, otherwise null.
+     * returns same as {@link #currentName()}, otherwise null.
      *
      * @return Name of the the {@code JsonToken.FIELD_NAME} parser advanced to, if any;
      *   {@code null} if next token is of some other type
@@ -1092,7 +1137,7 @@ public boolean nextFieldName(SerializableString str) throws IOException {
      * @since 2.5
      */
     public String nextFieldName() throws IOException {
-        return (nextToken() == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) ? getCurrentName() : null;
+        return (nextToken() == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) ? currentName() : null;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1234,7 +1279,7 @@ public Boolean nextBooleanValue() throws IOException {
      * @since 2.8
      */
     public void finishToken() throws IOException {
-        ; // nothing
+        // nothing to do
     }
 
     /*
@@ -1257,6 +1302,7 @@ public void finishToken() throws IOException {
      * @since 2.8
      */
     public JsonToken currentToken() {
+        // !!! TODO: switch direction in 2.18 or later
         return getCurrentToken();
     }
 
@@ -1397,21 +1443,26 @@ public int currentTokenId() {
     public boolean isExpectedNumberIntToken() { return currentToken() == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT; }
 
     /**
-     * Access for checking whether current token is a numeric value token, but
-     * one that is of "not-a-number" (NaN) variety (including both "NaN" AND
-     * positive/negative infinity!): not supported by all formats,
-     * but often supported for {@link JsonToken#VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT}.
-     * NOTE: roughly equivalent to calling <code>!Double.isFinite()</code>
-     * on value you would get from calling {@link #getDoubleValue()}.
+     * Accessor for checking whether current token is a special
+     * "not-a-number" (NaN) token (including both "NaN" AND
+     * positive/negative infinity!). These values are not supported by all formats:
+     * JSON, for example, only supports them if
+     * {@link JsonReadFeature#ALLOW_NON_NUMERIC_NUMBERS} is enabled.
+     *<p>
+     * NOTE: in case where numeric value is outside range of requested type --
+     * most notably {@link java.lang.Float} or {@link java.lang.Double} -- and
+     * decoding results effectively in a NaN value, this method DOES NOT return
+     * {@code true}: only explicit incoming markers do.
+     * This is because value could still be accessed as a valid {@link BigDecimal}.
      *
-     * @return {@code True} if the current token is of type {@link JsonToken#VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT}
-     *   but represents a "Not a Number"; {@code false} for other tokens and regular
-     *   floating-point numbers
+     * @return {@code True} if the current token is reported as {@link JsonToken#VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT}
+     *   and represents a "Not a Number" value; {@code false} for other tokens and regular
+     *   floating-point numbers.
      *
      * @throws IOException for low-level read issues, or
      *   {@link JsonParseException} for decoding problems
      *
-     * @since 2.9
+     * @since 2.9 (slight change in semantics in 2.17)
      */
     public boolean isNaN() throws IOException {
         return false;
@@ -1467,15 +1518,17 @@ public boolean isNaN() throws IOException {
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
     /**
-     * Alias of {@link #currentName()}.
+     * Deprecated alias of {@link #currentName()}.
      *
      * @return Name of the current field in the parsing context
      *
      * @throws IOException for low-level read issues, or
      *   {@link JsonParseException} for decoding problems
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #currentName} instead.
      */
+    @Deprecated
     public abstract String getCurrentName() throws IOException;
 
     /**
@@ -1493,6 +1546,7 @@ public boolean isNaN() throws IOException {
      * @since 2.10
      */
     public String currentName() throws IOException {
+        // !!! TODO: switch direction in 2.18 or later
         return getCurrentName();
     }
 
@@ -1701,7 +1755,7 @@ public Object getNumberValueDeferred() throws IOException {
      * If current token is of type
      * {@link JsonToken#VALUE_NUMBER_INT} or
      * {@link JsonToken#VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT}, returns
-     * one of {@link NumberType} constants; otherwise returns null.
+     * one of {@link NumberType} constants; otherwise returns {@code null}.
      *
      * @return Type of current number, if parser points to numeric token; {@code null} otherwise
      *
@@ -1710,6 +1764,38 @@ public Object getNumberValueDeferred() throws IOException {
      */
     public abstract NumberType getNumberType() throws IOException;
 
+    /**
+     * If current token is of type
+     * {@link JsonToken#VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT}, returns
+     * one of {@link NumberTypeFP} constants; otherwise returns
+     * {@link NumberTypeFP#UNKNOWN}.
+     *<p>
+     * Default implementation as of Jackson 2.x will call {@link #getNumberType()}
+     * and translate types -- this needs to be overriden actual implementations
+     * if this is not sufficient (which it usually is not for textual formats).
+     *
+     * @return Type of current floating-point number, if parser points to numeric token;
+     *   {@link NumberTypeFP#UNKNOWN} otherwise.
+     *
+     * @throws IOException for low-level read issues, or
+     *   {@link JsonParseException} for decoding problems
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public NumberTypeFP getNumberTypeFP() throws IOException {
+        NumberType nt = getNumberType();
+        if (nt == NumberType.BIG_DECIMAL) {
+            return NumberTypeFP.BIG_DECIMAL;
+        }
+        if (nt == NumberType.DOUBLE) {
+            return NumberTypeFP.DOUBLE64;
+        }
+        if (nt == NumberType.FLOAT) {
+            return NumberTypeFP.FLOAT32;
+        }
+        return NumberTypeFP.UNKNOWN;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Numeric accessor that can be called when the current
      * token is of type {@link JsonToken#VALUE_NUMBER_INT} and
@@ -2539,4 +2625,25 @@ protected JsonParseException _constructReadException(String msg, Throwable t) {
         }
         return e;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Helper method for constructing {@link JsonParseException}
+     * based on current state of the parser, except for specified
+     * {@link JsonLocation} for problem location (which may not be
+     * the exact current location)
+     *
+     * @param msg Base exception message to construct exception with
+     * @param loc Error location to report
+     *
+     * @return Read exception (of type {@link JsonParseException}) constructed
+     *
+     * @since 2.13
+     */
+    protected JsonParseException _constructReadException(String msg, JsonLocation loc) {
+        JsonParseException e = new JsonParseException(this, msg, loc);
+        if (_requestPayload != null) {
+            e = e.withRequestPayload(_requestPayload);
+        }
+        return e;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonPointer.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonPointer.java
index 9054f18d61..b434ceb3bb 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonPointer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonPointer.java
@@ -25,10 +25,46 @@
  */
 public class JsonPointer implements Serializable
 {
+    /**
+     * Escape character {@value #ESC} per <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6901">RFC6901</a>.
+     * <pre>
+     * escaped         = "~" ( "0" / "1" )
+     *  ; representing '~' and '/', respectively
+     * </pre>   
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public static final char ESC = '~';
+
+    /**
+     * Escaped slash string {@value #ESC_TILDE} per <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6901">RFC6901</a>.
+     * <pre>
+     * escaped         = "~" ( "0" / "1" )
+     *  ; representing '~' and '/', respectively
+     * </pre>   
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public static final String ESC_SLASH = "~1";
+
+    /**
+     * Escaped tilde string {@value #ESC_TILDE} per <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6901">RFC6901</a>.
+     * <pre>
+     * escaped         = "~" ( "0" / "1" )
+     *  ; representing '~' and '/', respectively
+     * </pre>   
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public static final String ESC_TILDE = "~0";
+
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     /**
      * Character used to separate segments.
+     * <pre>
+     * json-pointer    = *( "/" reference-token )
+     * </pre>
      *
      * @since 2.9
      */
@@ -158,7 +194,7 @@ public static JsonPointer compile(String expr) throws IllegalArgumentException
             return EMPTY;
         }
         // And then quick validity check:
-        if (expr.charAt(0) != '/') {
+        if (expr.charAt(0) != SEPARATOR) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid input: JSON Pointer expression must start with '/': "+"\""+expr+"\"");
         }
         return _parseTail(expr);
@@ -249,7 +285,7 @@ public static JsonPointer forPath(JsonStreamContext context,
             // Let's find the last segment as well, for reverse traversal
             last = next;
             next.pathOffset = pathBuilder.length();
-            pathBuilder.append('/');
+            pathBuilder.append(SEPARATOR);
             if (next.property != null) {
                 _appendEscaped(pathBuilder, next.property);
             } else {
@@ -281,15 +317,15 @@ private static void _appendEscaped(StringBuilder sb, String segment)
     {
         for (int i = 0, end = segment.length(); i < end; ++i) {
             char c = segment.charAt(i);
-           if (c == '/') {
-               sb.append("~1");
-               continue;
-           }
-           if (c == '~') {
-               sb.append("~0");
-               continue;
-           }
-           sb.append(c);
+            if (c == SEPARATOR) {
+                sb.append(ESC_SLASH);
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (c == ESC) {
+                sb.append(ESC_TILDE);
+                continue;
+            }
+            sb.append(c);
         }
     }
 
@@ -375,50 +411,58 @@ public JsonPointer append(JsonPointer tail) {
         //    re-decoding -- by stitching together segments -- but for now should be fine.
 
         String currentJsonPointer = toString();
+
+        // 14-Dec-2023, tatu: Pre-2.17 had special handling which makes no sense:
+        /*
         if (currentJsonPointer.endsWith("/")) {
             //removes final slash
             currentJsonPointer = currentJsonPointer.substring(0, currentJsonPointer.length()-1);
         }
+        */
         return compile(currentJsonPointer + tail.toString());
     }
 
     /**
-     * ATTENTION! {@link JsonPointer} is head centric, tail appending is much costlier than head appending.
-     * It is not recommended to overuse the method.
+     * ATTENTION! {@link JsonPointer} is head-centric, tail appending is much costlier
+     * than head appending.
+     * It is recommended that this method is used sparingly due to possible
+     * sub-par performance.
      *
-     * Mutant factory method that will return
+     * Mutant factory method that will return:
      *<ul>
-     * <li>`this` instance if `property` is null or empty String, OR
+     * <li>`this` instance if `property` is null, OR
      *  </li>
      * <li>Newly constructed {@link JsonPointer} instance that starts with all segments
      *    of `this`, followed by new segment of 'property' name.
      *  </li>
      *</ul>
-     *
-     * 'property' format is starting separator (optional, added automatically if not provided) and new segment name.
+     * 'property' is name to match: value is escaped as necessary (for any contained
+     * slashes or tildes).
+     *<p>
+     * NOTE! Before Jackson 2.17, no escaping was performed, and leading slash was
+     * dropped if passed. This was incorrect implementation. Empty {@code property}
+     * was also ignored (similar to {@code null}).
      *
      * @param property new segment property name
      *
      * @return Either `this` instance, or a newly created combination, as per description above.
      */
     public JsonPointer appendProperty(String property) {
-        if (property == null || property.isEmpty()) {
+        if (property == null) {
             return this;
         }
-        if (property.charAt(0) != SEPARATOR) {
-            property = SEPARATOR + property;
-        }
-        String currentJsonPointer = toString();
-        if (currentJsonPointer.endsWith("/")) {
-            //removes final slash
-            currentJsonPointer = currentJsonPointer.substring(0, currentJsonPointer.length()-1);
-        }
-        return compile(currentJsonPointer + property);
+        // 14-Dec-2023, tatu: [core#1145] Must escape `property`; accept empty String
+        //    as valid segment to match as well
+        StringBuilder sb = toStringBuilder(property.length() + 2).append(SEPARATOR);
+        _appendEscaped(sb, property);
+        return compile(sb.toString());
     }
 
     /**
-     * ATTENTION! {@link JsonPointer} is head centric, tail appending is much costlier than head appending.
-     * It is not recommended to overuse the method.
+     * ATTENTION! {@link JsonPointer} is head-centric, tail appending is much costlier
+     * than head appending.
+     * It is recommended that this method is used sparingly due to possible
+     * sub-par performance.
      *
      * Mutant factory method that will return newly constructed {@link JsonPointer} instance that starts with all
      * segments of `this`, followed by new segment of element 'index'. Element 'index' should be non-negative.
@@ -432,12 +476,9 @@ public JsonPointer appendIndex(int index) {
         if (index < 0) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Negative index cannot be appended");
         }
-        String currentJsonPointer = toString();
-        if (currentJsonPointer.endsWith("/")) {
-            //removes final slash
-            currentJsonPointer = currentJsonPointer.substring(0, currentJsonPointer.length()-1);
-        }
-        return compile(currentJsonPointer + SEPARATOR + index);
+        // 14-Dec-2024, tatu: Used to have odd logic for removing "trailing" slash;
+        //    removed from 2.17
+        return compile(toStringBuilder(8).append(SEPARATOR).append(index).toString());
     }
 
     /**
@@ -556,14 +597,39 @@ public JsonPointer head() {
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    @Override public String toString() {
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
         if (_asStringOffset <= 0) {
             return _asString;
         }
         return _asString.substring(_asStringOffset);
     }
 
-    @Override public int hashCode() {
+    /**
+     * Functionally equivalent to:
+     *<pre>
+     *   new StringBuilder(toString());
+     *</pre>
+     * but possibly more efficient
+     *
+     * @param slack Number of characters to reserve in StringBuilder beyond
+     *   minimum copied
+     * @return a new StringBuilder
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    protected StringBuilder toStringBuilder(int slack) {
+        if (_asStringOffset <= 0) {
+            return new StringBuilder(_asString);
+        }
+        final int len = _asString.length();
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(len - _asStringOffset + slack);
+        sb.append(_asString, _asStringOffset, len);
+        return sb;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int hashCode() {
         int h = _hashCode;
         if (h == 0) {
             // Alas, this is bit wasteful, creating temporary String, but
@@ -578,7 +644,8 @@ public JsonPointer head() {
         return h;
     }
 
-    @Override public boolean equals(Object o) {
+    @Override
+    public boolean equals(Object o) {
         if (o == this) return true;
         if (o == null) return false;
         if (!(o instanceof JsonPointer)) return false;
@@ -636,10 +703,11 @@ private final static int _parseIndex(String str) {
             }
         }
         if (len == 10) {
-            long l = NumberInput.parseLong(str);
+            long l = Long.parseLong(str);
             if (l > Integer.MAX_VALUE) {
                 return -1;
             }
+            return (int) l;
         }
         return NumberInput.parseInt(str);
     }
@@ -655,7 +723,7 @@ protected static JsonPointer _parseTail(final String fullPath)
 
         while (i < end) {
             char c = fullPath.charAt(i);
-            if (c == '/') { // common case, got a segment
+            if (c == SEPARATOR) { // common case, got a segment
                 parent = new PointerParent(parent, startOffset,
                         fullPath.substring(startOffset + 1, i));
                 startOffset = i;
@@ -664,7 +732,7 @@ protected static JsonPointer _parseTail(final String fullPath)
             }
             ++i;
             // quoting is different; offline this case
-            if (c == '~' && i < end) { // possibly, quote
+            if (c == ESC && i < end) { // possibly, quote
                 // 04-Oct-2022, tatu: Let's decode escaped segment
                 //   instead of recursive call
                 StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(32);
@@ -719,11 +787,11 @@ protected static int _extractEscapedSegment(String input, int firstCharOffset,
         _appendEscape(sb, input.charAt(i++));
         while (i < end) {
             char c = input.charAt(i);
-            if (c == '/') { // end is nigh!
+            if (c == SEPARATOR) { // end is nigh!
                 return i;
             }
             ++i;
-            if (c == '~' && i < end) {
+            if (c == ESC && i < end) {
                 _appendEscape(sb, input.charAt(i++));
                 continue;
             }
@@ -735,11 +803,11 @@ protected static int _extractEscapedSegment(String input, int firstCharOffset,
 
     private static void _appendEscape(StringBuilder sb, char c) {
         if (c == '0') {
-            c = '~';
+            c = ESC;
         } else if (c == '1') {
-            c = '/';
+            c = SEPARATOR;
         } else {
-            sb.append('~');
+            sb.append(ESC);
         }
         sb.append(c);
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TSFBuilder.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TSFBuilder.java
index 63a4589160..c255b59b47 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TSFBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TSFBuilder.java
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ protected static <T> List<T> _copy(List<T> src) {
         if (src == null) {
             return src;
         }
-        return new ArrayList<T>(src);
+        return new ArrayList<>(src);
     }
 
     // // // Accessors
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Version.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Version.java
index 491d26ffc0..464acdb797 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Version.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/Version.java
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ public Version(int major, int minor, int patchLevel, String snapshotInfo,
     public boolean isUnknownVersion() { return (this == UNKNOWN_VERSION); }
 
     public boolean isSnapshot() {
-        return (_snapshotInfo != null) && (_snapshotInfo.length() > 0);
+        return (_snapshotInfo != null) && !_snapshotInfo.isEmpty();
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/GeneratorBase.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/GeneratorBase.java
index ddcfaff1e5..db136e28b4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/GeneratorBase.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/GeneratorBase.java
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.IOContext;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.UTF8Writer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.DupDetector;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonWriteContext;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.PackageVersion;
@@ -150,13 +151,15 @@ protected GeneratorBase(int features, ObjectCodec codec, IOContext ioContext, Js
      */
     @Override public Version version() { return PackageVersion.VERSION; }
 
+    // Overridden from JsonGenerator for direct context access:
     @Override
-    public Object getCurrentValue() {
+    public Object currentValue() {
         return _writeContext.getCurrentValue();
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void setCurrentValue(Object v) {
+    // Overridden from JsonGenerator for direct context access:
+    public void assignCurrentValue(Object v) {
         if (_writeContext != null) {
             _writeContext.setCurrentValue(v);
         }
@@ -294,7 +297,19 @@ protected void _checkStdFeatureChanges(int newFeatureFlags, int changedFeatures)
      * base type in 2.8 to allow for overriding by subtypes that use
      * custom context type.
      */
-    @Override public JsonStreamContext getOutputContext() { return _writeContext; }
+    @Override
+    public JsonStreamContext getOutputContext() { return _writeContext; }
+
+    /**
+     * Accessor for use by {@code jackson-core} itself (tests in particular).
+     *
+     * @return {@link IOContext} in use by this generator
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public IOContext ioContext() {
+        return _ioContext;
+    }
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -312,7 +327,7 @@ public void writeStartObject(Object forValue) throws IOException
     {
         writeStartObject();
         if (forValue != null) {
-            setCurrentValue(forValue);
+            assignCurrentValue(forValue);
         }
     }
 
@@ -519,8 +534,7 @@ protected final int _decodeSurrogate(int surr1, int surr2) throws IOException
 "Incomplete surrogate pair: first char 0x%04X, second 0x%04X", surr1, surr2);
             _reportError(msg);
         }
-        int c = 0x10000 + ((surr1 - SURR1_FIRST) << 10) + (surr2 - SURR2_FIRST);
-        return c;
+        return (surr1 << 10) + surr2 + UTF8Writer.SURROGATE_BASE;
     }
 
     /*
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserBase.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserBase.java
index 8188d31fb8..e2d80de125 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserBase.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserBase.java
@@ -217,6 +217,21 @@ public abstract class ParserBase extends ParserMinimalBase
      */
     protected String _numberString;
 
+    /**
+     * Marker for explicit "Not a Number" (NaN) values that may be read
+     * by some formats: this includes positive and negative infinity,
+     * as well as "NaN" result for some arithmetic operations.
+     *<p>
+     * In case of JSON, such values can only be handled with non-standard
+     * processing: for some other formats they can be passed normally.
+     *<p>
+     * NOTE: this marker is NOT set in case of value overflow/underflow for
+     * {@code double} or {@code float} values.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    protected boolean _numberIsNaN;
+
     // And then other information about value itself
 
     /**
@@ -263,15 +278,16 @@ protected ParserBase(IOContext ctxt, int features) {
         _parsingContext = JsonReadContext.createRootContext(dups);
     }
 
-    @Override public Version version() { return PackageVersion.VERSION; }
+    @Override
+    public Version version() { return PackageVersion.VERSION; }
 
     @Override
-    public Object getCurrentValue() {
+    public Object currentValue() {
         return _parsingContext.getCurrentValue();
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void setCurrentValue(Object v) {
+    public void assignCurrentValue(Object v) {
         _parsingContext.setCurrentValue(v);
     }
 
@@ -358,7 +374,9 @@ protected void _checkStdFeatureChanges(int newFeatureFlags, int changedFeatures)
      * Method that can be called to get the name associated with
      * the current event.
      */
-    @Override public String getCurrentName() throws IOException {
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    @Override
+    public String getCurrentName() throws IOException {
         // [JACKSON-395]: start markers require information from parent
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.START_OBJECT || _currToken == JsonToken.START_ARRAY) {
             JsonReadContext parent = _parsingContext.getParent();
@@ -369,7 +387,8 @@ protected void _checkStdFeatureChanges(int newFeatureFlags, int changedFeatures)
         return _parsingContext.getCurrentName();
     }
 
-    @Override public void overrideCurrentName(String name) {
+    @Override
+    public void overrideCurrentName(String name) {
         // Simple, but need to look for START_OBJECT/ARRAY's "off-by-one" thing:
         JsonReadContext ctxt = _parsingContext;
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.START_OBJECT || _currToken == JsonToken.START_ARRAY) {
@@ -409,6 +428,7 @@ protected void _checkStdFeatureChanges(int newFeatureFlags, int changedFeatures)
      * that starts the current token.
      */
     @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() {
         return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
                 -1L, getTokenCharacterOffset(), // bytes, chars
@@ -421,6 +441,7 @@ public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() {
      * usually for error reporting purposes
      */
     @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() {
         int col = _inputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
         return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
@@ -571,6 +592,7 @@ protected final JsonToken resetInt(boolean negative, int intLen)
         // May throw StreamConstraintsException:
         _streamReadConstraints.validateIntegerLength(intLen);
         _numberNegative = negative;
+        _numberIsNaN = false;
         _intLength = intLen;
         _fractLength = 0;
         _expLength = 0;
@@ -584,6 +606,7 @@ protected final JsonToken resetFloat(boolean negative, int intLen, int fractLen,
         // May throw StreamConstraintsException:
         _streamReadConstraints.validateFPLength(intLen + fractLen + expLen);
         _numberNegative = negative;
+        _numberIsNaN = false;
         _intLength = intLen;
         _fractLength = fractLen;
         _expLength = expLen;
@@ -597,17 +620,15 @@ protected final JsonToken resetAsNaN(String valueStr, double value)
         _textBuffer.resetWithString(valueStr);
         _numberDouble = value;
         _numTypesValid = NR_DOUBLE;
+        _numberIsNaN = true;
         return JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT;
     }
 
     @Override
     public boolean isNaN() throws IOException {
-        if (_currToken == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT) {
-            if ((_numTypesValid & NR_DOUBLE) != 0) {
-                return !Double.isFinite(_getNumberDouble());
-            }
-        }
-        return false;
+        // 01-Dec-2023, tatu: [core#1137] Only return explicit NaN
+        return (_currToken == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT)
+                && _numberIsNaN;
     }
 
     /*
@@ -1034,7 +1055,7 @@ protected void convertNumberToInt() throws IOException
         if ((_numTypesValid & NR_LONG) != 0) {
             // Let's verify its lossless conversion by simple roundtrip
             int result = (int) _numberLong;
-            if (((long) result) != _numberLong) {
+            if (result != _numberLong) {
                 reportOverflowInt(getText(), currentToken());
             }
             _numberInt = result;
@@ -1068,7 +1089,7 @@ protected void convertNumberToInt() throws IOException
     protected void convertNumberToLong() throws IOException
     {
         if ((_numTypesValid & NR_INT) != 0) {
-            _numberLong = (long) _numberInt;
+            _numberLong = _numberInt;
         } else if ((_numTypesValid & NR_BIGINT) != 0) {
             final BigInteger bigInteger = _getBigInteger();
             if (BI_MIN_LONG.compareTo(bigInteger) > 0
@@ -1138,14 +1159,14 @@ protected void convertNumberToDouble() throws IOException
                 _numberDouble = _getBigInteger().doubleValue();
             }
         } else if ((_numTypesValid & NR_LONG) != 0) {
-            _numberDouble = (double) _numberLong;
+            _numberDouble = _numberLong;
         } else if ((_numTypesValid & NR_INT) != 0) {
-            _numberDouble = (double) _numberInt;
+            _numberDouble = _numberInt;
         } else if ((_numTypesValid & NR_FLOAT) != 0) {
             if (_numberString != null) {
                 _numberDouble = _getNumberDouble();
             } else {
-                _numberDouble = (double) _getNumberFloat();
+                _numberDouble = _getNumberFloat();
             }
         } else {
             _throwInternal();
@@ -1174,9 +1195,9 @@ protected void convertNumberToFloat() throws IOException
                 _numberFloat = _getBigInteger().floatValue();
             }
         } else if ((_numTypesValid & NR_LONG) != 0) {
-            _numberFloat = (float) _numberLong;
+            _numberFloat = _numberLong;
         } else if ((_numTypesValid & NR_INT) != 0) {
-            _numberFloat = (float) _numberInt;
+            _numberFloat = _numberInt;
         } else if ((_numTypesValid & NR_DOUBLE) != 0) {
             if (_numberString != null) {
                 _numberFloat = _getNumberFloat();
@@ -1342,14 +1363,6 @@ protected void createChildObjectContext(final int lineNr, final int colNr) throw
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    protected void _reportMismatchedEndMarker(int actCh, char expCh) throws JsonParseException {
-        JsonReadContext ctxt = getParsingContext();
-        _reportError(String.format(
-                "Unexpected close marker '%s': expected '%c' (for %s starting at %s)",
-                (char) actCh, expCh, ctxt.typeDesc(),
-                ctxt.startLocation(_contentReference())));
-    }
-
     @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
     protected char _handleUnrecognizedCharacterEscape(char ch) throws JsonProcessingException {
         // as per [JACKSON-300]
@@ -1360,8 +1373,17 @@ protected char _handleUnrecognizedCharacterEscape(char ch) throws JsonProcessing
         if (ch == '\'' && isEnabled(Feature.ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES)) {
             return ch;
         }
-        _reportError("Unrecognized character escape "+_getCharDesc(ch));
-        return ch;
+        throw _constructReadException("Unrecognized character escape "+_getCharDesc(ch),
+                _currentLocationMinusOne());
+    }
+
+    protected void _reportMismatchedEndMarker(int actCh, char expCh) throws JsonParseException {
+        final JsonReadContext ctxt = getParsingContext();
+        final String msg = String.format(
+                "Unexpected close marker '%s': expected '%c' (for %s starting at %s)",
+                (char) actCh, expCh, ctxt.typeDesc(),
+                ctxt.startLocation(_contentReference()));
+        throw _constructReadException(msg, _currentLocationMinusOne());
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1381,7 +1403,7 @@ protected void _throwUnquotedSpace(int i, String ctxtDesc) throws JsonParseExcep
         if (!isEnabled(Feature.ALLOW_UNQUOTED_CONTROL_CHARS) || i > INT_SPACE) {
             char c = (char) i;
             String msg = "Illegal unquoted character ("+_getCharDesc(c)+"): has to be escaped using backslash to be included in "+ctxtDesc;
-            _reportError(msg);
+            throw _constructReadException(msg, _currentLocationMinusOne());
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserMinimalBase.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserMinimalBase.java
index 2f37c22a73..e6d7b2f28d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserMinimalBase.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base/ParserMinimalBase.java
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.math.BigInteger;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.InputCoercionException;
@@ -106,16 +107,16 @@ public abstract class ParserMinimalBase extends JsonParser
     protected final static BigDecimal BD_MIN_INT = new BigDecimal(BI_MIN_INT);
     protected final static BigDecimal BD_MAX_INT = new BigDecimal(BI_MAX_INT);
 
-    protected final static long MIN_INT_L = (long) Integer.MIN_VALUE;
-    protected final static long MAX_INT_L = (long) Integer.MAX_VALUE;
+    protected final static long MIN_INT_L = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
+    protected final static long MAX_INT_L = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
 
     // These are not very accurate, but have to do... (for bounds checks)
 
-    protected final static double MIN_LONG_D = (double) Long.MIN_VALUE;
-    protected final static double MAX_LONG_D = (double) Long.MAX_VALUE;
+    protected final static double MIN_LONG_D = Long.MIN_VALUE;
+    protected final static double MAX_LONG_D = Long.MAX_VALUE;
 
-    protected final static double MIN_INT_D = (double) Integer.MIN_VALUE;
-    protected final static double MAX_INT_D = (double) Integer.MAX_VALUE;
+    protected final static double MIN_INT_D = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
+    protected final static double MAX_INT_D = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -276,7 +277,10 @@ public JsonParser skipChildren() throws IOException
     //public JsonToken getCurrentToken()
     //public boolean hasCurrentToken()
 
-    @Override public abstract String getCurrentName() throws IOException;
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17 -- still need to implement
+    @Override
+    public abstract String getCurrentName() throws IOException;
+
     @Override public abstract void close() throws IOException;
     @Override public abstract boolean isClosed();
 
@@ -490,7 +494,7 @@ public String getValueAsString(String defaultValue) throws IOException {
             return getText();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         if (_currToken == null || _currToken == JsonToken.VALUE_NULL || !_currToken.isScalarValue()) {
             return defaultValue;
@@ -552,26 +556,33 @@ protected void _decodeBase64(String str, ByteArrayBuilder builder, Base64Variant
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    /**
-     * @since 2.14
-     *
-     * @param ch Character that was unexpected
-     * @param comment Additional failure comment to add, if any
-     *
-     * @throws JsonParseException
-     */
-    protected <T> T _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(int ch, String comment) throws JsonParseException {
-        String msg = String.format("Unexpected character (%s) in numeric value", _getCharDesc(ch));
-        if (comment != null) {
-            msg += ": "+comment;
+    // @since 2.10
+    protected void _reportInputCoercion(String msg, JsonToken inputType, Class<?> targetType)
+            throws InputCoercionException {
+        throw new InputCoercionException(this, msg, inputType, targetType);
+    }
+
+    protected void _reportInvalidEOF() throws JsonParseException {
+        _reportInvalidEOF(" in "+_currToken, _currToken);
+    }
+
+    // @since 2.8
+    protected void _reportInvalidEOFInValue(JsonToken type) throws JsonParseException {
+        String msg;
+        if (type == JsonToken.VALUE_STRING) {
+            msg = " in a String value";
+        } else if ((type == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT)
+                || (type == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT)) {
+            msg = " in a Number value";
+        } else {
+            msg = " in a value";
         }
-        _reportError(msg);
-        return null; // never gets here
+        _reportInvalidEOF(msg, type);
     }
 
-    @Deprecated // @since 2.14
-    protected void reportUnexpectedNumberChar(int ch, String comment) throws JsonParseException {
-        _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(ch, comment);
+    // @since 2.8
+    protected void _reportInvalidEOF(String msg, JsonToken currToken) throws JsonParseException {
+        throw new JsonEOFException(this, currToken, "Unexpected end-of-input"+msg);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -585,7 +596,11 @@ protected void reportUnexpectedNumberChar(int ch, String comment) throws JsonPar
      * @throws JsonParseException Exception that describes problem with number validity
      */
     protected void reportInvalidNumber(String msg) throws JsonParseException {
-        _reportError("Invalid numeric value: "+msg);
+        throw _constructReadException("Invalid numeric value: "+msg);
+    }
+
+    protected void _reportMissingRootWS(int ch) throws JsonParseException {
+        _reportUnexpectedChar(ch, "Expected space separating root-level values");
     }
 
     /**
@@ -634,12 +649,6 @@ protected void reportOverflowLong(String numDesc, JsonToken inputType) throws IO
                 inputType, Long.TYPE);
     }
 
-    // @since 2.10
-    protected void _reportInputCoercion(String msg, JsonToken inputType, Class<?> targetType)
-            throws InputCoercionException {
-        throw new InputCoercionException(this, msg, inputType, targetType);
-    }
-
     // @since 2.9.8
     protected String _longIntegerDesc(String rawNum) {
         int rawLen = rawNum.length();
@@ -673,61 +682,34 @@ protected void _reportUnexpectedChar(int ch, String comment) throws JsonParseExc
         if (comment != null) {
             msg += ": "+comment;
         }
-        _reportError(msg);
-    }
-
-    protected void _reportInvalidEOF() throws JsonParseException {
-        _reportInvalidEOF(" in "+_currToken, _currToken);
-    }
-
-    // @since 2.8
-    protected void _reportInvalidEOFInValue(JsonToken type) throws JsonParseException {
-        String msg;
-        if (type == JsonToken.VALUE_STRING) {
-            msg = " in a String value";
-        } else if ((type == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT)
-                || (type == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT)) {
-            msg = " in a Number value";
-        } else {
-            msg = " in a value";
-        }
-        _reportInvalidEOF(msg, type);
-    }
-
-    // @since 2.8
-    protected void _reportInvalidEOF(String msg, JsonToken currToken) throws JsonParseException {
-        throw new JsonEOFException(this, currToken, "Unexpected end-of-input"+msg);
+        throw _constructReadException(msg, _currentLocationMinusOne());
     }
 
     /**
-     * @deprecated Since 2.8 use {@link #_reportInvalidEOF(String, JsonToken)} instead
+     * @since 2.14
      *
-     * @throws JsonParseException Exception that describes problem with end-of-content within value
-     */
-    @Deprecated // since 2.8
-    protected void _reportInvalidEOFInValue() throws JsonParseException {
-        _reportInvalidEOF(" in a value");
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * @param msg Addition message snippet to append to base exception message
-     * @deprecated Since 2.8 use {@link #_reportInvalidEOF(String, JsonToken)} instead
+     * @param ch Character that was unexpected
+     * @param comment Additional failure comment to add, if any
      *
-     * @throws JsonParseException Exception that describes problem with end-of-content within value
+     * @throws JsonParseException
      */
-    @Deprecated // since 2.8
-    protected void _reportInvalidEOF(String msg) throws JsonParseException {
-        throw new JsonEOFException(this, null, "Unexpected end-of-input"+msg);
+    protected <T> T _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(int ch, String comment) throws JsonParseException {
+        String msg = String.format("Unexpected character (%s) in numeric value", _getCharDesc(ch));
+        if (comment != null) {
+            msg += ": "+comment;
+        }
+        throw _constructReadException(msg, _currentLocationMinusOne());
     }
 
-    protected void _reportMissingRootWS(int ch) throws JsonParseException {
-        _reportUnexpectedChar(ch, "Expected space separating root-level values");
+    @Deprecated // @since 2.14
+    protected void reportUnexpectedNumberChar(int ch, String comment) throws JsonParseException {
+        _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(ch, comment);
     }
-
+    
     protected void _throwInvalidSpace(int i) throws JsonParseException {
         char c = (char) i;
         String msg = "Illegal character ("+_getCharDesc(c)+"): only regular white space (\\r, \\n, \\t) is allowed between tokens";
-        _reportError(msg);
+        throw _constructReadException(msg);
     }
 
     /*
@@ -736,6 +718,27 @@ protected void _throwInvalidSpace(int i) throws JsonParseException {
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
+    protected final JsonParseException _constructError(String msg, Throwable t) {
+        return _constructReadException(msg, t);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Factory method used to provide location for cases where we must read
+     * and consume a single "wrong" character (to possibly allow error recovery),
+     * but need to report accurate location for that character: if so, the
+     * current location is past location we want, and location we want will be
+     * "one location earlier".
+     *<p>
+     * Default implementation simply returns {@link #currentLocation()}
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     *
+     * @return Same as {@link #currentLocation()} except offset by -1
+     */
+    protected JsonLocation _currentLocationMinusOne() {
+        return currentLocation();
+    }
+    
     protected final static String _getCharDesc(int ch)
     {
         char c = (char) ch;
@@ -749,29 +752,30 @@ protected final static String _getCharDesc(int ch)
     }
 
     protected final void _reportError(String msg) throws JsonParseException {
-        throw _constructError(msg);
+        throw _constructReadException(msg);
     }
 
     // @since 2.9
     protected final void _reportError(String msg, Object arg) throws JsonParseException {
-        throw _constructError(String.format(msg, arg));
+        throw _constructReadException(msg, arg);
     }
 
     // @since 2.9
     protected final void _reportError(String msg, Object arg1, Object arg2) throws JsonParseException {
-        throw _constructError(String.format(msg, arg1, arg2));
-    }
-
-    protected final void _wrapError(String msg, Throwable t) throws JsonParseException {
-        throw _constructError(msg, t);
+        throw _constructReadException(msg, arg1, arg2);
     }
 
     protected final void _throwInternal() {
         VersionUtil.throwInternal();
     }
 
-    protected final JsonParseException _constructError(String msg, Throwable t) {
-        return new JsonParseException(this, msg, t);
+    // @since 2.17
+    protected final <T> T _throwInternalReturnAny() {
+        return VersionUtil.throwInternalReturnAny();
+    }
+
+    protected final void _wrapError(String msg, Throwable t) throws JsonParseException {
+        throw _constructReadException(msg, t);
     }
 
     @Deprecated // since 2.11
@@ -785,10 +789,6 @@ protected static byte[] _asciiBytes(String str) {
 
     @Deprecated // since 2.11
     protected static String _ascii(byte[] b) {
-        try {
-            return new String(b, "US-ASCII");
-        } catch (IOException e) { // never occurs
-            throw new RuntimeException(e);
-        }
+        return new String(b, StandardCharsets.US_ASCII);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/exc/StreamReadException.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/exc/StreamReadException.java
index 8971bf704c..ee5591b00a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/exc/StreamReadException.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/exc/StreamReadException.java
@@ -26,21 +26,28 @@ public abstract class StreamReadException
      */
     protected RequestPayload _requestPayload;
 
+    // @since 2.15
+    protected StreamReadException(String msg) {
+        this(null, msg, null, null);
+    }
+
     protected StreamReadException(JsonParser p, String msg) {
-        super(msg, (p == null) ? null : p.getCurrentLocation());
-        _processor = p;
+        this(p, msg, _currentLocation(p), null);
     }
 
-    protected StreamReadException(JsonParser p, String msg, Throwable root) {
-        super(msg, (p == null) ? null : p.getCurrentLocation(), root);
-        _processor = p;
+    protected StreamReadException(JsonParser p, String msg, Throwable rootCause) {
+        this(p, msg, _currentLocation(p), rootCause);
     }
 
     protected StreamReadException(JsonParser p, String msg, JsonLocation loc) {
-        super(msg, loc, null);
-        _processor = p;
+        this(p, msg, loc, null);
+    }
+
+    protected StreamReadException(String msg, JsonLocation loc, Throwable rootCause) {
+        this(null, msg, loc, rootCause);
     }
 
+    // Canonical constructor
     // @since 2.13
     protected StreamReadException(JsonParser p, String msg, JsonLocation loc,
             Throwable rootCause) {
@@ -48,15 +55,6 @@ protected StreamReadException(JsonParser p, String msg, JsonLocation loc,
         _processor = p;
     }
 
-    protected StreamReadException(String msg, JsonLocation loc, Throwable rootCause) {
-        super(msg, loc, rootCause);
-    }
-
-    // @since 2.15
-    protected StreamReadException(String msg) {
-        super(msg);
-    }
-
     /**
      * Fluent method that may be used to assign originating {@link JsonParser},
      * to be accessed using {@link #getProcessor()}.
@@ -117,4 +115,9 @@ public String getMessage() {
         }
         return msg;
     }
+
+    // @since 2.17
+    protected static JsonLocation _currentLocation(JsonParser p) {
+        return (p == null) ? null : p.currentLocation();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/FilteringParserDelegate.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/FilteringParserDelegate.java
index 64276c5fd8..759482a671 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/FilteringParserDelegate.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/FilteringParserDelegate.java
@@ -150,17 +150,20 @@ public int getMatchCount() {
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    @Override public JsonToken getCurrentToken() { return _currToken; }
     @Override public JsonToken currentToken() { return _currToken; }
 
-    @Deprecated // since 2.12
-    @Override public final int getCurrentTokenId() {
-        return currentTokenId();
-    }
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public JsonToken getCurrentToken() { return _currToken; }
+
     @Override public final int currentTokenId() {
         final JsonToken t = _currToken;
         return (t == null) ? JsonTokenId.ID_NO_TOKEN : t.id();
     }
+    @Deprecated // since 2.12
+    @Override public final int getCurrentTokenId() {
+        return currentTokenId();
+    }
 
     @Override public boolean hasCurrentToken() { return _currToken != null; }
     @Override public boolean hasTokenId(int id) {
@@ -178,15 +181,31 @@ public int getMatchCount() {
     @Override public boolean isExpectedStartArrayToken() { return _currToken == JsonToken.START_ARRAY; }
     @Override public boolean isExpectedStartObjectToken() { return _currToken == JsonToken.START_OBJECT; }
 
-    @Override public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() { return delegate.getCurrentLocation(); }
+    @Override
+    public JsonLocation currentLocation() {
+        return delegate.currentLocation();
+    }
 
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() {
+        return delegate.getCurrentLocation();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation() { return delegate.currentTokenLocation(); }
+
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() { return delegate.getTokenLocation(); }
+    
     @Override
     public JsonStreamContext getParsingContext() {
         return _filterContext();
     }
 
-    // !!! TODO: Verify it works as expected: copied from standard JSON parser impl
     @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public String getCurrentName() throws IOException {
         JsonStreamContext ctxt = _filterContext();
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.START_OBJECT || _currToken == JsonToken.START_ARRAY) {
@@ -419,7 +438,7 @@ public JsonToken nextToken() throws IOException
 
         case ID_FIELD_NAME:
             {
-                final String name = delegate.getCurrentName();
+                final String name = delegate.currentName();
                 // note: this will also set 'needToHandleName'
                 f = _headContext.setFieldName(name);
                 if (f == TokenFilter.INCLUDE_ALL) {
@@ -609,7 +628,7 @@ protected final JsonToken _nextToken2() throws IOException
 
             case ID_FIELD_NAME:
                 {
-                    final String name = delegate.getCurrentName();
+                    final String name = delegate.currentName();
                     f = _headContext.setFieldName(name);
                     if (f == TokenFilter.INCLUDE_ALL) {
                         _itemFilter = f;
@@ -796,7 +815,7 @@ protected final JsonToken _nextTokenWithBuffering(final TokenFilterContext buffR
 
             case ID_FIELD_NAME:
                 {
-                    final String name = delegate.getCurrentName();
+                    final String name = delegate.currentName();
                     f = _headContext.setFieldName(name);
                     if (f == TokenFilter.INCLUDE_ALL) {
                         _itemFilter = f;
@@ -1046,7 +1065,6 @@ public JsonParser skipChildren() throws IOException
     @Override public Object getEmbeddedObject() throws IOException { return delegate.getEmbeddedObject(); }
     @Override public byte[] getBinaryValue(Base64Variant b64variant) throws IOException { return delegate.getBinaryValue(b64variant); }
     @Override public int readBinaryValue(Base64Variant b64variant, OutputStream out) throws IOException { return delegate.readBinaryValue(b64variant, out); }
-    @Override public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() { return delegate.getTokenLocation(); }
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParser.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParser.java
index 921fca70e5..a90121ce01 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParser.java
@@ -3,13 +3,6 @@
 import ch.randelshofer.fastdoubleparser.JavaBigDecimalParser;
 
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
-import java.util.Arrays;
-
-// Based on a great idea of Eric Obermühlner to use a tree of smaller BigDecimals for parsing
-// really big numbers with O(n^1.5) complexity instead of O(n^2) when using the constructor
-// for a decimal representation from JDK 8/11:
-//
-// https://github.com/eobermuhlner/big-math/commit/7a5419aac8b2adba2aa700ccf00197f97b2ad89f
 
 /**
  * Internal Jackson Helper class used to implement more optimized parsing of {@link BigDecimal} for REALLY
@@ -37,6 +30,10 @@ private BigDecimalParser() {}
 
     /**
      * Internal Jackson method. Please do not use.
+     *<p>
+     * Note: Caller MUST pre-validate that given String represents a valid representation
+     * of {@link BigDecimal} value: parsers in {@code jackson-core} do that; other
+     * code must do the same.
      *
      * @param valueStr
      * @return BigDecimal value
@@ -48,6 +45,10 @@ public static BigDecimal parse(String valueStr) {
 
     /**
      * Internal Jackson method. Please do not use.
+     *<p>
+     * Note: Caller MUST pre-validate that given String represents a valid representation
+     * of {@link BigDecimal} value: parsers in {@code jackson-core} do that; other
+     * code must do the same.
      *
      * @return BigDecimal value
      * @throws NumberFormatException
@@ -57,30 +58,21 @@ public static BigDecimal parse(final char[] chars, final int off, final int len)
             if (len < 500) {
                 return new BigDecimal(chars, off, len);
             }
-            return parseBigDecimal(chars, off, len, len / 10);
+            return JavaBigDecimalParser.parseBigDecimal(chars, off, len);
 
         // 20-Aug-2022, tatu: Although "new BigDecimal(...)" only throws NumberFormatException
         //    operations by "parseBigDecimal()" can throw "ArithmeticException", so handle both:
         } catch (ArithmeticException | NumberFormatException e) {
-            String desc = e.getMessage();
-            // 05-Feb-2021, tatu: Alas, JDK mostly has null message so:
-            if (desc == null) {
-                desc = "Not a valid number representation";
-            }
-            String stringToReport;
-            if (len <= MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT) {
-                stringToReport = new String(chars, off, len);
-            } else {
-                stringToReport = new String(Arrays.copyOfRange(chars, off, MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT))
-                    + "(truncated, full length is " + chars.length + " chars)";
-            }
-            throw new NumberFormatException("Value \"" + stringToReport
-                    + "\" can not be represented as `java.math.BigDecimal`, reason: " + desc);
+            throw _parseFailure(e, new String(chars, off, len));
         }
     }
-
+    
     /**
      * Internal Jackson method. Please do not use.
+     *<p>
+     * Note: Caller MUST pre-validate that given String represents a valid representation
+     * of {@link BigDecimal} value: parsers in {@code jackson-core} do that; other
+     * code must do the same.
      *
      * @param chars
      * @return BigDecimal value
@@ -90,153 +82,62 @@ public static BigDecimal parse(char[] chars) {
         return parse(chars, 0, chars.length);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Internal Jackson method. Please do not use.
+     *<p>
+     * Note: Caller MUST pre-validate that given String represents a valid representation
+     * of {@link BigDecimal} value: parsers in {@code jackson-core} do that; other
+     * code must do the same.
+     *
+     * @param valueStr
+     * @return BigDecimal value
+     * @throws NumberFormatException
+     */
     public static BigDecimal parseWithFastParser(final String valueStr) {
         try {
             return JavaBigDecimalParser.parseBigDecimal(valueStr);
-        } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
-            final String reportNum = valueStr.length() <= MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT ?
-                    valueStr : valueStr.substring(0, MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT) + " [truncated]";
-            throw new NumberFormatException("Value \"" + reportNum
-                    + "\" can not be represented as `java.math.BigDecimal`, reason: " + nfe.getMessage());
+        } catch (ArithmeticException | NumberFormatException e) {
+            throw _parseFailure(e, valueStr);
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Internal Jackson method. Please do not use.
+     *<p>
+     * Note: Caller MUST pre-validate that given String represents a valid representation
+     * of {@link BigDecimal} value: parsers in {@code jackson-core} do that; other
+     * code must do the same.
+     *
+     * @return BigDecimal value
+     * @throws NumberFormatException
+     */
     public static BigDecimal parseWithFastParser(final char[] ch, final int off, final int len) {
         try {
             return JavaBigDecimalParser.parseBigDecimal(ch, off, len);
-        } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
-            final String reportNum = len <= MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT ?
-                    new String(ch, off, len) : new String(ch, off, MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT) + " [truncated]";
-            throw new NumberFormatException("Value \"" + reportNum
-                    + "\" can not be represented as `java.math.BigDecimal`, reason: " + nfe.getMessage());
+        } catch (ArithmeticException | NumberFormatException e) {
+            throw _parseFailure(e, new String(ch, off, len));
         }
     }
 
-    private static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final char[] chars, final int off, final int len, final int splitLen) {
-        boolean numHasSign = false;
-        boolean expHasSign = false;
-        boolean neg = false;
-        int numIdx = off;
-        int expIdx = -1;
-        int dotIdx = -1;
-        int scale = 0;
-        final int endIdx = off + len;
-
-        for (int i = off; i < endIdx; i++) {
-            char c = chars[i];
-            switch (c) {
-            case '+':
-                if (expIdx >= 0) {
-                    if (expHasSign) {
-                        throw new NumberFormatException("Multiple signs in exponent");
-                    }
-                    expHasSign = true;
-                } else {
-                    if (numHasSign) {
-                        throw new NumberFormatException("Multiple signs in number");
-                    }
-                    numHasSign = true;
-                    numIdx = i + 1;
-                }
-                break;
-            case '-':
-                if (expIdx >= 0) {
-                    if (expHasSign) {
-                        throw new NumberFormatException("Multiple signs in exponent");
-                    }
-                    expHasSign = true;
-                } else {
-                    if (numHasSign) {
-                        throw new NumberFormatException("Multiple signs in number");
-                    }
-                    numHasSign = true;
-                    neg = true;
-                    numIdx = i + 1;
-                }
-                break;
-            case 'e':
-            case 'E':
-                if (expIdx >= 0) {
-                    throw new NumberFormatException("Multiple exponent markers");
-                }
-                expIdx = i;
-                break;
-            case '.':
-                if (dotIdx >= 0) {
-                    throw new NumberFormatException("Multiple decimal points");
-                }
-                dotIdx = i;
-                break;
-            default:
-                if (dotIdx >= 0 && expIdx == -1) {
-                    scale++;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-
-        int numEndIdx;
-        int exp = 0;
-        if (expIdx >= 0) {
-            numEndIdx = expIdx;
-            String expStr = new String(chars, expIdx + 1, endIdx - expIdx - 1);
-            exp = Integer.parseInt(expStr);
-            scale = adjustScale(scale, exp);
-        } else {
-            numEndIdx = endIdx;
-        }
-
-        BigDecimal res;
-
-        if (dotIdx >= 0) {
-            int leftLen = dotIdx - numIdx;
-            BigDecimal left = toBigDecimalRec(chars, numIdx, leftLen, exp, splitLen);
-
-            int rightLen = numEndIdx - dotIdx - 1;
-            BigDecimal right = toBigDecimalRec(chars, dotIdx + 1, rightLen, exp - rightLen, splitLen);
-
-            res = left.add(right);
-        } else {
-            res = toBigDecimalRec(chars, numIdx, numEndIdx - numIdx, exp, splitLen);
-        }
-
-        if (scale != 0) {
-            res = res.setScale(scale);
+    private static NumberFormatException _parseFailure(Exception e, String fullValue) {
+        String desc = e.getMessage();
+        // 05-Feb-2021, tatu: Alas, JDK mostly has null message so:
+        if (desc == null) {
+            desc = "Not a valid number representation";
         }
-
-        if (neg) {
-            res = res.negate();
-        }
-
-        return res;
+        String valueToReport = _getValueDesc(fullValue);
+        return new NumberFormatException("Value " + valueToReport
+                + " can not be deserialized as `java.math.BigDecimal`, reason: " + desc);
     }
 
-    private static int adjustScale(int scale, long exp) {
-        long adjScale = scale - exp;
-        if (adjScale > Integer.MAX_VALUE || adjScale < Integer.MIN_VALUE) {
-            throw new NumberFormatException(
-                    "Scale out of range: " + adjScale + " while adjusting scale " + scale + " to exponent " + exp);
+    private static String _getValueDesc(String fullValue) {
+        final int len = fullValue.length();
+        if (len <= MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT) {
+            return String.format("\"%s\"", fullValue);
         }
-
-        return (int) adjScale;
+        return String.format("\"%s\" (truncated to %d chars (from %d))",
+                fullValue.substring(0, MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT),
+                MAX_CHARS_TO_REPORT, len);
     }
 
-    private static BigDecimal toBigDecimalRec(final char[] chars, final int off, final int len,
-                                              final int scale, final int splitLen) {
-        if (len > splitLen) {
-            int mid = len / 2;
-            BigDecimal left = toBigDecimalRec(chars, off, mid, scale + len - mid, splitLen);
-            BigDecimal right = toBigDecimalRec(chars, off + mid, len - mid, scale, splitLen);
-
-            return left.add(right);
-        }
-
-        if (len == 0) {
-            return BigDecimal.ZERO;
-        }
-        // 02-Apr-2023, tatu: [core#967] Looks like "scaleByPowerOfThen" avoids performance issue
-        //    there would be with "movePointRight" (both doing about same thing), so)
-        return new BigDecimal(chars, off, len)
-//                .movePointRight(scale);
-                .scaleByPowerOfTen(scale);
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/CharTypes.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/CharTypes.java
index abd2d2ea8b..2b2305e1eb 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/CharTypes.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/CharTypes.java
@@ -176,6 +176,16 @@ public final class CharTypes
         sOutputEscapes128 = table;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Lookup table same as {@link #sOutputEscapes128} except that
+     * forward slash ('/') is also escaped
+     */
+    protected final static int[] sOutputEscapes128WithSlash;
+    static {
+        sOutputEscapes128WithSlash = Arrays.copyOf(sOutputEscapes128, sOutputEscapes128.length);
+        sOutputEscapes128WithSlash['/'] = '/';
+    }
+
     /**
      * Lookup table for the first 256 Unicode characters (ASCII / UTF-8)
      * range. For actual hex digits, contains corresponding value;
@@ -233,6 +243,28 @@ public static int[] get7BitOutputEscapes(int quoteChar) {
         return AltEscapes.instance.escapesFor(quoteChar);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Alternative to {@link #get7BitOutputEscapes()} when either a non-standard
+     * quote character is used, or forward slash is to be escaped.
+     *
+     * @param quoteChar Character used for quoting textual values and property names;
+     *    usually double-quote but sometimes changed to single-quote (apostrophe)
+     * @param escapeSlash
+     *
+     * @return 128-entry {@code int[]} that contains escape definitions
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public static int[] get7BitOutputEscapes(int quoteChar, boolean escapeSlash) {
+        if (quoteChar == '"') {
+            if (escapeSlash) {
+                return sOutputEscapes128WithSlash;
+            }
+            return sOutputEscapes128;
+        }
+        return AltEscapes.instance.escapesFor(quoteChar, escapeSlash);
+    }
+
     public static int charToHex(int ch)
     {
         // 08-Nov-2019, tatu: As per [core#540] and [core#578], changed to
@@ -246,7 +278,6 @@ public static char hexToChar(int ch)
         return HC[ch];
     }
 
-
     /**
      * Helper method for appending JSON-escaped version of contents
      * into specific {@link StringBuilder}, using default JSON specification
@@ -328,6 +359,9 @@ private static class AltEscapes {
 
         private int[][] _altEscapes = new int[128][];
 
+        // @since 2.17
+        private int[][] _altEscapesWithSlash = new int[128][];
+
         public int[] escapesFor(int quoteChar) {
             int[] esc = _altEscapes[quoteChar];
             if (esc == null) {
@@ -340,6 +374,20 @@ public int[] escapesFor(int quoteChar) {
             }
             return esc;
         }
+
+        // @since 2.17
+        public int[] escapesFor(int quoteChar, boolean escapeSlash)
+        {
+            if (!escapeSlash) {
+                return escapesFor(quoteChar);
+            }
+            int[] esc = _altEscapesWithSlash[quoteChar];
+            if (esc == null) {
+                esc = escapesFor(quoteChar);
+                esc['/'] = '/';
+                _altEscapesWithSlash[quoteChar] = esc;
+            }
+            return esc;
+        }
     }
 }
-
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/IOContext.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/IOContext.java
index 3a5985664c..6583e5f124 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/IOContext.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/IOContext.java
@@ -64,6 +64,16 @@ public class IOContext implements AutoCloseable
      */
     protected final BufferRecycler _bufferRecycler;
 
+    /**
+     * Flag that indicates whether this context instance should release
+     * configured {@code _bufferRecycler} or not: if it does, it needs to call
+     * (via {@link BufferRecycler#releaseToPool()} when closed; if not,
+     * should do nothing (recycler life-cycle is externally managed)
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    protected boolean _releaseRecycler = true;
+
     /**
      * @since 2.15
      */
@@ -194,6 +204,18 @@ public IOContext(BufferRecycler br, Object rawContent, boolean managedResource)
         this(br, ContentReference.rawReference(rawContent), managedResource);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Method to call to prevent {@link #_bufferRecycler} release upon
+     * {@link #close()}: called when {@link #_bufferRecycler} life-cycle is
+     * externally managed.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public IOContext markBufferRecyclerReleased() {
+        _releaseRecycler = false;
+        return this;
+    }
+
     /*
     /**********************************************************************
     /* Public API, accessors
@@ -257,6 +279,11 @@ public ContentReference contentReference() {
     @Deprecated
     public Object getSourceReference() { return _sourceRef; }
 
+    // @since 2.17
+    public BufferRecycler bufferRecycler() {
+        return _bufferRecycler;
+    }
+
     /*
     /**********************************************************************
     /* Public API, buffer management
@@ -464,8 +491,11 @@ private IllegalArgumentException wrongBuf() {
     @Override
     public void close() {
         if (!_closed) {
-            _bufferRecycler.releaseToPool();
             _closed = true;
+            if (_releaseRecycler) {
+                _releaseRecycler = false;
+                _bufferRecycler.releaseToPool();
+            }
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/JsonStringEncoder.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/JsonStringEncoder.java
index 87487459af..2095fb08d1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/JsonStringEncoder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/JsonStringEncoder.java
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ public char[] quoteAsString(String input)
             int length = (escCode < 0)
                     ? _appendNumeric(d, qbuf)
                     : _appendNamed(escCode, qbuf);
-                    ;
+                    
             if ((outPtr + length) > outputBuffer.length) {
                 int first = outputBuffer.length - outPtr;
                 if (first > 0) {
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ public char[] quoteAsString(CharSequence input)
             int length = (escCode < 0)
                     ? _appendNumeric(d, qbuf)
                     : _appendNamed(escCode, qbuf);
-                    ;
+                    
             if ((outPtr + length) > outputBuffer.length) {
                 int first = outputBuffer.length - outPtr;
                 if (first > 0) {
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ public byte[] quoteAsUTF8(String text)
                 outputPtr = 0;
             }
             // Ok, so what did we hit?
-            int ch = (int) text.charAt(inputPtr++);
+            int ch = text.charAt(inputPtr++);
             if (ch <= 0x7F) { // needs quoting
                 int escape = escCodes[ch];
                 // ctrl-char, 6-byte escape...
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@ private static int _convert(int p1, int p2) {
         if (p2 < SURR2_FIRST || p2 > SURR2_LAST) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Broken surrogate pair: first char 0x"+Integer.toHexString(p1)+", second 0x"+Integer.toHexString(p2)+"; illegal combination");
         }
-        return 0x10000 + ((p1 - SURR1_FIRST) << 10) + (p2 - SURR2_FIRST);
+        return (p1 << 10) + p2 + UTF8Writer.SURROGATE_BASE;
     }
 
     private static void _illegal(int c) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberInput.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberInput.java
index e216f48a0f..86c73a8986 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberInput.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberInput.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.math.BigInteger;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 
 /**
  * Helper class for efficient parsing of various JSON numbers.
@@ -31,6 +32,15 @@ public final class NumberInput
     final static String MIN_LONG_STR_NO_SIGN = String.valueOf(Long.MIN_VALUE).substring(1);
     final static String MAX_LONG_STR = String.valueOf(Long.MAX_VALUE);
 
+    /**
+     * Regexp used to pre-validate "Stringified Numbers": slightly looser than
+     * JSON Number definition (allows leading zeroes, positive sign).
+     * 
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    private final static Pattern PATTERN_FLOAT = Pattern.compile(
+          "[+-]?[0-9]+(\\.[0-9]+)?([eE][+-]?[0-9]+)?");
+
     /**
      * Fast method for parsing unsigned integers that are known to fit into
      * regular 32-bit signed int type. This means that length is
@@ -146,7 +156,7 @@ public static long parseLong(char[] ch, int off, int len)
         // Note: caller must ensure length is [10, 18]
         int len1 = len-9;
         long val = parseInt(ch, off, len1) * L_BILLION;
-        return val + (long) parseInt(ch, off+len1, 9);
+        return val + parseInt(ch, off+len1, 9);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -190,7 +200,7 @@ public static long parseLong(String s)
         // that is, if we know they must be ints, call int parsing
         int length = s.length();
         if (length <= 9) {
-            return (long) parseInt(s);
+            return parseInt(s);
         }
         // !!! TODO: implement efficient 2-int parsing...
         return Long.parseLong(s);
@@ -357,8 +367,7 @@ public static double parseAsDouble(String s, final double def, final boolean use
     {
         if (s == null) { return def; }
         s = s.trim();
-        int len = s.length();
-        if (len == 0) {
+        if (s.isEmpty()) {
             return def;
         }
         try {
@@ -372,7 +381,10 @@ public static double parseAsDouble(String s, final double def, final boolean use
      * @return closest matching double
      * @throws NumberFormatException if string cannot be represented by a double where useFastParser=false
      * @see #parseDouble(String, boolean)
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #parseDouble(String, boolean)} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public static double parseDouble(final String s) throws NumberFormatException {
         return parseDouble(s, false);
     }
@@ -394,7 +406,10 @@ public static double parseDouble(final String s, final boolean useFastParser) th
      * @throws NumberFormatException if string cannot be represented by a float where useFastParser=false
      * @see #parseFloat(String, boolean)
      * @since v2.14
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #parseFloat(String, boolean)} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public static float parseFloat(final String s) throws NumberFormatException {
         return parseFloat(s, false);
     }
@@ -407,16 +422,22 @@ public static float parseFloat(final String s) throws NumberFormatException {
      * @since v2.14
      */
     public static float parseFloat(final String s, final boolean useFastParser) throws NumberFormatException {
-        return useFastParser ? JavaFloatParser.parseFloat(s) : Float.parseFloat(s);
+        if (useFastParser) {
+            return JavaFloatParser.parseFloat(s);
+        }
+        return Float.parseFloat(s);
     }
 
     /**
      * @param s a string representing a number to parse
      * @return a BigDecimal
      * @throws NumberFormatException if the char array cannot be represented by a BigDecimal
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #parseBigDecimal(String, boolean)} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final String s) throws NumberFormatException {
-        return BigDecimalParser.parse(s);
+        return parseBigDecimal(s, false);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -427,9 +448,10 @@ public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final String s) throws NumberFormatExce
      * @since v2.15
      */
     public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final String s, final boolean useFastParser) throws NumberFormatException {
-        return useFastParser ?
-                BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(s) :
-                BigDecimalParser.parse(s);
+        if (useFastParser) {
+            return BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(s);
+        }
+        return BigDecimalParser.parse(s);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -438,7 +460,10 @@ public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final String s, final boolean useFastPa
      * @param len the length of the number in the char array
      * @return a BigDecimal
      * @throws NumberFormatException if the char array cannot be represented by a BigDecimal
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #parseBigDecimal(char[], int, int, boolean)} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final char[] ch, final int off, final int len) throws NumberFormatException {
         return BigDecimalParser.parse(ch, off, len);
     }
@@ -454,17 +479,22 @@ public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final char[] ch, final int off, final i
      */
     public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final char[] ch, final int off, final int len,
                                              final boolean useFastParser)
-            throws NumberFormatException {
-        return useFastParser ?
-                BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(ch, off, len) :
-                BigDecimalParser.parse(ch, off, len);
+            throws NumberFormatException
+    {
+        if (useFastParser) {
+            return BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(ch, off, len);
+        }
+        return BigDecimalParser.parse(ch, off, len);
     }
 
     /**
      * @param ch a char array with text that makes up a number
      * @return a BigDecimal
      * @throws NumberFormatException if the char array cannot be represented by a BigDecimal
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #parseBigDecimal(char[], boolean)} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final char[] ch) throws NumberFormatException {
         return BigDecimalParser.parse(ch);
     }
@@ -487,9 +517,12 @@ public static BigDecimal parseBigDecimal(final char[] ch, final boolean useFastP
      * @return a BigInteger
      * @throws NumberFormatException if string cannot be represented by a BigInteger
      * @since v2.14
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use {@link #parseBigInteger(String, boolean)} instead
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public static BigInteger parseBigInteger(final String s) throws NumberFormatException {
-        return new BigInteger(s);
+        return parseBigInteger(s, false);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -502,9 +535,8 @@ public static BigInteger parseBigInteger(final String s) throws NumberFormatExce
     public static BigInteger parseBigInteger(final String s, final boolean useFastParser) throws NumberFormatException {
         if (useFastParser) {
             return BigIntegerParser.parseWithFastParser(s);
-        } else {
-            return parseBigInteger(s);
         }
+        return new BigInteger(s);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -516,11 +548,36 @@ public static BigInteger parseBigInteger(final String s, final boolean useFastPa
      * @since v2.15
      */
     public static BigInteger parseBigIntegerWithRadix(final String s, final int radix,
-                                                      final boolean useFastParser) throws NumberFormatException {
+            final boolean useFastParser) throws NumberFormatException {
         if (useFastParser) {
             return BigIntegerParser.parseWithFastParser(s, radix);
-        } else {
-            return new BigInteger(s, radix);
         }
+        return new BigInteger(s, radix);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Method called to check whether given pattern looks like a valid Java
+     * Number (which is bit looser definition than valid JSON Number).
+     * Used as pre-parsing check when parsing "Stringified numbers".
+     *<p>
+     * The differences to stricter JSON Number are:
+     * <ul>
+     *   <li>Positive sign is allowed
+     *     </li>
+     *   <li>Leading zeroes are allowed
+     *     </li>
+     * </ul>
+     *<p>
+     * Note: no trimming ({@code String.trim()}) nor null checks are performed
+     * on String passed.
+     *
+     * @param s String to validate
+     *
+     * @return True if String looks like valid Java number; false otherwise.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public static boolean looksLikeValidNumber(final String s) {
+        return (s != null) && PATTERN_FLOAT.matcher(s).matches();
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberOutput.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberOutput.java
index c78c610de1..844692bf85 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberOutput.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberOutput.java
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ public final class NumberOutput
     private static int BILLION = 1000000000;
     private static long BILLION_L = 1000000000L;
 
-    private static long MIN_INT_AS_LONG = (long) Integer.MIN_VALUE;
-    private static long MAX_INT_AS_LONG = (long) Integer.MAX_VALUE;
+    private static long MIN_INT_AS_LONG = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
+    private static long MAX_INT_AS_LONG = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
 
     final static String SMALLEST_INT = String.valueOf(Integer.MIN_VALUE);
     final static String SMALLEST_LONG = String.valueOf(Long.MIN_VALUE);
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ public static int outputInt(int v, char[] b, int off)
                 }
                 return _leading3(v, b, off);
             }
-            int thousands = v / 1000;
+            int thousands = divBy1000(v);
             v -= (thousands * 1000); // == value % 1000
             off = _leading3(thousands, b, off);
             off = _full3(v, b, off);
@@ -107,10 +107,10 @@ public static int outputInt(int v, char[] b, int off)
             }
             return _outputFullBillion(v, b, off);
         }
-        int newValue = v / 1000;
+        int newValue = divBy1000(v);
         int ones = (v - (newValue * 1000)); // == value % 1000
         v = newValue;
-        newValue /= 1000;
+        newValue = divBy1000(newValue);
         int thousands = (v - (newValue * 1000));
 
         off = _leading3(newValue, b, off);
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ public static int outputInt(int v, byte[] b, int off)
                     off = _leading3(v, b, off);
                 }
             } else {
-                int thousands = v / 1000;
+                int thousands = divBy1000(v);
                 v -= (thousands * 1000); // == value % 1000
                 off = _leading3(thousands, b, off);
                 off = _full3(v, b, off);
@@ -153,10 +153,10 @@ public static int outputInt(int v, byte[] b, int off)
             }
             return _outputFullBillion(v, b, off);
         }
-        int newValue = v / 1000;
+        int newValue = divBy1000(v);
         int ones = (v - (newValue * 1000)); // == value % 1000
         v = newValue;
-        newValue /= 1000;
+        newValue = divBy1000(newValue);
         int thousands = (v - (newValue * 1000));
         off = _leading3(newValue, b, off);
         off = _full3(thousands, b, off);
@@ -245,6 +245,16 @@ public static int outputLong(long v, byte[] b, int off)
         return _outputFullBillion((int) v, b, off);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Optimized code for integer division by 1000; typically 50% higher
+     * throughput for calculation
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    static int divBy1000(int number) {
+        return (int) (number * 274_877_907L >>> 38);
+    }
+
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Convenience serialization methods
@@ -359,13 +369,13 @@ private static int _outputUptoBillion(int v, char[] b, int off)
             if (v < 1000) {
                 return _leading3(v, b, off);
             }
-            int thousands = v / 1000;
+            int thousands = divBy1000(v);
             int ones = v - (thousands * 1000); // == value % 1000
             return _outputUptoMillion(b, off, thousands, ones);
         }
-        int thousands = v / 1000;
+        int thousands = divBy1000(v);
         int ones = (v - (thousands * 1000)); // == value % 1000
-        int millions = thousands / 1000;
+        int millions = divBy1000(thousands);
         thousands -= (millions * 1000);
 
         off = _leading3(millions, b, off);
@@ -385,9 +395,9 @@ private static int _outputUptoBillion(int v, char[] b, int off)
 
     private static int _outputFullBillion(int v, char[] b, int off)
     {
-        int thousands = v / 1000;
+        int thousands = divBy1000(v);
         int ones = (v - (thousands * 1000)); // == value % 1000
-        int millions = thousands / 1000;
+        int millions = divBy1000(thousands);
 
         int enc = TRIPLET_TO_CHARS[millions];
         b[off++] = (char) (enc >> 16);
@@ -414,13 +424,13 @@ private static int _outputUptoBillion(int v, byte[] b, int off)
             if (v < 1000) {
                 return _leading3(v, b, off);
             }
-            int thousands = v / 1000;
+            int thousands = divBy1000(v);
             int ones = v - (thousands * 1000); // == value % 1000
             return _outputUptoMillion(b, off, thousands, ones);
         }
-        int thousands = v / 1000;
+        int thousands = divBy1000(v);
         int ones = (v - (thousands * 1000)); // == value % 1000
-        int millions = thousands / 1000;
+        int millions = divBy1000(thousands);
         thousands -= (millions * 1000);
 
         off = _leading3(millions, b, off);
@@ -440,9 +450,9 @@ private static int _outputUptoBillion(int v, byte[] b, int off)
 
     private static int _outputFullBillion(int v, byte[] b, int off)
     {
-        int thousands = v / 1000;
+        int thousands = divBy1000(v);
         int ones = (v - (thousands * 1000)); // == value % 1000
-        int millions = thousands / 1000;
+        int millions = divBy1000(thousands);
         thousands -= (millions * 1000);
 
         int enc = TRIPLET_TO_CHARS[millions];
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriter.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriter.java
index 7c5285ed6e..b4db03dc60 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriter.java
@@ -13,7 +13,10 @@
  * if so, instance of this class can be given as the writer to
  * <code>JsonGenerator</code>.
  */
-public final class SegmentedStringWriter extends Writer {
+public final class SegmentedStringWriter
+    extends Writer
+    implements BufferRecycler.Gettable
+{
     final private TextBuffer _buffer;
 
     public SegmentedStringWriter(BufferRecycler br) {
@@ -22,9 +25,20 @@ public SegmentedStringWriter(BufferRecycler br) {
     }
 
     /*
-    /**********************************************************
+    /**********************************************************************
+    /* BufferRecycler.Gettable implementation
+    /**********************************************************************
+     */
+
+    @Override
+    public BufferRecycler bufferRecycler() {
+        return _buffer.bufferRecycler();
+    }
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************************
     /* java.io.Writer implementation
-    /**********************************************************
+    /**********************************************************************
      */
 
     @Override
@@ -59,6 +73,7 @@ public void write(char[] cbuf) throws IOException {
     }
 
     @Override
+
     public void write(char[] cbuf, int off, int len) throws IOException {
         _buffer.append(cbuf, off, len);
     }
@@ -79,9 +94,9 @@ public void write(String str, int off, int len) throws IOException {
     }
 
     /*
-    /**********************************************************
+    /**********************************************************************
     /* Extended API
-    /**********************************************************
+    /**********************************************************************
      */
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8Writer.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8Writer.java
index b7561839d1..b2c43c2667 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8Writer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8Writer.java
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ public final class UTF8Writer extends Writer
     final static int SURR2_FIRST = 0xDC00;
     final static int SURR2_LAST = 0xDFFF;
 
+    /**
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public static final int SURROGATE_BASE = 0x10000 - UTF8Writer.SURR2_FIRST - (UTF8Writer.SURR1_FIRST << 10);
+
     final private IOContext _context;
 
     private OutputStream _out;
@@ -369,7 +374,7 @@ protected int convertSurrogate(int secondPart)
         if (secondPart < SURR2_FIRST || secondPart > SURR2_LAST) {
             throw new IOException("Broken surrogate pair: first char 0x"+Integer.toHexString(firstPart)+", second 0x"+Integer.toHexString(secondPart)+"; illegal combination");
         }
-        return 0x10000 + ((firstPart - SURR1_FIRST) << 10) + (secondPart - SURR2_FIRST);
+        return (firstPart << 10) + secondPart + UTF8Writer.SURROGATE_BASE;
     }
 
     protected static void illegalSurrogate(int code) throws IOException {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ByteSourceJsonBootstrapper.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ByteSourceJsonBootstrapper.java
index f6efe43ffe..f829171cff 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ByteSourceJsonBootstrapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ByteSourceJsonBootstrapper.java
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ private static int skipSpace(InputAccessor acc) throws IOException
     private static int skipSpace(InputAccessor acc, byte b) throws IOException
     {
         while (true) {
-            int ch = (int) b & 0xFF;
+            int ch = b & 0xFF;
             if (!(ch == ' ' || ch == '\r' || ch == '\n' || ch == '\t')) {
                 return ch;
             }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/DupDetector.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/DupDetector.java
index f8e028021d..33b3b921a5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/DupDetector.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/DupDetector.java
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public void reset() {
     public JsonLocation findLocation() {
         // ugly but:
         if (_source instanceof JsonParser) {
-            return ((JsonParser)_source).getCurrentLocation();
+            return ((JsonParser)_source).currentLocation();
         }
         // do generators have a way to provide Location? Apparently not...
         return null;
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ public boolean isDup(String name) throws JsonParseException
             return true;
         }
         if (_seen == null) {
-            _seen = new HashSet<String>(16); // 16 is default, seems reasonable
+            _seen = new HashSet<>(16); // 16 is default, seems reasonable
             _seen.add(_firstName);
             _seen.add(_secondName);
         }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonGeneratorImpl.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonGeneratorImpl.java
index 3c8a2923d2..04288ced6b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonGeneratorImpl.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonGeneratorImpl.java
@@ -234,23 +234,6 @@ public JacksonFeatureSet<StreamWriteCapability> getWriteCapabilities() {
         return JSON_WRITE_CAPABILITIES;
     }
 
-    /*
-    /**********************************************************
-    /* Misc other accessors
-    /**********************************************************
-     */
-
-    /**
-     * Accessor for use by {@code jackson-core} itself (tests in particular).
-     *
-     * @return {@link IOContext} in use by this generator
-     *
-     * @since 2.16
-     */
-    public IOContext ioContext() {
-        return _ioContext;
-    }
-
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Shared helper methods
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonParserBase.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonParserBase.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..07227ca55f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonParserBase.java
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser.NumberTypeFP;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.ParserBase;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.CharTypes;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.IOContext;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.JacksonFeatureSet;
+
+/**
+ * Another intermediate base class, only used by actual JSON-backed parser
+ * implementations.
+ *
+ * @since 2.17
+ */
+public abstract class JsonParserBase
+    extends ParserBase
+{
+    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA = Feature.ALLOW_TRAILING_COMMA.getMask();
+    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_LEADING_ZEROS = Feature.ALLOW_NUMERIC_LEADING_ZEROS.getMask();
+    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_NON_NUM_NUMBERS = Feature.ALLOW_NON_NUMERIC_NUMBERS.getMask();
+    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_MISSING = Feature.ALLOW_MISSING_VALUES.getMask();
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES = Feature.ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES.getMask();
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_UNQUOTED_NAMES = Feature.ALLOW_UNQUOTED_FIELD_NAMES.getMask();
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_JAVA_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_COMMENTS.getMask();
+    protected final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS.getMask();
+
+    // Latin1 encoding is not supported, but we do use 8-bit subset for
+    // pre-processing task, to simplify first pass, keep it fast.
+    protected final static int[] INPUT_CODES_LATIN1 = CharTypes.getInputCodeLatin1();
+
+    // This is the main input-code lookup table, fetched eagerly
+    protected final static int[] INPUT_CODES_UTF8 = CharTypes.getInputCodeUtf8();
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************
+    /* Configuration
+    /**********************************************************
+     */
+
+    /**
+     * Codec used for data binding when (if) requested; typically full
+     * <code>ObjectMapper</code>, but that abstract is not part of core
+     * package.
+     */
+    protected ObjectCodec _objectCodec;
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************************
+    /* Life-cycle
+    /**********************************************************************
+     */
+
+    protected JsonParserBase(IOContext ioCtxt, int features, ObjectCodec codec) {
+        super(ioCtxt, features);
+        _objectCodec = codec;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ObjectCodec getCodec() {
+        return _objectCodec;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setCodec(ObjectCodec c) {
+        _objectCodec = c;
+    }
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************************
+    /* Capability introspection
+    /**********************************************************************
+     */
+
+    @Override
+    public final JacksonFeatureSet<StreamReadCapability> getReadCapabilities() {
+        return JSON_READ_CAPABILITIES;
+    }
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************************
+    /* Overrides
+    /**********************************************************************
+     */
+
+    /**
+     * JSON format does not have native information on "correct" floating-point
+     * type to use, unlike some formats (most binary formats), so it needs to
+     * indicate this as {@link NumberTypeFP#UNKNOWN}.
+     *
+     * @return Natural floating-point type if known; {@link NumberTypeFP#UNKNOWN} for
+     *    all JSON-backed parsers.
+     */
+    @Override // added in 2.17
+    public NumberTypeFP getNumberTypeFP() throws IOException {
+        return NumberTypeFP.UNKNOWN;
+    }
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************************
+    /* Location handling
+    /**********************************************************************
+     */
+
+    // First: override some methods as abstract to force definition by subclasses
+    
+    @Override
+    public abstract JsonLocation currentLocation();
+
+    @Override
+    public abstract JsonLocation currentTokenLocation();
+
+    @Override
+    protected abstract JsonLocation _currentLocationMinusOne();
+
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    @Override
+    public final JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() {
+        return currentLocation();
+    }
+    
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    @Override
+    public final JsonLocation getTokenLocation() {
+        return currentTokenLocation();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonWriteFeature.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonWriteFeature.java
index 64f22b0372..f310ad9575 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonWriteFeature.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonWriteFeature.java
@@ -108,6 +108,15 @@ public enum JsonWriteFeature
      */
 //    ESCAPE_UTF8_SURROGATES(false, JsonGenerator.Feature.ESCAPE_UTF8_SURROGATES),
 
+    /**
+     * Feature that specifies whether {@link JsonGenerator} should escape forward slashes.
+     * <p>
+     * Feature is disabled by default for Jackson 2.x version, and enabled by default in Jackson 3.0.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES(false, JsonGenerator.Feature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES),
+
     ;
 
     final private boolean _defaultState;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ReaderBasedJsonParser.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ReaderBasedJsonParser.java
index 27b5cfec2a..1876b9e1d4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ReaderBasedJsonParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/ReaderBasedJsonParser.java
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import java.io.*;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
-import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.ParserBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.CharTypes;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.IOContext;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.sym.CharsToNameCanonicalizer;
@@ -17,29 +16,8 @@
  * conversion tasks.
  */
 public class ReaderBasedJsonParser
-    extends ParserBase
+    extends JsonParserBase
 {
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA = Feature.ALLOW_TRAILING_COMMA.getMask();
-
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_LEADING_ZEROS = Feature.ALLOW_NUMERIC_LEADING_ZEROS.getMask();
-
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_NON_NUM_NUMBERS = Feature.ALLOW_NON_NUMERIC_NUMBERS.getMask();
-
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_MISSING = Feature.ALLOW_MISSING_VALUES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES = Feature.ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_UNQUOTED_NAMES = Feature.ALLOW_UNQUOTED_FIELD_NAMES.getMask();
-
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_JAVA_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_COMMENTS.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS.getMask();
-
-    // Latin1 encoding is not supported, but we do use 8-bit subset for
-    // pre-processing task, to simplify first pass, keep it fast.
-    protected final static int[] _icLatin1 = CharTypes.getInputCodeLatin1();
-
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Input configuration
@@ -76,9 +54,9 @@ public class ReaderBasedJsonParser
 
     protected ObjectCodec _objectCodec;
 
-    final protected CharsToNameCanonicalizer _symbols;
+    protected final CharsToNameCanonicalizer _symbols;
 
-    final protected int _hashSeed;
+    protected final int _hashSeed;
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -142,9 +120,8 @@ public ReaderBasedJsonParser(IOContext ctxt, int features, Reader r,
             char[] inputBuffer, int start, int end,
             boolean bufferRecyclable)
     {
-        super(ctxt, features);
+        super(ctxt, features, codec);
         _reader = r;
-        _objectCodec = codec;
         _inputBuffer = inputBuffer;
         _inputPtr = start;
         _inputEnd = end;
@@ -169,12 +146,11 @@ public ReaderBasedJsonParser(IOContext ctxt, int features, Reader r,
     public ReaderBasedJsonParser(IOContext ctxt, int features, Reader r,
         ObjectCodec codec, CharsToNameCanonicalizer st)
     {
-        super(ctxt, features);
+        super(ctxt, features, codec);
         _reader = r;
         _inputBuffer = ctxt.allocTokenBuffer();
         _inputPtr = 0;
         _inputEnd = 0;
-        _objectCodec = codec;
         _symbols = st;
         _hashSeed = st.hashSeed();
         _bufferRecyclable = true;
@@ -186,14 +162,6 @@ public ReaderBasedJsonParser(IOContext ctxt, int features, Reader r,
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    @Override public ObjectCodec getCodec() { return _objectCodec; }
-    @Override public void setCodec(ObjectCodec c) { _objectCodec = c; }
-
-    @Override // @since 2.12
-    public JacksonFeatureSet<StreamReadCapability> getReadCapabilities() {
-        return JSON_READ_CAPABILITIES;
-    }
-
     @Override
     public int releaseBuffered(Writer w) throws IOException {
         int count = _inputEnd - _inputPtr;
@@ -277,7 +245,7 @@ protected boolean _loadMore() throws IOException
             _currInputProcessed += bufSize;
             _currInputRowStart -= bufSize;
             // 06-Sep-2023, tatu: [core#1046] Enforce max doc length limit
-            streamReadConstraints().validateDocumentLength(_currInputProcessed);
+            _streamReadConstraints.validateDocumentLength(_currInputProcessed);
 
             int count = _reader.read(_inputBuffer, 0, _inputBuffer.length);
             if (count > 0) {
@@ -372,7 +340,7 @@ public final String getValueAsString() throws IOException
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(null);
     }
@@ -388,7 +356,7 @@ public final String getValueAsString(String defValue) throws IOException {
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(defValue);
     }
@@ -713,7 +681,7 @@ public final JsonToken nextToken() throws IOException
         _binaryValue = null;
 
         // Closing scope?
-        if (i == INT_RBRACKET || i == INT_RCURLY) {
+        if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
             _closeScope(i);
             return _currToken;
         }
@@ -724,7 +692,7 @@ public final JsonToken nextToken() throws IOException
 
             // Was that a trailing comma?
             if ((_features & FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA) != 0) {
-                if ((i == INT_RBRACKET) || (i == INT_RCURLY)) {
+                if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                     _closeScope(i);
                     return _currToken;
                 }
@@ -875,7 +843,7 @@ public boolean nextFieldName(SerializableString sstr) throws IOException
         _binaryValue = null;
 
         // Closing scope?
-        if (i == INT_RBRACKET || i == INT_RCURLY) {
+        if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
             _closeScope(i);
             return false;
         }
@@ -885,7 +853,7 @@ public boolean nextFieldName(SerializableString sstr) throws IOException
 
             // Was that a trailing comma?
             if ((_features & FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA) != 0) {
-                if ((i == INT_RBRACKET) || (i == INT_RCURLY)) {
+                if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                     _closeScope(i);
                     return false;
                 }
@@ -949,14 +917,14 @@ public String nextFieldName() throws IOException
             return null;
         }
         _binaryValue = null;
-        if (i == INT_RBRACKET || i == INT_RCURLY) {
+        if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
             _closeScope(i);
             return null;
         }
         if (_parsingContext.expectComma()) {
             i = _skipComma(i);
             if ((_features & FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA) != 0) {
-                if ((i == INT_RBRACKET) || (i == INT_RCURLY)) {
+                if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                     _closeScope(i);
                     return null;
                 }
@@ -1411,13 +1379,13 @@ protected final JsonToken _parseUnsignedNumber(int ch) throws IOException
                 _inputPtr = startPtr;
                 return _parseNumber2(false, startPtr);
             }
-            ch = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+            ch = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
             if (ch < INT_0 || ch > INT_9) {
                 break int_loop;
             }
             ++intLen;
         }
-        if (ch == INT_PERIOD || ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+        if (ch == INT_PERIOD || (ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ '.eE'
             _inputPtr = ptr;
             return _parseFloat(ch, startPtr, ptr, false, intLen);
         }
@@ -1446,7 +1414,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(int ch, int startPtr, int ptr, boolean neg,
                 if (ptr >= inputLen) {
                     return _parseNumber2(neg, startPtr);
                 }
-                ch = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+                ch = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
                 if (ch < INT_0 || ch > INT_9) {
                     break fract_loop;
                 }
@@ -1460,19 +1428,19 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(int ch, int startPtr, int ptr, boolean neg,
             }
         }
         int expLen = 0;
-        if (ch == 'e' || ch == 'E') { // and/or exponent
+        if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE' and/or exponent
             if (ptr >= inputLen) {
                 _inputPtr = startPtr;
                 return _parseNumber2(neg, startPtr);
             }
             // Sign indicator?
-            ch = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+            ch = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
             if (ch == INT_MINUS || ch == INT_PLUS) { // yup, skip for now
                 if (ptr >= inputLen) {
                     _inputPtr = startPtr;
                     return _parseNumber2(neg, startPtr);
                 }
-                ch = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+                ch = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
             }
             while (ch <= INT_9 && ch >= INT_0) {
                 ++expLen;
@@ -1480,7 +1448,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(int ch, int startPtr, int ptr, boolean neg,
                     _inputPtr = startPtr;
                     return _parseNumber2(neg, startPtr);
                 }
-                ch = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+                ch = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
             }
             // must be followed by sequence of ints, one minimum
             if (expLen == 0) {
@@ -1531,14 +1499,14 @@ private final JsonToken _parseSignedNumber(final boolean negative) throws IOExce
             if (ptr >= inputEnd) {
                 return _parseNumber2(negative, startPtr);
             }
-            ch = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+            ch = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
             if (ch < INT_0 || ch > INT_9) {
                 break int_loop;
             }
             ++intLen;
         }
 
-        if (ch == INT_PERIOD || ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+        if (ch == INT_PERIOD || (ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ '.eE'
             _inputPtr = ptr;
             return _parseFloat(ch, startPtr, ptr, negative, intLen);
         }
@@ -1582,8 +1550,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseNumber2(boolean neg, int startPtr) throws IOExcept
         // This is the place to do leading-zero check(s) too:
         int intLen = 0;
         char c = (_inputPtr < _inputEnd) ? _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++]
-                : getNextChar("No digit following minus sign", JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT);
-
+                : getNextChar("No digit following sign", JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT);
         if (c == '0') {
             c = _verifyNoLeadingZeroes();
         }
@@ -1609,7 +1576,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseNumber2(boolean neg, int startPtr) throws IOExcept
         // Also, integer part is not optional
         if (intLen == 0) {
             // [core#611]: allow optionally leading decimal point
-            if (!isEnabled(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_LEADING_DECIMAL_POINT_FOR_NUMBERS.mappedFeature())) {
+            if ((c != '.') || !isEnabled(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_LEADING_DECIMAL_POINT_FOR_NUMBERS.mappedFeature())) {
                 return _handleInvalidNumberStart(c, neg);
             }
         }
@@ -1650,7 +1617,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseNumber2(boolean neg, int startPtr) throws IOExcept
         }
 
         int expLen = -1;
-        if (c == 'e' || c == 'E') { // exponent?
+        if ((c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE' exponent?
             expLen = 0;
             if (outPtr >= outBuf.length) {
                 outBuf = _textBuffer.finishCurrentSegment();
@@ -1846,7 +1813,7 @@ protected final String _parseName() throws IOException
         // not cross input buffer boundary, and does not contain escape sequences.
         int ptr = _inputPtr;
         int hash = _hashSeed;
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         while (ptr < _inputEnd) {
             int ch = _inputBuffer[ptr];
@@ -1883,7 +1850,7 @@ private String _parseName2(int startPtr, int hash, int endChar) throws IOExcepti
                 }
             }
             char c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
-            int i = (int) c;
+            int i = c;
             if (i <= INT_BACKSLASH) {
                 if (i == INT_BACKSLASH) {
                     /* Although chars outside of BMP are to be escaped as
@@ -1991,7 +1958,7 @@ protected String _parseAposName() throws IOException
         final int inputLen = _inputEnd;
 
         if (ptr < inputLen) {
-            final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+            final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
             final int maxCode = codes.length;
 
             do {
@@ -2102,7 +2069,7 @@ protected JsonToken _handleApos() throws IOException
                 }
             }
             char c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
-            int i = (int) c;
+            int i = c;
             if (i <= '\\') {
                 if (i == '\\') {
                     // Although chars outside of BMP are to be escaped as
@@ -2144,7 +2111,7 @@ private String _handleOddName2(int startPtr, int hash, int[] codes) throws IOExc
                 }
             }
             char c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr];
-            int i = (int) c;
+            int i = c;
             if (i < maxCode) {
                 if (codes[i] != 0) {
                     break;
@@ -2183,7 +2150,7 @@ protected final void _finishString() throws IOException
         final int inputLen = _inputEnd;
 
         if (ptr < inputLen) {
-            final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+            final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
             final int maxCode = codes.length;
 
             do {
@@ -2211,7 +2178,7 @@ protected void _finishString2() throws IOException
     {
         char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.getCurrentSegment();
         int outPtr = _textBuffer.getCurrentSegmentSize();
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
         final int maxCode = codes.length;
 
         while (true) {
@@ -2222,7 +2189,7 @@ protected void _finishString2() throws IOException
                 }
             }
             char c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
-            int i = (int) c;
+            int i = c;
             if (i < maxCode && codes[i] != 0) {
                 if (i == INT_QUOTE) {
                     break;
@@ -2274,7 +2241,7 @@ protected final void _skipString() throws IOException
                 inLen = _inputEnd;
             }
             char c = inBuf[inPtr++];
-            int i = (int) c;
+            int i = c;
             if (i <= INT_BACKSLASH) {
                 if (i == INT_BACKSLASH) {
                     // Although chars outside of BMP are to be escaped as an UTF-16 surrogate pair,
@@ -2331,7 +2298,7 @@ private final int _skipColon() throws IOException
                 return i;
             }
             if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
+                i = _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i == INT_SLASH || i == INT_HASH) {
                         return _skipColon2(true);
@@ -2355,7 +2322,7 @@ private final int _skipColon() throws IOException
                 return i;
             }
             if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
+                i = _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i == INT_SLASH || i == INT_HASH) {
                         return _skipColon2(true);
@@ -2372,7 +2339,7 @@ private final int _skipColon() throws IOException
     private final int _skipColon2(boolean gotColon) throws IOException
     {
         while (_inputPtr < _inputEnd || _loadMore()) {
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                 if (i == INT_SLASH) {
                     _skipComment();
@@ -2411,7 +2378,7 @@ private final int _skipColon2(boolean gotColon) throws IOException
     // Variant called when we know there's at least 4 more bytes available
     private final int _skipColonFast(int ptr) throws IOException
     {
-        int i = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+        int i = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
         if (i == INT_COLON) { // common case, no leading space
             i = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
             if (i > INT_SPACE) { // nor trailing
@@ -2420,7 +2387,7 @@ private final int _skipColonFast(int ptr) throws IOException
                     return i;
                 }
             } else if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+                i = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i != INT_SLASH && i != INT_HASH) {
                         _inputPtr = ptr;
@@ -2443,7 +2410,7 @@ private final int _skipColonFast(int ptr) throws IOException
                     return i;
                 }
             } else if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+                i = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i != INT_SLASH && i != INT_HASH) {
                         _inputPtr = ptr;
@@ -2463,7 +2430,7 @@ private final int _skipComma(int i) throws IOException
             _reportUnexpectedChar(i, "was expecting comma to separate "+_parsingContext.typeDesc()+" entries");
         }
         while (_inputPtr < _inputEnd) {
-            i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                 if (i == INT_SLASH || i == INT_HASH) {
                     --_inputPtr;
@@ -2488,7 +2455,7 @@ private final int _skipComma(int i) throws IOException
     private final int _skipAfterComma2() throws IOException
     {
         while (_inputPtr < _inputEnd || _loadMore()) {
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                 if (i == INT_SLASH) {
                     _skipComment();
@@ -2544,7 +2511,7 @@ private final int _skipWSOrEnd() throws IOException
         }
 
         while (_inputPtr < _inputEnd) {
-            i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                 if (i == INT_SLASH || i == INT_HASH) {
                     --_inputPtr;
@@ -2574,7 +2541,7 @@ private int _skipWSOrEnd2() throws IOException
                     return _eofAsNextChar();
                 }
             }
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                 if (i == INT_SLASH) {
                     _skipComment();
@@ -2622,7 +2589,7 @@ private void _skipCComment() throws IOException
     {
         // Ok: need the matching '*/'
         while ((_inputPtr < _inputEnd) || _loadMore()) {
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             if (i <= '*') {
                 if (i == '*') { // end?
                     if ((_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) && !_loadMore()) {
@@ -2662,7 +2629,7 @@ private void _skipLine() throws IOException
     {
         // Ok: need to find EOF or linefeed
         while ((_inputPtr < _inputEnd) || _loadMore()) {
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             if (i < INT_SPACE) {
                 if (i == INT_LF) {
                     ++_currInputRow;
@@ -2688,7 +2655,7 @@ protected char _decodeEscaped() throws IOException
         }
         char c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
 
-        switch ((int) c) {
+        switch (c) {
             // First, ones that are mapped
         case 'b':
             return '\b';
@@ -2722,7 +2689,7 @@ protected char _decodeEscaped() throws IOException
                     _reportInvalidEOF(" in character escape sequence", JsonToken.VALUE_STRING);
                 }
             }
-            int ch = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            int ch = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             int digit = CharTypes.charToHex(ch);
             if (digit < 0) {
                 _reportUnexpectedChar(ch, "expected a hex-digit for character escape sequence");
@@ -2973,7 +2940,24 @@ protected byte[] _decodeBase64(Base64Variant b64variant) throws IOException
      */
 
     @Override
-    public JsonLocation getTokenLocation()
+    public JsonLocation currentLocation() {
+        final int col = _inputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
+        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
+                -1L, _currInputProcessed + _inputPtr,
+                _currInputRow, col);
+    }
+
+    @Override // @since 2.17
+    protected JsonLocation _currentLocationMinusOne() {
+        final int prevInputPtr = _inputPtr - 1;
+        final int col = prevInputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
+        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
+                -1L, _currInputProcessed + prevInputPtr,
+                _currInputRow, col);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation()
     {
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
             long total = _currInputProcessed + (_nameStartOffset-1);
@@ -2984,14 +2968,6 @@ public JsonLocation getTokenLocation()
                 -1L, _tokenInputTotal-1, _tokenInputRow, _tokenInputCol);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() {
-        final int col = _inputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
-        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
-                -1L, _currInputProcessed + _inputPtr,
-                _currInputRow, col);
-    }
-
     // @since 2.7
     private final void _updateLocation()
     {
@@ -3048,7 +3024,8 @@ protected void _reportInvalidToken(String matchedPart, String msg) throws IOExce
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    private void _closeScope(int i) throws JsonParseException {
+    private void _closeScope(int i) throws JsonParseException
+    {
         if (i == INT_RBRACKET) {
             _updateLocation();
             if (!_parsingContext.inArray()) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8DataInputJsonParser.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8DataInputJsonParser.java
index 25c026763a..8d2954dd02 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8DataInputJsonParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8DataInputJsonParser.java
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import java.io.*;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
-import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.ParserBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.StreamConstraintsException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.CharTypes;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.IOContext;
@@ -36,45 +35,18 @@
  * @since 2.8
  */
 public class UTF8DataInputJsonParser
-    extends ParserBase
+    extends JsonParserBase
 {
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA = Feature.ALLOW_TRAILING_COMMA.getMask();
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_LEADING_ZEROS = Feature.ALLOW_NUMERIC_LEADING_ZEROS.getMask();
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_NON_NUM_NUMBERS = Feature.ALLOW_NON_NUMERIC_NUMBERS.getMask();
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_MISSING = Feature.ALLOW_MISSING_VALUES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES = Feature.ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_UNQUOTED_NAMES = Feature.ALLOW_UNQUOTED_FIELD_NAMES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_JAVA_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_COMMENTS.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS.getMask();
-
-    // This is the main input-code lookup table, fetched eagerly
-    private final static int[] _icUTF8 = CharTypes.getInputCodeUtf8();
-
-    // Latin1 encoding is not supported, but we do use 8-bit subset for
-    // pre-processing task, to simplify first pass, keep it fast.
-    protected final static int[] _icLatin1 = CharTypes.getInputCodeLatin1();
-
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Configuration
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    /**
-     * Codec used for data binding when (if) requested; typically full
-     * <code>ObjectMapper</code>, but that abstract is not part of core
-     * package.
-     */
-    protected ObjectCodec _objectCodec;
-
     /**
      * Symbol table that contains field names encountered so far
      */
-    final protected ByteQuadsCanonicalizer _symbols;
+    protected final ByteQuadsCanonicalizer _symbols;
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -123,28 +95,12 @@ public UTF8DataInputJsonParser(IOContext ctxt, int features, DataInput inputData
             ObjectCodec codec, ByteQuadsCanonicalizer sym,
             int firstByte)
     {
-        super(ctxt, features);
-        _objectCodec = codec;
+        super(ctxt, features, codec);
         _symbols = sym;
         _inputData = inputData;
         _nextByte = firstByte;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public ObjectCodec getCodec() {
-        return _objectCodec;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void setCodec(ObjectCodec c) {
-        _objectCodec = c;
-    }
-
-    @Override // @since 2.12
-    public JacksonFeatureSet<StreamReadCapability> getReadCapabilities() {
-        return JSON_READ_CAPABILITIES;
-    }
-
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Overrides for life-cycle
@@ -242,7 +198,7 @@ public String getValueAsString() throws IOException
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(null);
     }
@@ -258,7 +214,7 @@ public String getValueAsString(String defValue) throws IOException
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(defValue);
     }
@@ -611,7 +567,7 @@ public JsonToken nextToken() throws IOException
         _tokenInputRow = _currInputRow;
 
         // Closing scope?
-        if (i == INT_RBRACKET || i == INT_RCURLY) {
+        if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
             _closeScope(i);
             return _currToken;
         }
@@ -625,7 +581,7 @@ public JsonToken nextToken() throws IOException
 
             // Was that a trailing comma?
             if ((_features & FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA) != 0) {
-                if (i == INT_RBRACKET || i == INT_RCURLY) {
+                if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                     _closeScope(i);
                     return _currToken;
                 }
@@ -801,7 +757,7 @@ public String nextFieldName() throws IOException
         _binaryValue = null;
         _tokenInputRow = _currInputRow;
 
-        if (i == INT_RBRACKET || i == INT_RCURLY) {
+        if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
             _closeScope(i);
             return null;
         }
@@ -815,7 +771,7 @@ public String nextFieldName() throws IOException
 
             // Was that a trailing comma?
             if ((_features & FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA) != 0) {
-                if (i == INT_RBRACKET || i == INT_RCURLY) {
+                if ((i | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                     _closeScope(i);
                     return null;
                 }
@@ -1077,7 +1033,7 @@ protected JsonToken _parseUnsignedNumber(int c) throws IOException
             outBuf[outPtr++] = (char) c;
             c = _inputData.readUnsignedByte();
         }
-        if (c == '.' || c == 'e' || c == 'E') {
+        if (c == '.' || (c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ '.eE'
             return _parseFloat(outBuf, outPtr, c, false, intLen);
         }
         _textBuffer.setCurrentLength(outPtr);
@@ -1140,7 +1096,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseSignedNumber(boolean negative) throws IOException
             outBuf[outPtr++] = (char) c;
             c = _inputData.readUnsignedByte();
         }
-        if (c == '.' || c == 'e' || c == 'E') {
+        if (c == '.' || (c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ '.eE'
             return _parseFloat(outBuf, outPtr, c, negative, intLen);
         }
         _textBuffer.setCurrentLength(outPtr);
@@ -1217,7 +1173,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int c,
         }
 
         int expLen = 0;
-        if (c == INT_e || c == INT_E) { // exponent?
+        if ((c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE' exponent?
             if (outPtr >= outBuf.length) {
                 outBuf = _textBuffer.finishCurrentSegment();
                 outPtr = 0;
@@ -1298,7 +1254,7 @@ protected final String _parseName(int i) throws IOException
          *   assume that part is ok (if not it will get caught
          *   later on), and just handle quotes and backslashes here.
          */
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         int q = _inputData.readUnsignedByte();
 
@@ -1345,7 +1301,7 @@ protected final String _parseName(int i) throws IOException
 
     private final String _parseMediumName(int q2) throws IOException
     {
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         // Ok, got 5 name bytes so far
         int i = _inputData.readUnsignedByte();
@@ -1384,7 +1340,7 @@ private final String _parseMediumName(int q2) throws IOException
 
     private final String _parseMediumName2(int q3, final int q2) throws IOException
     {
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         // Got 9 name bytes so far
         int i = _inputData.readUnsignedByte();
@@ -1428,7 +1384,7 @@ private final String _parseLongName(int q, final int q2, int q3) throws IOExcept
         _quadBuffer[2] = q3;
 
         // As explained above, will ignore UTF-8 encoding at this point
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
         int qlen = 3;
 
         while (true) {
@@ -1504,7 +1460,7 @@ protected final String parseEscapedName(int[] quads, int qlen, int currQuad, int
          *   UTF-8 decoding yet. Rather, we'll assume that part is ok (if not it will get
          *   caught later on), and just handle quotes and backslashes here.
          */
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         while (true) {
             if (codes[ch] != 0) {
@@ -1678,7 +1634,7 @@ protected String _parseAposName() throws IOException
 
         // Copied from parseEscapedFieldName, with minor mods:
 
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         while (true) {
             if (ch == '\'') {
@@ -1953,7 +1909,7 @@ protected void _finishString() throws IOException
     {
         int outPtr = 0;
         char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
         final int outEnd = outBuf.length;
 
         do {
@@ -1975,7 +1931,7 @@ private String _finishAndReturnString() throws IOException
     {
         int outPtr = 0;
         char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
         final int outEnd = outBuf.length;
 
         do {
@@ -1997,7 +1953,7 @@ private final void _finishString2(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int c)
         throws IOException
     {
         // Here we do want to do full decoding, hence:
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
         int outEnd = outBuf.length;
 
         main_loop:
@@ -2071,7 +2027,7 @@ protected void _skipString() throws IOException
         _tokenIncomplete = false;
 
         // Need to be fully UTF-8 aware here:
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
 
         main_loop:
         while (true) {
@@ -2190,7 +2146,7 @@ protected JsonToken _handleApos() throws IOException
         char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
 
         // Here we do want to do full decoding, hence:
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
 
         main_loop:
         while (true) {
@@ -2968,7 +2924,21 @@ protected final byte[] _decodeBase64(Base64Variant b64variant) throws IOExceptio
      */
 
     @Override
-    public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() {
+    public JsonLocation currentLocation() {
+        // No column tracking since we do not have pointers, DataInput has no offset
+        final int col = -1;
+        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(), -1L, -1L,
+                _currInputRow, col);
+    }
+
+    // Since we only know row, may as well return currentLocation()
+    @Override // @since 2.17
+    protected JsonLocation _currentLocationMinusOne() {
+        return currentLocation();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation() {
         // 03-Jan-2020, tatu: Should probably track this, similar to how
         //   streaming parsers do it, but... not done yet
 
@@ -2982,21 +2952,14 @@ public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() {
         return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(), -1L, -1L, _tokenInputRow, -1);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() {
-        // No column tracking since we do not have pointers, DataInput has no offset
-        final int col = -1;
-        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(), -1L, -1L,
-                _currInputRow, col);
-    }
-
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Internal methods, other
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    private void _closeScope(int i) throws JsonParseException {
+    private void _closeScope(int i) throws JsonParseException
+    {
         if (i == INT_RBRACKET) {
             if (!_parsingContext.inArray()) {
                 _reportMismatchedEndMarker(i, '}');
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8JsonGenerator.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8JsonGenerator.java
index 553fb7be93..de47f9b48b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8JsonGenerator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8JsonGenerator.java
@@ -122,10 +122,11 @@ public UTF8JsonGenerator(IOContext ctxt, int features, ObjectCodec codec,
         super(ctxt, features, codec);
         _outputStream = out;
         _quoteChar = (byte) quoteChar;
-        if (quoteChar != '"') { // since 2.10
-            _outputEscapes = CharTypes.get7BitOutputEscapes(quoteChar);
-        }
 
+        boolean escapeSlash = isEnabled(JsonWriteFeature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES.mappedFeature());
+        if (quoteChar != '"' || escapeSlash) {
+            _outputEscapes = CharTypes.get7BitOutputEscapes(quoteChar, escapeSlash);
+        }
         _bufferRecyclable = true;
         _outputBuffer = ctxt.allocWriteEncodingBuffer();
         _outputEnd = _outputBuffer.length;
@@ -153,8 +154,9 @@ public UTF8JsonGenerator(IOContext ctxt, int features, ObjectCodec codec,
         super(ctxt, features, codec);
         _outputStream = out;
         _quoteChar = (byte) quoteChar;
-        if (quoteChar != '"') { // since 2.10
-            _outputEscapes = CharTypes.get7BitOutputEscapes(quoteChar);
+        boolean escapeSlash = isEnabled(JsonWriteFeature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES.mappedFeature());
+        if (quoteChar != '"' || escapeSlash) {
+            _outputEscapes = CharTypes.get7BitOutputEscapes(quoteChar, escapeSlash);
         }
 
         _bufferRecyclable = bufferRecyclable;
@@ -769,7 +771,7 @@ public final void writeRaw(char[] cbuf, int offset, int len) throws IOException
         while (offset < len) {
             inner_loop:
             while (true) {
-                int ch = (int) cbuf[offset];
+                int ch = cbuf[offset];
                 if (ch > 0x7F) {
                     break inner_loop;
                 }
@@ -819,8 +821,8 @@ private final void _writeSegmentedRaw(char[] cbuf, int offset, int len) throws I
         while (offset < inputEnd) {
             inner_loop:
             while (true) {
-                int ch = (int) cbuf[offset];
-                if (ch >= 0x80) {
+                int ch = cbuf[offset];
+                if (ch > 0x7F) {
                     break inner_loop;
                 }
                 // !!! TODO: fast(er) writes (roll input, output checks in one)
@@ -860,7 +862,7 @@ private void _writeRawSegment(char[] cbuf, int offset, int end) throws IOExcepti
         while (offset < end) {
             inner_loop:
             while (true) {
-                int ch = (int) cbuf[offset];
+                int ch = cbuf[offset];
                 if (ch > 0x7F) {
                     break inner_loop;
                 }
@@ -1914,9 +1916,9 @@ protected final void _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
             // First, mash 3 bytes into lsb of 32-bit int
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Chunk(b24, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
                 // note: must quote in JSON value
@@ -1932,9 +1934,9 @@ protected final void _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
             if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // don't really need 6 bytes but...
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
             if (inputLeft == 2) {
-                b24 |= (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                b24 |= ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
             }
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Partial(b24, inputLeft, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
         }
@@ -1965,9 +1967,9 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
             if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // need to flush
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
-            int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             bytesLeft -= 3;
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Chunk(b24, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
@@ -1985,10 +1987,10 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
                 if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // don't really need 6 bytes but...
                     _flushBuffer();
                 }
-                int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+                int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
                 int amount;
                 if (inputPtr < inputEnd) {
-                    b24 |= (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                    b24 |= ((readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
                     amount = 2;
                 } else {
                     amount = 1;
@@ -2028,9 +2030,9 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
             // First, mash 3 bytes into lsb of 32-bit int
-            int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             bytesDone += 3;
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Chunk(b24, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
@@ -2045,10 +2047,10 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
             if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // don't really need 6 bytes but...
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
-            int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+            int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
             int amount = 1;
             if (inputPtr < inputEnd) {
-                b24 |= (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                b24 |= ((readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
                 amount = 2;
             }
             bytesDone += amount;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8StreamJsonParser.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8StreamJsonParser.java
index 4f43c7eeb9..62aa0ed7af 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8StreamJsonParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/UTF8StreamJsonParser.java
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import java.io.*;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
-import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.ParserBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.StreamConstraintsException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.CharTypes;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.IOContext;
@@ -17,29 +16,9 @@
  * based on a {@link java.io.InputStream} as the input source.
  */
 public class UTF8StreamJsonParser
-    extends ParserBase
+    extends JsonParserBase
 {
-    final static byte BYTE_LF = (byte) '\n';
-
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_TRAILING_COMMA = Feature.ALLOW_TRAILING_COMMA.getMask();
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_LEADING_ZEROS = Feature.ALLOW_NUMERIC_LEADING_ZEROS.getMask();
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_NON_NUM_NUMBERS = Feature.ALLOW_NON_NUMERIC_NUMBERS.getMask();
-    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_MISSING = Feature.ALLOW_MISSING_VALUES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES = Feature.ALLOW_SINGLE_QUOTES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_UNQUOTED_NAMES = Feature.ALLOW_UNQUOTED_FIELD_NAMES.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_JAVA_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_COMMENTS.getMask();
-    private final static int FEAT_MASK_ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS = Feature.ALLOW_YAML_COMMENTS.getMask();
-
-    // This is the main input-code lookup table, fetched eagerly
-    private final static int[] _icUTF8 = CharTypes.getInputCodeUtf8();
-
-    // Latin1 encoding is not supported, but we do use 8-bit subset for
-    // pre-processing task, to simplify first pass, keep it fast.
-    protected final static int[] _icLatin1 = CharTypes.getInputCodeLatin1();
+    protected final static byte BYTE_LF = (byte) '\n';
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -47,17 +26,10 @@ public class UTF8StreamJsonParser
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    /**
-     * Codec used for data binding when (if) requested; typically full
-     * <code>ObjectMapper</code>, but that abstract is not part of core
-     * package.
-     */
-    protected ObjectCodec _objectCodec;
-
     /**
      * Symbol table that contains field names encountered so far
      */
-    final protected ByteQuadsCanonicalizer _symbols;
+    protected final ByteQuadsCanonicalizer _symbols;
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -188,9 +160,8 @@ public UTF8StreamJsonParser(IOContext ctxt, int features, InputStream in,
             byte[] inputBuffer, int start, int end, int bytesPreProcessed,
             boolean bufferRecyclable)
     {
-        super(ctxt, features);
+        super(ctxt, features, codec);
         _inputStream = in;
-        _objectCodec = codec;
         _symbols = sym;
         _inputBuffer = inputBuffer;
         _inputPtr = start;
@@ -201,21 +172,6 @@ public UTF8StreamJsonParser(IOContext ctxt, int features, InputStream in,
         _bufferRecyclable = bufferRecyclable;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public ObjectCodec getCodec() {
-        return _objectCodec;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void setCodec(ObjectCodec c) {
-        _objectCodec = c;
-    }
-
-    @Override // @since 2.12
-    public JacksonFeatureSet<StreamReadCapability> getReadCapabilities() {
-        return JSON_READ_CAPABILITIES;
-    }
-
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Overrides for life-cycle
@@ -383,7 +339,7 @@ public String getValueAsString() throws IOException
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(null);
     }
@@ -400,7 +356,7 @@ public String getValueAsString(String defValue) throws IOException
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(defValue);
     }
@@ -608,7 +564,7 @@ protected int _readBinary(Base64Variant b64variant, OutputStream out,
                 if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
                     _loadMoreGuaranteed();
                 }
-                ch = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+                ch = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             } while (ch <= INT_SPACE);
             int bits = b64variant.decodeBase64Char(ch);
             if (bits < 0) { // reached the end, fair and square?
@@ -1157,7 +1113,7 @@ private final int _skipColonFast(int ptr) throws IOException
                     return i;
                 }
             } else if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+                i = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i != INT_SLASH && i != INT_HASH) {
                         _inputPtr = ptr;
@@ -1179,7 +1135,7 @@ private final int _skipColonFast(int ptr) throws IOException
                     return i;
                 }
             } else if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[ptr++];
+                i = _inputBuffer[ptr++];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i != INT_SLASH && i != INT_HASH) {
                         _inputPtr = ptr;
@@ -1497,14 +1453,14 @@ protected JsonToken _parseUnsignedNumber(int c) throws IOException
             if (_inputPtr >= end) { // split across boundary, offline
                 return _parseNumber2(outBuf, outPtr, false, intLen);
             }
-            c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+            c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             if (c < INT_0 || c > INT_9) {
                 break;
             }
             ++intLen;
             outBuf[outPtr++] = (char) c;
         }
-        if (c == INT_PERIOD || c == INT_e || c == INT_E) {
+        if (c == INT_PERIOD || (c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ '.eE'
             return _parseFloat(outBuf, outPtr, c, false, intLen);
         }
         --_inputPtr; // to push back trailing char (comma etc)
@@ -1530,7 +1486,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseSignedNumber(boolean negative) throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        int c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+        int c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
         // Note: must be followed by a digit
         if (c <= INT_0) {
             // One special case: if first char is 0, must not be followed by a digit
@@ -1558,14 +1514,14 @@ private final JsonToken _parseSignedNumber(boolean negative) throws IOException
                 // Long enough to be split across boundary, so:
                 return _parseNumber2(outBuf, outPtr, negative, intLen);
             }
-            c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+            c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             if (c < INT_0 || c > INT_9) {
                 break;
             }
             ++intLen;
             outBuf[outPtr++] = (char) c;
         }
-        if (c == INT_PERIOD || c == INT_e || c == INT_E) {
+        if (c == INT_PERIOD || (c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ '.eE'
             return _parseFloat(outBuf, outPtr, c, negative, intLen);
         }
 
@@ -1591,9 +1547,9 @@ private final JsonToken _parseNumber2(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, boolean negativ
                 _textBuffer.setCurrentLength(outPtr);
                 return resetInt(negative, intPartLength);
             }
-            int c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+            int c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             if (c > INT_9 || c < INT_0) {
-                if (c == INT_PERIOD || c == INT_e || c == INT_E) {
+                if (c == INT_PERIOD || (c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ '.eE'
                     return _parseFloat(outBuf, outPtr, c, negative, intPartLength);
                 }
                 break;
@@ -1671,7 +1627,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int c,
                     eof = true;
                     break fract_loop;
                 }
-                c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+                c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
                 if (c < INT_0 || c > INT_9) {
                     break fract_loop;
                 }
@@ -1691,7 +1647,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int c,
         }
 
         int expLen = 0;
-        if (c == INT_e || c == INT_E) { // exponent?
+        if ((c | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE' exponent?
             if (outPtr >= outBuf.length) {
                 outBuf = _textBuffer.finishCurrentSegment();
                 outPtr = 0;
@@ -1701,7 +1657,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int c,
             if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
                 _loadMoreGuaranteed();
             }
-            c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+            c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             // Sign indicator?
             if (c == '-' || c == '+') {
                 if (outPtr >= outBuf.length) {
@@ -1713,7 +1669,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int c,
                 if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
                     _loadMoreGuaranteed();
                 }
-                c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+                c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             }
 
             exp_loop:
@@ -1728,7 +1684,7 @@ private final JsonToken _parseFloat(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int c,
                     eof = true;
                     break exp_loop;
                 }
-                c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+                c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             }
             // must be followed by sequence of ints, one minimum
             if (expLen == 0) {
@@ -1808,7 +1764,7 @@ protected final String _parseName(int i) throws IOException
          *   later on), and just handle quotes and backslashes here.
          */
         final byte[] input = _inputBuffer;
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         int q = input[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
 
@@ -1856,7 +1812,7 @@ protected final String _parseName(int i) throws IOException
     protected final String parseMediumName(int q2) throws IOException
     {
         final byte[] input = _inputBuffer;
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         // Ok, got 5 name bytes so far
         int i = input[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
@@ -1897,7 +1853,7 @@ protected final String parseMediumName(int q2) throws IOException
     protected final String parseMediumName2(int q3, final int q2) throws IOException
     {
         final byte[] input = _inputBuffer;
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         // Got 9 name bytes so far
         int i = input[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
@@ -1942,7 +1898,7 @@ protected final String parseLongName(int q, final int q2, int q3) throws IOExcep
 
         // As explained above, will ignore UTF-8 encoding at this point
         final byte[] input = _inputBuffer;
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
         int qlen = 3;
 
         while ((_inputPtr + 4) <= _inputEnd) {
@@ -2038,7 +1994,7 @@ protected final String parseEscapedName(int[] quads, int qlen, int currQuad, int
         // This may seem weird, but here we do not want to worry about
         // UTF-8 decoding yet. Rather, we'll assume that part is ok (if not it will get
         // caught later on), and just handle quotes and backslashes here.
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         while (true) {
             if (codes[ch] != 0) {
@@ -2224,7 +2180,7 @@ protected String _parseAposName() throws IOException
 
         // Copied from parseEscapedFieldName, with minor mods:
 
-        final int[] codes = _icLatin1;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_LATIN1;
 
         while (true) {
             if (ch == INT_APOS) {
@@ -2512,12 +2468,12 @@ protected void _finishString() throws IOException
         }
         int outPtr = 0;
         char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
 
         final int max = Math.min(_inputEnd, (ptr + outBuf.length));
         final byte[] inputBuffer = _inputBuffer;
         while (ptr < max) {
-            int c = (int) inputBuffer[ptr] & 0xFF;
+            int c = inputBuffer[ptr] & 0xFF;
             if (codes[c] != 0) {
                 if (c == INT_QUOTE) {
                     _inputPtr = ptr+1;
@@ -2544,12 +2500,12 @@ protected String _finishAndReturnString() throws IOException
         }
         int outPtr = 0;
         char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
 
         final int max = Math.min(_inputEnd, (ptr + outBuf.length));
         final byte[] inputBuffer = _inputBuffer;
         while (ptr < max) {
-            int c = (int) inputBuffer[ptr] & 0xFF;
+            int c = inputBuffer[ptr] & 0xFF;
             if (codes[c] != 0) {
                 if (c == INT_QUOTE) {
                     _inputPtr = ptr+1;
@@ -2571,7 +2527,7 @@ private final void _finishString2(char[] outBuf, int outPtr)
         int c;
 
         // Here we do want to do full decoding, hence:
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
         final byte[] inputBuffer = _inputBuffer;
 
         main_loop:
@@ -2590,7 +2546,7 @@ private final void _finishString2(char[] outBuf, int outPtr)
                 }
                 final int max = Math.min(_inputEnd, (ptr + (outBuf.length - outPtr)));
                 while (ptr < max) {
-                    c = (int) inputBuffer[ptr++] & 0xFF;
+                    c = inputBuffer[ptr++] & 0xFF;
                     if (codes[c] != 0) {
                         _inputPtr = ptr;
                         break ascii_loop;
@@ -2662,7 +2618,7 @@ protected void _skipString() throws IOException
         _tokenIncomplete = false;
 
         // Need to be fully UTF-8 aware here:
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
         final byte[] inputBuffer = _inputBuffer;
 
         main_loop:
@@ -2679,7 +2635,7 @@ protected void _skipString() throws IOException
                     max = _inputEnd;
                 }
                 while (ptr < max) {
-                    c = (int) inputBuffer[ptr++] & 0xFF;
+                    c = inputBuffer[ptr++] & 0xFF;
                     if (codes[c] != 0) {
                         _inputPtr = ptr;
                         break ascii_loop;
@@ -2803,7 +2759,7 @@ protected JsonToken _handleApos() throws IOException
         char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
 
         // Here we do want to do full decoding, hence:
-        final int[] codes = _icUTF8;
+        final int[] codes = INPUT_CODES_UTF8;
         final byte[] inputBuffer = _inputBuffer;
 
         main_loop:
@@ -2826,7 +2782,7 @@ protected JsonToken _handleApos() throws IOException
                     }
                 }
                 while (_inputPtr < max) {
-                    c = (int) inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+                    c = inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
                     if (c == INT_APOS) {
                         break main_loop;
                     }
@@ -2942,7 +2898,7 @@ protected final void _matchTrue() throws IOException
                    && (buf[ptr++] == 'u')
                    && (buf[ptr++] == 'e')) {
                 int ch = buf[ptr] & 0xFF;
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     _inputPtr = ptr;
                     return;
                 }
@@ -2961,7 +2917,7 @@ protected final void _matchFalse() throws IOException
                    && (buf[ptr++] == 's')
                    && (buf[ptr++] == 'e')) {
                 int ch = buf[ptr] & 0xFF;
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     _inputPtr = ptr;
                     return;
                 }
@@ -2979,7 +2935,7 @@ protected final void _matchNull() throws IOException
                    && (buf[ptr++] == 'l')
                    && (buf[ptr++] == 'l')) {
                 int ch = buf[ptr] & 0xFF;
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     _inputPtr = ptr;
                     return;
                 }
@@ -3196,7 +3152,7 @@ private final int _skipColon() throws IOException
                 return i;
             }
             if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
+                i = _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i == INT_SLASH || i == INT_HASH) {
                         return _skipColon2(true);
@@ -3220,7 +3176,7 @@ private final int _skipColon() throws IOException
                 return i;
             }
             if (i == INT_SPACE || i == INT_TAB) {
-                i = (int) _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
+                i = _inputBuffer[++_inputPtr];
                 if (i > INT_SPACE) {
                     if (i == INT_SLASH || i == INT_HASH) {
                         return _skipColon2(true);
@@ -3299,7 +3255,7 @@ private final void _skipCComment() throws IOException
         // Ok: need the matching '*/'
         main_loop:
         while ((_inputPtr < _inputEnd) || _loadMore()) {
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             int code = codes[i];
             if (code != 0) {
                 switch (code) {
@@ -3353,7 +3309,7 @@ private final void _skipLine() throws IOException
         // Ok: need to find EOF or linefeed
         final int[] codes = CharTypes.getInputCodeComment();
         while ((_inputPtr < _inputEnd) || _loadMore()) {
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             int code = codes[i];
             if (code != 0) {
                 switch (code) {
@@ -3393,7 +3349,7 @@ protected char _decodeEscaped() throws IOException
                 _reportInvalidEOF(" in character escape sequence", JsonToken.VALUE_STRING);
             }
         }
-        int c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
 
         switch (c) {
             // First, ones that are mapped
@@ -3496,7 +3452,7 @@ private final int _decodeUtf8_2(int c) throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        int d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3509,7 +3465,7 @@ private final int _decodeUtf8_3(int c1) throws IOException
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
         c1 &= 0x0F;
-        int d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3517,7 +3473,7 @@ private final int _decodeUtf8_3(int c1) throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3528,12 +3484,12 @@ private final int _decodeUtf8_3(int c1) throws IOException
     private final int _decodeUtf8_3fast(int c1) throws IOException
     {
         c1 &= 0x0F;
-        int d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
         int c = (c1 << 6) | (d & 0x3F);
-        d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3548,7 +3504,7 @@ private final int _decodeUtf8_4(int c) throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        int d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3557,7 +3513,7 @@ private final int _decodeUtf8_4(int c) throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3565,7 +3521,7 @@ private final int _decodeUtf8_4(int c) throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3581,7 +3537,7 @@ private final void _skipUtf8_2() throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        int c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((c & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(c & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3596,14 +3552,14 @@ private final void _skipUtf8_3() throws IOException
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
         //c &= 0x0F;
-        int c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((c & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(c & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        c = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        c = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((c & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(c & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3614,21 +3570,21 @@ private final void _skipUtf8_4(int c) throws IOException
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        int d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        int d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
         if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
             _loadMoreGuaranteed();
         }
-        d = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+        d = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
         if ((d & 0xC0) != 0x080) {
             _reportInvalidOther(d & 0xFF, _inputPtr);
         }
@@ -3684,7 +3640,7 @@ protected void _reportInvalidToken(String matchedPart, String msg) throws IOExce
          */
         StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(matchedPart);
         while ((_inputPtr < _inputEnd) || _loadMore()) {
-            int i = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
+            int i = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++];
             char c = (char) _decodeCharForError(i);
             if (!Character.isJavaIdentifierPart(c)) {
                 // 11-Jan-2016, tatu: note: we will fully consume the character,
@@ -3756,7 +3712,7 @@ protected final byte[] _decodeBase64(Base64Variant b64variant) throws IOExceptio
                 if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
                     _loadMoreGuaranteed();
                 }
-                ch = (int) _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
+                ch = _inputBuffer[_inputPtr++] & 0xFF;
             } while (ch <= INT_SPACE);
             int bits = b64variant.decodeBase64Char(ch);
             if (bits < 0) { // reached the end, fair and square?
@@ -3864,9 +3820,26 @@ protected final byte[] _decodeBase64(Base64Variant b64variant) throws IOExceptio
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    // As per [core#108], must ensure we call the right method
     @Override
-    public JsonLocation getTokenLocation()
+    public JsonLocation currentLocation()
+    {
+        int col = _inputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
+        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
+                _currInputProcessed + _inputPtr, -1L, // bytes, chars
+                _currInputRow, col);
+    }
+
+    @Override // @since 2.17
+    protected JsonLocation _currentLocationMinusOne() {
+        final int prevInputPtr = _inputPtr - 1;
+        final int col = prevInputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
+        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
+                _currInputProcessed + prevInputPtr, -1L, // bytes, chars
+                _currInputRow, col);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation()
     {
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
             long total = _currInputProcessed + (_nameStartOffset-1);
@@ -3877,16 +3850,6 @@ public JsonLocation getTokenLocation()
                 _tokenInputTotal-1, -1L, _tokenInputRow, _tokenInputCol);
     }
 
-    // As per [core#108], must ensure we call the right method
-    @Override
-    public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation()
-    {
-        int col = _inputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
-        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
-                _currInputProcessed + _inputPtr, -1L, // bytes, chars
-                _currInputRow, col);
-    }
-
     // @since 2.7
     private final void _updateLocation()
     {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/WriterBasedJsonGenerator.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/WriterBasedJsonGenerator.java
index b1628c92b3..7fb280ae7e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/WriterBasedJsonGenerator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/WriterBasedJsonGenerator.java
@@ -105,15 +105,15 @@ public WriterBasedJsonGenerator(IOContext ctxt, int features,
     public WriterBasedJsonGenerator(IOContext ctxt, int features,
             ObjectCodec codec, Writer w,
             char quoteChar)
-
     {
         super(ctxt, features, codec);
         _writer = w;
         _outputBuffer = ctxt.allocConcatBuffer();
         _outputEnd = _outputBuffer.length;
         _quoteChar = quoteChar;
-        if (quoteChar != '"') { // since 2.10
-            _outputEscapes = CharTypes.get7BitOutputEscapes(quoteChar);
+        boolean escapeSlash = isEnabled(JsonWriteFeature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES.mappedFeature());
+        if (quoteChar != '"' || escapeSlash) {
+            _outputEscapes = CharTypes.get7BitOutputEscapes(quoteChar, escapeSlash);
         }
     }
 
@@ -1601,9 +1601,9 @@ protected final void _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant, byte[] input, int in
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
             // First, mash 3 bytes into lsb of 32-bit int
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Chunk(b24, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
                 // note: must quote in JSON value
@@ -1619,9 +1619,9 @@ protected final void _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant, byte[] input, int in
             if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // don't really need 6 bytes but...
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
-            int b24 = ((int) input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+            int b24 = (input[inputPtr++]) << 16;
             if (inputLeft == 2) {
-                b24 |= (((int) input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                b24 |= ((input[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF) << 8;
             }
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Partial(b24, inputLeft, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
         }
@@ -1652,9 +1652,9 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
             if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // need to flush
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
-            int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             bytesLeft -= 3;
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Chunk(b24, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
@@ -1672,10 +1672,10 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
                 if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // don't really need 6 bytes but...
                     _flushBuffer();
                 }
-                int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+                int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
                 int amount;
                 if (inputPtr < inputEnd) {
-                    b24 |= (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                    b24 |= ((readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
                     amount = 2;
                 } else {
                     amount = 1;
@@ -1715,9 +1715,9 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
             // First, mash 3 bytes into lsb of 32-bit int
-            int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
-            b24 |= ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
-            b24 = (b24 << 8) | (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
+            int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 8;
+            b24 |= (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF;
+            b24 = (b24 << 8) | ((readBuffer[inputPtr++]) & 0xFF);
             bytesDone += 3;
             _outputTail = b64variant.encodeBase64Chunk(b24, _outputBuffer, _outputTail);
             if (--chunksBeforeLF <= 0) {
@@ -1732,10 +1732,10 @@ protected final int _writeBinary(Base64Variant b64variant,
             if (_outputTail > safeOutputEnd) { // don't really need 6 bytes but...
                 _flushBuffer();
             }
-            int b24 = ((int) readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
+            int b24 = (readBuffer[inputPtr++]) << 16;
             int amount = 1;
             if (inputPtr < inputEnd) {
-                b24 |= (((int) readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
+                b24 |= ((readBuffer[inputPtr]) & 0xFF) << 8;
                 amount = 2;
             }
             bytesDone += amount;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingJsonParserBase.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingJsonParserBase.java
index 4eeb24ee95..55ce3d41fe 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingJsonParserBase.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingJsonParserBase.java
@@ -3,13 +3,12 @@
 import java.io.*;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
-import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.ParserBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.StreamConstraintsException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.IOContext;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonParserBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonReadContext;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.sym.ByteQuadsCanonicalizer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.ByteArrayBuilder;
-import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.JacksonFeatureSet;
 
 import static com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonTokenId.*;
 
@@ -19,7 +18,7 @@
  * @since 2.9
  */
 public abstract class NonBlockingJsonParserBase
-    extends ParserBase
+    extends JsonParserBase
 {
     /*
     /**********************************************************************
@@ -255,31 +254,27 @@ public abstract class NonBlockingJsonParserBase
     public NonBlockingJsonParserBase(IOContext ctxt, int parserFeatures,
             ByteQuadsCanonicalizer sym)
     {
-        super(ctxt, parserFeatures);
+        super(ctxt, parserFeatures, null);
         _symbols = sym;
         _currToken = null;
         _majorState = MAJOR_INITIAL;
         _majorStateAfterValue = MAJOR_ROOT;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public ObjectCodec getCodec() {
-        return null;
-    }
-
     @Override
     public void setCodec(ObjectCodec c) {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Can not use ObjectMapper with non-blocking parser");
     }
 
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************
+    /* Capability introspection
+    /**********************************************************
+     */
+    
     @Override // since 2.9
     public boolean canParseAsync() { return true; }
 
-    @Override // @since 2.12
-    public JacksonFeatureSet<StreamReadCapability> getReadCapabilities() {
-        return JSON_READ_CAPABILITIES;
-    }
-
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Test support
@@ -345,7 +340,7 @@ public boolean hasTextCharacters()
     }
 
     @Override
-    public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation()
+    public JsonLocation currentLocation()
     {
         int col = _inputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
         // Since we track CR and LF separately, max should gives us right answer
@@ -355,8 +350,18 @@ public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation()
                 row, col);
     }
 
+    @Override // @since 2.17
+    protected JsonLocation _currentLocationMinusOne() {
+        final int prevInputPtr = _inputPtr - 1;
+        int row = Math.max(_currInputRow, _currInputRowAlt);
+        final int col = prevInputPtr - _currInputRowStart + 1; // 1-based
+        return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
+                _currInputProcessed + (prevInputPtr - _currBufferStart), -1L, // bytes, chars
+                row, col);
+    }
+
     @Override
-    public JsonLocation getTokenLocation()
+    public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation()
     {
         return new JsonLocation(_contentReference(),
                 _tokenInputTotal, -1L, _tokenInputRow, _tokenInputCol);
@@ -442,7 +447,7 @@ public String getValueAsString() throws IOException
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(null);
     }
@@ -455,7 +460,7 @@ public String getValueAsString(String defValue) throws IOException
             return _textBuffer.contentsAsString();
         }
         if (_currToken == JsonToken.FIELD_NAME) {
-            return getCurrentName();
+            return currentName();
         }
         return super.getValueAsString(defValue);
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingUtf8JsonParserBase.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingUtf8JsonParserBase.java
index de2f081380..0f9594dce4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingUtf8JsonParserBase.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/NonBlockingUtf8JsonParserBase.java
@@ -1107,7 +1107,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startFalseToken() throws IOException
                     && (getByteFromBuffer(ptr++) == 's')
                     && (getByteFromBuffer(ptr++) == 'e')) {
                 int ch = getByteFromBuffer(ptr) & 0xFF;
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     _inputPtr = ptr;
                     return _valueComplete(JsonToken.VALUE_FALSE);
                 }
@@ -1125,7 +1125,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startTrueToken() throws IOException
                     && (getByteFromBuffer(ptr++) == 'u')
                     && (getByteFromBuffer(ptr++) == 'e')) {
                 int ch = getByteFromBuffer(ptr) & 0xFF;
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     _inputPtr = ptr;
                     return _valueComplete(JsonToken.VALUE_TRUE);
                 }
@@ -1143,7 +1143,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startNullToken() throws IOException
                     && (getByteFromBuffer(ptr++) == 'l')
                     && (getByteFromBuffer(ptr++) == 'l')) {
                 int ch = getByteFromBuffer(ptr) & 0xFF;
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     _inputPtr = ptr;
                     return _valueComplete(JsonToken.VALUE_NULL);
                 }
@@ -1165,7 +1165,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishKeywordToken(String expToken, int matched,
             }
             int ch = getByteFromBuffer(_inputPtr);
             if (matched == end) { // need to verify trailing separator
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     return _valueComplete(result);
                 }
                 break;
@@ -1205,7 +1205,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishNonStdToken(int type, int matched) throws IOException
             }
             int ch = getByteFromBuffer(_inputPtr);
             if (matched == end) { // need to verify trailing separator
-                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch == INT_RBRACKET) || (ch == INT_RCURLY)) { // expected/allowed chars
+                if (ch < INT_0 || (ch | 0x20) == INT_RCURLY) { //  < '0' || ~ '}]' expected/allowed chars
                     return _valueNonStdNumberComplete(type);
                 }
                 break;
@@ -1306,7 +1306,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startPositiveNumber(int ch) throws IOException
                 break;
             }
             if (ch > INT_9) {
-                if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE'
                     _intLength = outPtr;
                     ++_inputPtr;
                     return _startFloat(outBuf, outPtr, ch);
@@ -1373,7 +1373,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startNegativeNumber() throws IOException
                 break;
             }
             if (ch > INT_9) {
-                if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE'
                     _intLength = outPtr-1;
                     ++_inputPtr;
                     return _startFloat(outBuf, outPtr, ch);
@@ -1445,7 +1445,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startPositiveNumber() throws IOException
                 break;
             }
             if (ch > INT_9) {
-                if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE'
                     _intLength = outPtr-1;
                     ++_inputPtr;
                     return _startFloat(outBuf, outPtr, ch);
@@ -1492,7 +1492,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startNumberLeadingZero() throws IOException
                 return _startFloat(outBuf, 1, ch);
             }
         } else if (ch > INT_9) {
-            if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+            if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE'
                 _inputPtr = ptr;
                 _intLength = 1;
                 char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
@@ -1502,7 +1502,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startNumberLeadingZero() throws IOException
             // Ok; unfortunately we have closing bracket/curly that are valid so need
             // (colon not possible since this is within value, not after key)
             //
-            if ((ch != INT_RBRACKET) && (ch != INT_RCURLY)) {
+            if ((ch | 0x20) != INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                 _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(ch,
                         "expected digit (0-9), decimal point (.) or exponent indicator (e/E) to follow '0'");
             }
@@ -1590,7 +1590,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishNumberLeadingZeroes() throws IOException
                     return _startFloat(outBuf, 1, ch);
                 }
             } else if (ch > INT_9) {
-                if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE'
                     char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
                     outBuf[0] = '0';
                     _intLength = 1;
@@ -1599,7 +1599,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishNumberLeadingZeroes() throws IOException
                 // Ok; unfortunately we have closing bracket/curly that are valid so need
                 // (colon not possible since this is within value, not after key)
                 //
-                if ((ch != INT_RBRACKET) && (ch != INT_RCURLY)) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) != INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                     _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(ch,
                             "expected digit (0-9), decimal point (.) or exponent indicator (e/E) to follow '0'");
                 }
@@ -1649,7 +1649,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishNumberLeadingPosNegZeroes(final boolean negative) thr
                     return _startFloat(outBuf, 2, ch);
                 }
             } else if (ch > INT_9) {
-                if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE'
                     char[] outBuf = _textBuffer.emptyAndGetCurrentSegment();
                     outBuf[0] = negative ? '-' : '+';
                     outBuf[1] = '0';
@@ -1659,7 +1659,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishNumberLeadingPosNegZeroes(final boolean negative) thr
                 // Ok; unfortunately we have closing bracket/curly that are valid so need
                 // (colon not possible since this is within value, not after key)
                 //
-                if ((ch != INT_RBRACKET) && (ch != INT_RCURLY)) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) != INT_RCURLY) { // ~ '}]'
                     _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(ch,
                             "expected digit (0-9), decimal point (.) or exponent indicator (e/E) to follow '0'");
                 }
@@ -1703,7 +1703,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishNumberIntegralPart(char[] outBuf, int outPtr) throws
                 break;
             }
             if (ch > INT_9) {
-                if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) {
+                if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE'
                     _intLength = outPtr+negMod;
                     ++_inputPtr;
                     return _startFloat(outBuf, outPtr, ch);
@@ -1758,7 +1758,7 @@ protected JsonToken _startFloat(char[] outBuf, int outPtr, int ch) throws IOExce
         }
         _fractLength = fractLen;
         int expLen = 0;
-        if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) { // exponent?
+        if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE' exponent?
             if (outPtr >= outBuf.length) {
                 outBuf = _textBuffer.expandCurrentSegment();
             }
@@ -1833,7 +1833,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishFloatFraction() throws IOException
                     return JsonToken.NOT_AVAILABLE;
                 }
                 ch = getNextSignedByteFromBuffer();
-            } else if (ch == 'f' || ch == 'd' || ch == 'F' || ch == 'D') {
+            } else if ((ch | 0x22) == 'f') { // ~ fFdD
                 _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(ch, "JSON does not support parsing numbers that have 'f' or 'd' suffixes");
             } else if (ch == INT_PERIOD) {
                 _reportUnexpectedNumberChar(ch, "Cannot parse number with more than one decimal point");
@@ -1853,7 +1853,7 @@ protected JsonToken _finishFloatFraction() throws IOException
         _textBuffer.setCurrentLength(outPtr);
 
         // Ok: end of floating point number or exponent?
-        if (ch == INT_e || ch == INT_E) { // exponent?
+        if ((ch | 0x20) == INT_e) { // ~ 'eE' exponent?
             _textBuffer.append((char) ch);
             _expLength = 0;
             if (_inputPtr >= _inputEnd) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/ByteQuadsCanonicalizer.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/ByteQuadsCanonicalizer.java
index 1df0e03dd1..e705ab7c18 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/ByteQuadsCanonicalizer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/ByteQuadsCanonicalizer.java
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ private ByteQuadsCanonicalizer(int sz, int seed)
                 sz = curr;
             }
         }
-        _tableInfo = new AtomicReference<TableInfo>(TableInfo.createInitial(sz));
+        _tableInfo = new AtomicReference<>(TableInfo.createInitial(sz));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1096,13 +1096,18 @@ private int _resizeAndFindOffsetForAdd(int hash) throws StreamConstraintsExcepti
         return offset;
     }
 
+    // @since 2.17
+    static int multiplyByFourFifths(int number) {
+        return (int) (number * 3_435_973_837L >>> 32);
+    }
+
     // Helper method for checking if we should simply rehash() before add
     private boolean _checkNeedForRehash() {
         // Yes if above 80%, or above 50% AND have ~1% spill-overs
         if (_count > (_hashSize >> 1)) { // over 50%
             int spillCount = (_spilloverEnd - _spilloverStart()) >> 2;
             if ((spillCount > (1 + _count >> 7))
-                    || (_count > (_hashSize * 0.80))) {
+                    || (_count > multiplyByFourFifths(_hashSize))) {
                 return true;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/CharsToNameCanonicalizer.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/CharsToNameCanonicalizer.java
index f5c39a61d7..88b77eb6c1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/CharsToNameCanonicalizer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/CharsToNameCanonicalizer.java
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ private CharsToNameCanonicalizer(StreamReadConstraints src, int factoryFeatures,
         _hashShared = false; // doesn't really matter for root instance
         _longestCollisionList = 0;
 
-        _tableInfo = new AtomicReference<TableInfo>(TableInfo.createInitial(DEFAULT_T_SIZE));
+        _tableInfo = new AtomicReference<>(TableInfo.createInitial(DEFAULT_T_SIZE));
         // and actually do NOT assign buffers so we'll find if anyone tried to
         // use root instance
     }
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@ public int _hashToIndex(int rawHash) {
     public int calcHash(char[] buffer, int start, int len) {
         int hash = _seed;
         for (int i = start, end = start+len; i < end; ++i) {
-            hash = (hash * HASH_MULT) + (int) buffer[i];
+            hash = (hash * HASH_MULT) + buffer[i];
         }
         // NOTE: shuffling, if any, is done in 'findSymbol()', not here:
         return (hash == 0) ? 1 : hash;
@@ -671,7 +671,7 @@ public int calcHash(String key)
 
         int hash = _seed;
         for (int i = 0; i < len; ++i) {
-            hash = (hash * HASH_MULT) + (int) key.charAt(i);
+            hash = (hash * HASH_MULT) + key.charAt(i);
         }
         // NOTE: shuffling, if any, is done in 'findSymbol()', not here:
         return (hash == 0) ? 1 : hash;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecycler.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecycler.java
index 4a8913161c..a76167f4a0 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecycler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecycler.java
@@ -20,6 +20,20 @@
 public class BufferRecycler
     implements RecyclerPool.WithPool<BufferRecycler>
 {
+    /**
+     * Tag-on interface to allow various other types to expose {@link BufferRecycler}
+     * they are constructed with.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public interface Gettable {
+        /**
+         * @return Buffer recycler instance object is configured with, if any;
+         *    whether this can be {@code null} depends on type of object
+         */
+        public BufferRecycler bufferRecycler();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Buffer used for reading byte-based input.
      */
@@ -91,7 +105,7 @@ public class BufferRecycler
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
-    /* Construction
+    /* Life-cycle
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
@@ -113,8 +127,18 @@ public BufferRecycler() {
      * @since 2.4
      */
     protected BufferRecycler(int bbCount, int cbCount) {
-        _byteBuffers = new AtomicReferenceArray<byte[]>(bbCount);
-        _charBuffers = new AtomicReferenceArray<char[]>(cbCount);
+        _byteBuffers = new AtomicReferenceArray<>(bbCount);
+        _charBuffers = new AtomicReferenceArray<>(cbCount);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return True if this recycler is linked to pool and may be released
+     *   with {@link #releaseToPool()}; false if no linkage exists.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public boolean isLinkedWithPool() {
+        return _pool != null;
     }
 
     /*
@@ -145,7 +169,12 @@ public byte[] allocByteBuffer(int ix, int minSize) {
     }
 
     public void releaseByteBuffer(int ix, byte[] buffer) {
-        _byteBuffers.set(ix, buffer);
+        // 13-Jan-2024, tatu: [core#1186] Replace only if beneficial:
+        byte[] oldBuffer = _byteBuffers.get(ix);
+        if ((oldBuffer == null) || buffer.length > oldBuffer.length) {
+            // Could use CAS, but should not really matter
+            _byteBuffers.set(ix, buffer);
+        }
     }
 
     /*
@@ -171,7 +200,12 @@ public char[] allocCharBuffer(int ix, int minSize) {
     }
 
     public void releaseCharBuffer(int ix, char[] buffer) {
-        _charBuffers.set(ix, buffer);
+        // 13-Jan-2024, tatu: [core#1186] Replace only if beneficial:
+        char[] oldBuffer = _charBuffers.get(ix);
+        if ((oldBuffer == null) || buffer.length > oldBuffer.length) {
+            // Could use CAS, but should not really matter
+            _charBuffers.set(ix, buffer);
+        }
     }
 
     /*
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecyclers.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecyclers.java
index 2f49c9e45c..5078ccd783 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecyclers.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/BufferRecyclers.java
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public class BufferRecyclers
      * buffer recycling between reader and writer instances.
      */
     final protected static ThreadLocal<SoftReference<BufferRecycler>> _recyclerRef
-        = new ThreadLocal<SoftReference<BufferRecycler>>();
+        = new ThreadLocal<>();
 
     /**
      * Main accessor to call for accessing possibly recycled {@link BufferRecycler} instance.
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ public static BufferRecycler getBufferRecycler()
             if (_bufferRecyclerTracker != null) {
                 ref = _bufferRecyclerTracker.wrapAndTrack(br);
             } else {
-                ref = new SoftReference<BufferRecycler>(br);
+                ref = new SoftReference<>(br);
             }
             _recyclerRef.set(ref);
         }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilder.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilder.java
index 85cbcd0e96..6ad10bac19 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilder.java
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@
  * theoretically this builder can aggregate more content it will not be usable
  * as things are. Behavior may be improved if we solve the access problem.
  */
-public final class ByteArrayBuilder extends OutputStream
+public final class ByteArrayBuilder
+    extends OutputStream
+    implements BufferRecycler.Gettable
 {
     public final static byte[] NO_BYTES = new byte[0];
 
@@ -41,7 +43,7 @@ public final class ByteArrayBuilder extends OutputStream
 
     // Optional buffer recycler instance that we can use for allocating the first block.
     private final BufferRecycler _bufferRecycler;
-    private final LinkedList<byte[]> _pastBlocks = new LinkedList<byte[]>();
+    private final LinkedList<byte[]> _pastBlocks = new LinkedList<>();
 
     // Number of bytes within byte arrays in {@link _pastBlocks}.
     private int _pastLen;
@@ -93,7 +95,7 @@ public int size() {
     /**
      * Clean up method to call to release all buffers this object may be
      * using. After calling the method, no other accessors can be used (and
-     * attempt to do so may result in an exception)
+     * attempt to do so may result in an exception).
      */
     public void release() {
         reset();
@@ -180,6 +182,37 @@ public byte[] toByteArray()
         return result;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Method functionally same as calling:
+     *<pre>
+     *  byte[] bytes = toByteArray();
+     *  release();
+     *  return bytes;
+     *</pre>
+     * that is; aggregates output contained in the builder (if any),
+     * clear state; returns buffer(s) to {@link BufferRecycler} configured,
+     * if any, and returns output to caller.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public byte[] getClearAndRelease()
+    {
+        byte[] result = toByteArray();
+        release();
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    /*
+    /**********************************************************
+    /* BufferRecycler.Gettable implementation
+    /**********************************************************
+     */
+
+    @Override
+    public BufferRecycler bufferRecycler() {
+        return _bufferRecycler;
+    }
+
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Non-stream API (similar to TextBuffer)
@@ -260,7 +293,12 @@ public void write(int b) {
         append(b);
     }
 
-    @Override public void close() { /* NOP */ }
+    @Override
+    public void close() {
+        // 18-Jan-2024, tatu: Ideally would call `release()` but currently
+        //   not possible due to existing usage
+    }
+
     @Override public void flush() { /* NOP */ }
 
     /*
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/DefaultPrettyPrinter.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/DefaultPrettyPrinter.java
index 2e233306b8..dfaafdea17 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/DefaultPrettyPrinter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/DefaultPrettyPrinter.java
@@ -110,10 +110,26 @@ public interface Indenter
      */
     protected String _objectEntrySeparator;
 
+    /**
+     * String to use in empty Object to separate start and end markers.
+     * Default is single space, resulting in output of {@code { }}.
+     * 
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    protected String _objectEmptySeparator;
+
     /**
      * @since 2.16
      */
     protected String _arrayValueSeparator;
+
+    /**
+     * String to use in empty Array to separate start and end markers.
+     * Default is single space, resulting in output of {@code [ ]}.
+     * 
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    protected String _arrayEmptySeparator;
     
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -135,7 +151,7 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter() {
      * @param rootSeparator String to use as root value separator
      * @deprecated in 2.16. Use the Separators API instead.
      */
-    @Deprecated
+    @Deprecated // since 2.16
     public DefaultPrettyPrinter(String rootSeparator) {
         this((rootSeparator == null) ? null : new SerializedString(rootSeparator));
     }
@@ -147,7 +163,7 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter(String rootSeparator) {
      * @param rootSeparator String to use as root value separator
      * @deprecated in 2.16. Use the Separators API instead.
      */
-    @Deprecated
+    @Deprecated // since 2.16
     public DefaultPrettyPrinter(SerializableString rootSeparator) {
         this(DEFAULT_SEPARATORS.withRootSeparator(rootSeparator.getValue()));
     }
@@ -155,7 +171,7 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter(SerializableString rootSeparator) {
     /**
      * @deprecated in 2.16. Use the Separators API instead.
      */
-    @Deprecated
+    @Deprecated // since 2.16
     public DefaultPrettyPrinter(DefaultPrettyPrinter base,
             SerializableString rootSeparator)
     {
@@ -167,7 +183,9 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter(DefaultPrettyPrinter base,
         _separators = base._separators;
         _objectFieldValueSeparatorWithSpaces = base._objectFieldValueSeparatorWithSpaces;
         _objectEntrySeparator = base._objectEntrySeparator;
+        _objectEmptySeparator = base._objectEmptySeparator;
         _arrayValueSeparator = base._arrayValueSeparator;
+        _arrayEmptySeparator = base._arrayEmptySeparator;
 
         _rootSeparator = rootSeparator;
     }
@@ -183,7 +201,9 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter(Separators separators)
         _objectFieldValueSeparatorWithSpaces = separators.getObjectFieldValueSpacing().apply(
                 separators.getObjectFieldValueSeparator());
         _objectEntrySeparator = separators.getObjectEntrySpacing().apply(separators.getObjectEntrySeparator());
+        _objectEmptySeparator = separators.getObjectEmptySeparator();
         _arrayValueSeparator = separators.getArrayValueSpacing().apply(separators.getArrayValueSeparator());
+        _arrayEmptySeparator = separators.getArrayEmptySeparator();
     }
     
     /**
@@ -202,13 +222,15 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter(DefaultPrettyPrinter base) {
         _separators = base._separators;
         _objectFieldValueSeparatorWithSpaces = base._objectFieldValueSeparatorWithSpaces;
         _objectEntrySeparator = base._objectEntrySeparator;
+        _objectEmptySeparator = base._objectEmptySeparator;
         _arrayValueSeparator = base._arrayValueSeparator;
+        _arrayEmptySeparator = base._arrayEmptySeparator;
     }
 
     /**
      * @deprecated in 2.16. Use the Separators API instead.
      */
-    @Deprecated
+    @Deprecated // since 2.16
     public DefaultPrettyPrinter withRootSeparator(SerializableString rootSeparator)
     {
         if (_rootSeparator == rootSeparator ||
@@ -228,7 +250,7 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter withRootSeparator(SerializableString rootSeparator)
      * @since 2.6
      * @deprecated in 2.16. Use the Separators API instead.
      */
-    @Deprecated
+    @Deprecated // since 2.16
     public DefaultPrettyPrinter withRootSeparator(String rootSeparator) {
         return withRootSeparator((rootSeparator == null) ? null : new SerializedString(rootSeparator));
     }
@@ -278,7 +300,7 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter withObjectIndenter(Indenter i) {
      * @since 2.3
      * @deprecated in 2.16. Use the Separators API instead.
      */
-    @Deprecated
+    @Deprecated // since 2.16
     public DefaultPrettyPrinter withSpacesInObjectEntries() {
         return _withSpaces(true);
     }
@@ -294,7 +316,7 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter withSpacesInObjectEntries() {
      * @since 2.3
      * @deprecated in 2.16. Use the Separators API instead.
      */
-    @Deprecated
+    @Deprecated // since 2.16
     public DefaultPrettyPrinter withoutSpacesInObjectEntries() {
         return _withSpaces(false);
     }
@@ -328,7 +350,9 @@ public DefaultPrettyPrinter withSeparators(Separators separators) {
         result._objectFieldValueSeparatorWithSpaces = separators.getObjectFieldValueSpacing().apply(
                 separators.getObjectFieldValueSeparator());
         result._objectEntrySeparator = separators.getObjectEntrySpacing().apply(separators.getObjectEntrySeparator());
+        result._objectEmptySeparator = separators.getObjectEmptySeparator();
         result._arrayValueSeparator = separators.getArrayValueSpacing().apply(separators.getArrayValueSeparator());
+        result._arrayEmptySeparator = separators.getArrayEmptySeparator();
 
         return result;
     }
@@ -417,7 +441,7 @@ public void writeEndObject(JsonGenerator g, int nrOfEntries) throws IOException
         if (nrOfEntries > 0) {
             _objectIndenter.writeIndentation(g, _nesting);
         } else {
-            g.writeRaw(' ');
+            g.writeRaw(_objectEmptySeparator);
         }
         g.writeRaw('}');
     }
@@ -461,7 +485,7 @@ public void writeEndArray(JsonGenerator g, int nrOfValues) throws IOException
         if (nrOfValues > 0) {
             _arrayIndenter.writeIndentation(g, _nesting);
         } else {
-            g.writeRaw(' ');
+            g.writeRaw(_arrayEmptySeparator);
         }
         g.writeRaw(']');
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JacksonFeatureSet.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JacksonFeatureSet.java
index 970155d95e..42b8780885 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JacksonFeatureSet.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JacksonFeatureSet.java
@@ -52,11 +52,11 @@ public static <F extends JacksonFeature> JacksonFeatureSet<F> fromDefaults(F[] a
                 flags |= f.getMask();
             }
         }
-        return new JacksonFeatureSet<F>(flags);
+        return new JacksonFeatureSet<>(flags);
     }
 
     public static <F extends JacksonFeature> JacksonFeatureSet<F> fromBitmask(int bitmask) {
-        return new JacksonFeatureSet<F>(bitmask);
+        return new JacksonFeatureSet<>(bitmask);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ public static <F extends JacksonFeature> JacksonFeatureSet<F> fromBitmask(int bi
      */
     public JacksonFeatureSet<F> with(F feature) {
         int newMask = _enabled | feature.getMask();
-        return (newMask == _enabled) ? this : new JacksonFeatureSet<F>(newMask);
+        return (newMask == _enabled) ? this : new JacksonFeatureSet<>(newMask);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ public JacksonFeatureSet<F> with(F feature) {
      */
     public JacksonFeatureSet<F> without(F feature) {
         int newMask = _enabled & ~feature.getMask();
-        return (newMask == _enabled) ? this : new JacksonFeatureSet<F>(newMask);
+        return (newMask == _enabled) ? this : new JacksonFeatureSet<>(newMask);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonGeneratorDelegate.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonGeneratorDelegate.java
index 5879063d62..aec751e7ff 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonGeneratorDelegate.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonGeneratorDelegate.java
@@ -66,11 +66,11 @@ public JsonGeneratorDelegate(JsonGenerator d, boolean delegateCopyMethods) {
     @Override public void assignCurrentValue(Object v) { delegate.assignCurrentValue(v); }
     @Override public Object currentValue() { return delegate.currentValue(); }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     @Override
     public void setCurrentValue(Object v) { delegate.setCurrentValue(v); }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     @Override
     public Object getCurrentValue() { return delegate.getCurrentValue(); }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserDelegate.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserDelegate.java
index 6b98df449c..f69e85002a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserDelegate.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserDelegate.java
@@ -135,8 +135,8 @@ public boolean requiresCustomCodec() {
     @Override // since 2.13
     public void assignCurrentValue(Object v) { delegate.assignCurrentValue(v); }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
     @Override
+    @Deprecated
     public void setCurrentValue(Object v) { delegate.setCurrentValue(v); }
 
     /*
@@ -150,27 +150,34 @@ public boolean requiresCustomCodec() {
     @Override public JsonToken currentToken() { return delegate.currentToken(); }
     @Override public int currentTokenId() { return delegate.currentTokenId(); }
     @Override public String currentName() throws IOException { return delegate.currentName(); }
-    @Override // since 2.13
-    public Object currentValue() { return delegate.currentValue(); }
+    @Override public Object currentValue() { return delegate.currentValue(); }
 
-    @Override // since 2.13
-    public JsonLocation currentLocation() { return delegate.getCurrentLocation(); }
-    @Override // since 2.13
-    public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation() { return delegate.getTokenLocation(); }
+    @Override public JsonLocation currentLocation() { return delegate.currentLocation(); }
+    @Override public JsonLocation currentTokenLocation() { return delegate.currentTokenLocation(); }
+
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated
+    public JsonToken getCurrentToken() { return delegate.getCurrentToken(); }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
-    @Override public JsonToken getCurrentToken() { return delegate.getCurrentToken(); }
     @Deprecated // since 2.12
-    @Override public int getCurrentTokenId() { return delegate.getCurrentTokenId(); }
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
-    @Override public String getCurrentName() throws IOException { return delegate.getCurrentName(); }
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
-    @Override public Object getCurrentValue() { return delegate.getCurrentValue(); }
+    @Override
+    public int getCurrentTokenId() { return delegate.getCurrentTokenId(); }
 
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
-    @Override public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() { return delegate.getCurrentLocation(); }
-    // TODO: deprecate in 2.14 or later
-    @Override public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() { return delegate.getTokenLocation(); }
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public String getCurrentName() throws IOException { return delegate.getCurrentName(); }
+
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public Object getCurrentValue() { return delegate.getCurrentValue(); }
+
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public JsonLocation getCurrentLocation() { return delegate.getCurrentLocation(); }
+
+    @Override
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
+    public JsonLocation getTokenLocation() { return delegate.getTokenLocation(); }
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************************
@@ -237,6 +244,9 @@ public boolean requiresCustomCodec() {
     @Override
     public NumberType getNumberType() throws IOException { return delegate.getNumberType(); }
 
+    @Override
+    public NumberTypeFP getNumberTypeFP() throws IOException { return delegate.getNumberTypeFP(); }
+
     @Override
     public Number getNumberValue() throws IOException { return delegate.getNumberValue(); }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserSequence.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserSequence.java
index 1c5889ff78..5ea25ca6a0 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserSequence.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonParserSequence.java
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ public static JsonParserSequence createFlattened(boolean checkForExistingToken,
             return new JsonParserSequence(checkForExistingToken,
                     new JsonParser[] { first, second });
         }
-        ArrayList<JsonParser> p = new ArrayList<JsonParser>();
+        ArrayList<JsonParser> p = new ArrayList<>();
         if (first instanceof JsonParserSequence) {
             ((JsonParserSequence) first).addFlattenedActiveParsers(p);
         } else {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonRecyclerPools.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonRecyclerPools.java
index 5f38d3e23b..4547b2c36b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonRecyclerPools.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonRecyclerPools.java
@@ -18,12 +18,15 @@
 public final class JsonRecyclerPools
 {
     /**
-     * @return the default {@link RecyclerPool} implementation
-     *   which is the thread local based one:
-     *   basically alias to {@link #threadLocalPool()}).
+     * Method to call to get the default recycler pool instance:
+     * as of Jackson 2.17 this is same as calling
+     * {@link #newLockFreePool()}; earlier 
+     *
+     * @return the default {@link RecyclerPool} implementation to use
+     *   if no specific implementation desired.
      */
     public static RecyclerPool<BufferRecycler> defaultPool() {
-        return threadLocalPool();
+        return newLockFreePool();
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/RecyclerPool.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/RecyclerPool.java
index 2a6c1e0f5f..fb374beeaa 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/RecyclerPool.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/RecyclerPool.java
@@ -97,6 +97,20 @@ default P acquireAndLinkPooled() {
      */
     void releasePooled(P pooled);
 
+    /**
+     * Optional method that may allow dropping of all pooled Objects; mostly
+     * useful for unbounded pool implementations that may retain significant
+     * memory and that may then be cleared regularly.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     *
+     * @return {@code true} If pool supports operation and dropped all pooled
+     *    Objects; {@code false} otherwise.
+     */
+    default boolean clear() {
+        return false;
+    }
+
     /*
     /**********************************************************************
     /* Partial/base RecyclerPool implementations
@@ -133,7 +147,13 @@ public P acquireAndLinkPooled() {
 
         @Override
         public void releasePooled(P pooled) {
-            ; // nothing to do, relies on ThreadLocal
+             // nothing to do, relies on ThreadLocal
+        }
+
+        // Due to use of ThreadLocal no tracking available; cannot clear
+        @Override
+        public boolean clear() {
+            return false;
         }
     }
 
@@ -158,7 +178,18 @@ public P acquireAndLinkPooled() {
 
         @Override
         public void releasePooled(P pooled) {
-            ; // nothing to do, there is no underlying pool
+             // nothing to do, there is no underlying pool
+        }
+
+        /**
+         * Although no pooling occurs, we consider clearing to succeed,
+         * so returns always {@code true}.
+         *
+         * @return Always returns {@code true}
+         */
+        @Override
+        public boolean clear() {
+            return true;
         }
     }
 
@@ -226,11 +257,16 @@ public P acquirePooled() {
             return pooled;
         }
 
-        
         @Override
         public void releasePooled(P pooled) {
             pool.offerLast(pooled);
         }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean clear() {
+            pool.clear();
+            return true;
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -294,6 +330,13 @@ protected static class Node<P> {
                 this.value = value;
             }
         }
+
+        // Yes, we can clear it
+        @Override
+        public boolean clear() {
+            head.set(null);
+            return true;
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -342,6 +385,12 @@ public void releasePooled(P pooled) {
             pool.offer(pooled);
         }
 
+        @Override
+        public boolean clear() {
+            pool.clear();
+            return true;
+        }
+
         // // // Other methods
 
         public int capacity() {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/Separators.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/Separators.java
index 057c2bf881..1416d0d694 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/Separators.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/Separators.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.Objects;
 
 /**
  * Value class used with some {@link com.fasterxml.jackson.core.PrettyPrinter}
@@ -23,6 +24,22 @@ public class Separators implements Serializable
      */
     public final static String DEFAULT_ROOT_VALUE_SEPARATOR = " ";
 
+    /**
+     * String to use in empty Object to separate start and end markers.
+     * Default is single space, resulting in output of {@code { }}.
+     * 
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public final static String DEFAULT_OBJECT_EMPTY_SEPARATOR = " ";
+
+    /**
+     * String to use in empty Array to separate start and end markers.
+     * Default is single space, resulting in output of {@code [ ]}.
+     * 
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public final static String DEFAULT_ARRAY_EMPTY_SEPARATOR = " ";
+
     /**
      * Define the spacing around elements like commas and colons.
      * 
@@ -59,14 +76,20 @@ public String apply(char separator) {
     private final Spacing objectFieldValueSpacing;
     private final char objectEntrySeparator;
     private final Spacing objectEntrySpacing;
+    private final String objectEmptySeparator;
     private final char arrayValueSeparator;
     private final Spacing arrayValueSpacing;
+    private final String arrayEmptySeparator;
     private final String rootSeparator;
 
     public static Separators createDefaultInstance() {
         return new Separators();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Constructor for creating an instance with default settings for all
+     * separators.
+     */
     public Separators() {
         this(':', ',', ',');
     }
@@ -82,15 +105,18 @@ public Separators(
     ) {
         this(DEFAULT_ROOT_VALUE_SEPARATOR,
                 objectFieldValueSeparator, Spacing.BOTH,
-                objectEntrySeparator, Spacing.NONE,
-                arrayValueSeparator, Spacing.NONE);
+                objectEntrySeparator, Spacing.NONE, DEFAULT_OBJECT_EMPTY_SEPARATOR,
+                arrayValueSeparator, Spacing.NONE, DEFAULT_ARRAY_EMPTY_SEPARATOR);
     }
 
     /**
      * Create an instance with the specified separator characters and spaces around those characters.
      * 
      * @since 2.16
+     *
+     * @deprecated Since 2.17 use new canonical constructor
      */
+    @Deprecated // since 2.17
     public Separators(
             String rootSeparator,
             char objectFieldValueSeparator,
@@ -99,24 +125,52 @@ public Separators(
             Spacing objectEntrySpacing,
             char arrayValueSeparator,
             Spacing arrayValueSpacing
+    ) {
+        this(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, DEFAULT_OBJECT_EMPTY_SEPARATOR,
+                arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, DEFAULT_ARRAY_EMPTY_SEPARATOR);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Canonical constructor for creating an instance with the specified separator
+     * characters and spaces around those characters.
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public Separators(
+            String rootSeparator,
+            char objectFieldValueSeparator,
+            Spacing objectFieldValueSpacing,
+            char objectEntrySeparator,
+            Spacing objectEntrySpacing,
+            String objectEmptySeparator,
+            char arrayValueSeparator,
+            Spacing arrayValueSpacing,
+            String arrayEmptySeparator
     ) {
         this.rootSeparator = rootSeparator;
         this.objectFieldValueSeparator = objectFieldValueSeparator;
         this.objectFieldValueSpacing = objectFieldValueSpacing;
         this.objectEntrySeparator = objectEntrySeparator;
         this.objectEntrySpacing = objectEntrySpacing;
+        this.objectEmptySeparator = objectEmptySeparator;
         this.arrayValueSeparator = arrayValueSeparator;
         this.arrayValueSpacing = arrayValueSpacing;
+        this.arrayEmptySeparator = arrayEmptySeparator;
     }
 
     public Separators withRootSeparator(String sep) {
-        return (rootSeparator.equals(sep)) ? this
-                : new Separators(sep, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing, objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing);
+        return Objects.equals(rootSeparator, sep) ? this
+                : new Separators(sep, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
     }
-    
+
     public Separators withObjectFieldValueSeparator(char sep) {
         return (objectFieldValueSeparator == sep) ? this
-                : new Separators(rootSeparator, sep, objectFieldValueSpacing, objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing);
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, sep, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -126,12 +180,16 @@ public Separators withObjectFieldValueSeparator(char sep) {
      */
     public Separators withObjectFieldValueSpacing(Spacing spacing) {
         return (objectFieldValueSpacing == spacing) ? this
-                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, spacing, objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing);
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, spacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
     }
     
     public Separators withObjectEntrySeparator(char sep) {
         return (objectEntrySeparator == sep) ? this
-                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing, sep, objectEntrySpacing, arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing);
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        sep, objectEntrySpacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
     }
     
     /**
@@ -141,12 +199,28 @@ public Separators withObjectEntrySeparator(char sep) {
      */
     public Separators withObjectEntrySpacing(Spacing spacing) {
         return (objectEntrySpacing == spacing) ? this
-                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing, objectEntrySeparator, spacing, arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing);
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, spacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return This instance (for call chaining)
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public Separators withObjectEmptySeparator(String sep) {
+        return Objects.equals(objectEmptySeparator, sep) ? this
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, sep,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
     }
 
     public Separators withArrayValueSeparator(char sep) {
         return (arrayValueSeparator == sep) ? this
-                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing, objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, sep, arrayValueSpacing);
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        sep, arrayValueSpacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -156,7 +230,21 @@ public Separators withArrayValueSeparator(char sep) {
      */
     public Separators withArrayValueSpacing(Spacing spacing) {
         return (arrayValueSpacing == spacing) ? this
-                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing, objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, arrayValueSeparator, spacing);
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, spacing, arrayEmptySeparator);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return This instance (for call chaining)
+     *
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public Separators withArrayEmptySeparator(String sep) {
+        return Objects.equals(arrayEmptySeparator, sep) ? this
+                : new Separators(rootSeparator, objectFieldValueSeparator, objectFieldValueSpacing,
+                        objectEntrySeparator, objectEntrySpacing, objectEmptySeparator,
+                        arrayValueSeparator, arrayValueSpacing, sep);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -193,6 +281,15 @@ public char getObjectEntrySeparator() {
     public Spacing getObjectEntrySpacing() {
         return objectEntrySpacing;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * @return String to use in empty Object
+     * 
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public String getObjectEmptySeparator() {
+        return objectEmptySeparator;
+    }
     
     public char getArrayValueSeparator() {
         return arrayValueSeparator;
@@ -206,4 +303,13 @@ public char getArrayValueSeparator() {
     public Spacing getArrayValueSpacing() {
         return arrayValueSpacing;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * @return String to use in empty Array
+     * 
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public String getArrayEmptySeparator() {
+        return arrayEmptySeparator;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TextBuffer.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TextBuffer.java
index f7bc862779..4822506687 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TextBuffer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TextBuffer.java
@@ -372,6 +372,13 @@ private void clearSegments()
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
+    /**
+     * @since 2.17
+     */
+    public BufferRecycler bufferRecycler() {
+        return _allocator;
+    }
+
     /**
      * @return Number of characters currently stored in this buffer
      */
@@ -926,7 +933,7 @@ public String setCurrentAndReturn(int len) throws IOException {
      */
     public char[] finishCurrentSegment() throws IOException {
         if (_segments == null) {
-            _segments = new ArrayList<char[]>();
+            _segments = new ArrayList<>();
         }
         _hasSegments = true;
         _segments.add(_currentSegment);
@@ -1091,7 +1098,7 @@ private void expand()
     {
         // First, let's move current segment to segment list:
         if (_segments == null) {
-            _segments = new ArrayList<char[]>();
+            _segments = new ArrayList<>();
         }
         char[] curr = _currentSegment;
         _hasSegments = true;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ThreadLocalBufferManager.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ThreadLocalBufferManager.java
index aff68ee8e6..6dbe7a594a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ThreadLocalBufferManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ThreadLocalBufferManager.java
@@ -36,13 +36,13 @@ class ThreadLocalBufferManager
      * we do not need to use something like {@link IdentityHashMap}
      */
     private final Map<SoftReference<BufferRecycler>,Boolean> _trackedRecyclers
-        = new ConcurrentHashMap<SoftReference<BufferRecycler>, Boolean>();
+        = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
     /**
      * Queue where gc will put just-cleared SoftReferences, previously referencing BufferRecyclers.
      * We use it to remove the cleared softRefs from the above set.
      */
-    private final ReferenceQueue<BufferRecycler> _refQueue = new ReferenceQueue<BufferRecycler>();
+    private final ReferenceQueue<BufferRecycler> _refQueue = new ReferenceQueue<>();
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ public int releaseBuffers() {
 
     public SoftReference<BufferRecycler> wrapAndTrack(BufferRecycler br) {
         SoftReference<BufferRecycler> newRef;
-        newRef = new SoftReference<BufferRecycler>(br, _refQueue);
+        newRef = new SoftReference<>(br, _refQueue);
         // also retain softRef to br in a set to be able to release it on shutdown
         _trackedRecyclers.put(newRef, true);
         // gc may have cleared one or more SoftRefs, clean them up to avoid a memleak
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/VersionUtil.java b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/VersionUtil.java
index d8f830eba5..b38cd53cb6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/VersionUtil.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/VersionUtil.java
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ public static Version versionFor(Class<?> cls)
             } catch (Exception e) {
                 throw new IllegalArgumentException("Failed to get Versioned out of "+vClass);
             }
-        } catch (Exception e) { // ok to be missing (not good but acceptable)
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            // ok to be missing (not good but acceptable)
             ;
         }
         return (v == null) ? Version.unknownVersion() : v;
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/BaseTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/BaseTest.java
index f1313048fc..33204ffea6 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/BaseTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/BaseTest.java
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@
 
 import junit.framework.TestCase;
 
+/**
+ * Base class for JUnit 4 based tests. To be deprecated from
+ * Jackson 2.18 or later.
+ */
 @SuppressWarnings("resource")
 public abstract class BaseTest
     extends TestCase
@@ -167,150 +171,7 @@ public boolean equals(Object o)
         }
     }
 
-    protected final JsonFactory JSON_FACTORY = new JsonFactory();
-
-    /*
-    /**********************************************************
-    /* High-level helpers
-    /**********************************************************
-     */
-
-    protected void verifyJsonSpecSampleDoc(JsonParser p, boolean verifyContents)
-        throws IOException
-    {
-        verifyJsonSpecSampleDoc(p, verifyContents, true);
-    }
-
-    protected void verifyJsonSpecSampleDoc(JsonParser p, boolean verifyContents,
-            boolean requireNumbers)
-        throws IOException
-    {
-        if (!p.hasCurrentToken()) {
-            p.nextToken();
-        }
-        // first basic check, mostly for test coverage
-        assertNull(p.getTypeId());
-        assertNull(p.getObjectId());
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.currentToken()); // main object
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Image'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Image");
-        }
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'image' object
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Width'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Width");
-        }
-
-        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers);
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_WIDTH);
-        }
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Height'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Height");
-        }
-
-        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers);
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_HEIGHT);
-        }
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Title'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Title");
-        }
-        assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
-        assertEquals(SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TITLE, getAndVerifyText(p));
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Thumbnail'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Thumbnail");
-        }
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'thumbnail' object
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Url'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Url");
-        }
-        assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            assertEquals(SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_URL, getAndVerifyText(p));
-        }
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Height'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Height");
-        }
-        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers);
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_HEIGHT);
-        }
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Width'
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyFieldName(p, "Width");
-        }
-        // Width value is actually a String in the example
-        assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            assertEquals(SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_WIDTH, getAndVerifyText(p));
-        }
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.END_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'thumbnail' object
-        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'IDs'
-        assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken()); // 'ids' array
-        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[0]
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID1);
-        }
-        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[1]
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID2);
-        }
-        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[2]
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID3);
-        }
-        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[3]
-        if (verifyContents) {
-            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID4);
-        }
-        assertToken(JsonToken.END_ARRAY, p.nextToken()); // 'ids' array
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.END_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'image' object
-
-        assertToken(JsonToken.END_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // main object
-    }
-
-    private void verifyIntToken(JsonToken t, boolean requireNumbers)
-    {
-        if (t == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT) {
-            return;
-        }
-        if (requireNumbers) { // to get error
-            assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT, t);
-        }
-        // if not number, must be String
-        if (t != JsonToken.VALUE_STRING) {
-            fail("Expected INT or STRING value, got "+t);
-        }
-    }
-
-    protected void verifyFieldName(JsonParser p, String expName)
-        throws IOException
-    {
-        assertEquals(expName, p.getText());
-        assertEquals(expName, p.getCurrentName());
-    }
-
-    protected void verifyIntValue(JsonParser p, long expValue)
-        throws IOException
-    {
-        // First, via textual
-        assertEquals(String.valueOf(expValue), p.getText());
-    }
+    protected final static JsonFactory JSON_FACTORY = new JsonFactory();
 
     /*
     /**********************************************************
@@ -412,19 +273,19 @@ protected JsonParser createParserForDataInput(TokenStreamFactory f,
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    protected JsonGenerator createGenerator(OutputStream out) throws IOException {
+    public static JsonGenerator createGenerator(OutputStream out) throws IOException {
         return createGenerator(JSON_FACTORY, out);
     }
 
-    protected JsonGenerator createGenerator(TokenStreamFactory f, OutputStream out) throws IOException {
+    public static JsonGenerator createGenerator(TokenStreamFactory f, OutputStream out) throws IOException {
         return f.createGenerator(out);
     }
 
-    protected JsonGenerator createGenerator(Writer w) throws IOException {
+    public static JsonGenerator createGenerator(Writer w) throws IOException {
         return createGenerator(JSON_FACTORY, w);
     }
 
-    protected JsonGenerator createGenerator(TokenStreamFactory f, Writer w) throws IOException {
+    public static JsonGenerator createGenerator(TokenStreamFactory f, Writer w) throws IOException {
         return f.createGenerator(w);
     }
 
@@ -487,19 +348,19 @@ protected String readAndWrite(JsonFactory f, JsonParser p) throws IOException
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    protected void assertToken(JsonToken expToken, JsonToken actToken)
+    public static void assertToken(JsonToken expToken, JsonToken actToken)
     {
         if (actToken != expToken) {
             fail("Expected token "+expToken+", current token "+actToken);
         }
     }
 
-    protected void assertToken(JsonToken expToken, JsonParser p)
+    public static void assertToken(JsonToken expToken, JsonParser p)
     {
         assertToken(expToken, p.currentToken());
     }
 
-    protected void assertType(Object ob, Class<?> expType)
+    public static void assertType(Object ob, Class<?> expType)
     {
         if (ob == null) {
             fail("Expected an object of type "+expType.getName()+", got null");
@@ -515,7 +376,7 @@ protected void assertType(Object ob, Class<?> expType)
      * @param anyMatches Array of Strings of which AT LEAST ONE ("any") has to be included
      *    in {@code e.getMessage()} -- using case-INSENSITIVE comparison
      */
-    protected void verifyException(Throwable e, String... anyMatches)
+    public static void verifyException(Throwable e, String... anyMatches)
     {
         String msg = e.getMessage();
         String lmsg = (msg == null) ? "" : msg.toLowerCase();
@@ -533,7 +394,7 @@ protected void verifyException(Throwable e, String... anyMatches)
      * available methods, and ensures results are consistent, before
      * returning them
      */
-    protected String getAndVerifyText(JsonParser p) throws IOException
+    public static String getAndVerifyText(JsonParser p) throws IOException
     {
         // Ok, let's verify other accessors
         int actLen = p.getTextLength();
@@ -555,25 +416,15 @@ protected String getAndVerifyText(JsonParser p) throws IOException
     /**********************************************************
      */
 
-    @Deprecated // use q instead
-    protected static String quote(String str) {
-        return q(str);
-    }
-
     public static String q(String str) {
         return '"'+str+'"';
     }
 
-    @Deprecated // use a2q instead
-    protected static String aposToQuotes(String json) {
-        return a2q(json);
-    }
-
     public static String a2q(String json) {
-        return json.replace("'", "\"");
+        return json.replace('\'', '"');
     }
 
-    protected byte[] encodeInUTF32BE(String input)
+    public static byte[] encodeInUTF32BE(String input)
     {
         int len = input.length();
         byte[] result = new byte[len * 4];
@@ -587,16 +438,22 @@ protected byte[] encodeInUTF32BE(String input)
         return result;
     }
 
-    // @since 2.9.7
-    protected static byte[] utf8Bytes(String str) {
+    public static byte[] utf8Bytes(String str) {
         return str.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
     }
 
-    protected static String utf8String(ByteArrayOutputStream bytes) {
+    public static String utf8String(ByteArrayOutputStream bytes) {
         return new String(bytes.toByteArray(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
     }
 
-    protected void fieldNameFor(StringBuilder sb, int index)
+    public static String fieldNameFor(int index)
+    {
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(16);
+        fieldNameFor(sb, index);
+        return sb.toString();
+    }
+    
+    private static void fieldNameFor(StringBuilder sb, int index)
     {
         /* let's do something like "f1.1" to exercise different
          * field names (important for byte-based codec)
@@ -618,27 +475,20 @@ protected void fieldNameFor(StringBuilder sb, int index)
     }
 
     // @since 2.9.7
-    protected JsonFactory sharedStreamFactory() {
+    public static JsonFactory sharedStreamFactory() {
         return JSON_FACTORY;
     }
 
     // @since 2.9.7
-    protected JsonFactory newStreamFactory() {
+    public static JsonFactory newStreamFactory() {
         return new JsonFactory();
     }
 
     // @since 2.9.8
-    protected JsonFactoryBuilder streamFactoryBuilder() {
+    public static JsonFactoryBuilder streamFactoryBuilder() {
         return (JsonFactoryBuilder) JsonFactory.builder();
     }
 
-    protected String fieldNameFor(int index)
-    {
-        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(16);
-        fieldNameFor(sb, index);
-        return sb.toString();
-    }
-
     protected int[] calcQuads(String word) {
         return calcQuads(utf8Bytes(word));
     }
@@ -663,12 +513,12 @@ protected int[] calcQuads(byte[] wordBytes) {
         return result;
     }
 
-    protected byte[] readResource(String ref)
+    public static byte[] readResource(String ref)
     {
        ByteArrayOutputStream bytes = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
        final byte[] buf = new byte[4000];
 
-       InputStream in = getClass().getResourceAsStream(ref);
+       InputStream in = BaseTest.class.getResourceAsStream(ref);
        if (in != null) {
            try {
                int len;
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestVersions.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ComponentVersionsTest.java
similarity index 77%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestVersions.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ComponentVersionsTest.java
index 5094135e9c..cab50d1dae 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestVersions.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ComponentVersionsTest.java
@@ -1,26 +1,35 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core;
 
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.*;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.sym.CharsToNameCanonicalizer;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.testsupport.TestSupport;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
 
 /**
  * Tests to verify functioning of {@link Version} class.
  */
-public class TestVersions extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
+public class ComponentVersionsTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
+    @Test
     public void testCoreVersions() throws Exception
     {
         final JsonFactory f = new JsonFactory();
         assertVersion(f.version());
-        try (ReaderBasedJsonParser p = new ReaderBasedJsonParser(testIOContext(), 0, null, null,
+        try (ReaderBasedJsonParser p = new ReaderBasedJsonParser(TestSupport.testIOContext(), 0, null, null,
                 CharsToNameCanonicalizer.createRoot(f))) {
             assertVersion(p.version());
         }
-        try (JsonGenerator g = new WriterBasedJsonGenerator(testIOContext(), 0, null, null, '"')) {
+        try (JsonGenerator g = new WriterBasedJsonGenerator(TestSupport.testIOContext(), 0, null, null, '"')) {
             assertVersion(g.version());
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testEquality() {
         Version unk = Version.unknownVersion();
         assertEquals("0.0.0", unk.toString());
@@ -37,6 +46,7 @@ public void testEquality() {
         assertEquals(unk, unk2);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testMisc() {
         Version unk = Version.unknownVersion();
         int hash = unk.hashCode();
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ErrorReportConfigurationTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ErrorReportConfigurationTest.java
index 956d07d070..bfa244c354 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ErrorReportConfigurationTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ErrorReportConfigurationTest.java
@@ -1,17 +1,22 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core;
 
-import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.ContentReference;
 
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
+
 /**
  * Unit tests for class {@link ErrorReportConfiguration}.
  * 
  * @since 2.16
  */
 public class ErrorReportConfigurationTest
-    extends BaseTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
-        
     /*
     /**********************************************************
     /* Unit Tests
@@ -24,6 +29,7 @@ public class ErrorReportConfigurationTest
 
     private final ErrorReportConfiguration DEFAULTS = ErrorReportConfiguration.defaults();
 
+    @Test
     public void testNormalBuild()
     {
         ErrorReportConfiguration config = ErrorReportConfiguration.builder()
@@ -35,6 +41,7 @@ public void testNormalBuild()
         assertEquals(2008, config.getMaxRawContentLength());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testZeroLengths()
     {
         // boundary tests, because we throw error on negative values
@@ -47,6 +54,7 @@ public void testZeroLengths()
         assertEquals(0, config.getMaxRawContentLength());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testInvalidMaxErrorTokenLength()
     {
         ErrorReportConfiguration.Builder builder = ErrorReportConfiguration.builder();
@@ -66,6 +74,7 @@ public void testInvalidMaxErrorTokenLength()
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testDefaults()
     {
         // default value
@@ -76,6 +85,7 @@ public void testDefaults()
         assertEquals(ErrorReportConfiguration.defaults(), ErrorReportConfiguration.defaults());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testOverrideDefaultErrorReportConfiguration()
     {
         // (1) override with null, will be no change
@@ -106,6 +116,7 @@ public void testOverrideDefaultErrorReportConfiguration()
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testRebuild()
     {
         ErrorReportConfiguration config = ErrorReportConfiguration.builder().build();
@@ -115,6 +126,7 @@ public void testRebuild()
         assertEquals(config.getMaxRawContentLength(), rebuiltConfig.getMaxRawContentLength());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testBuilderConstructorWithErrorReportConfiguration()
     {
         ErrorReportConfiguration configA = ErrorReportConfiguration.builder()
@@ -128,6 +140,7 @@ public void testBuilderConstructorWithErrorReportConfiguration()
         assertEquals(configA.getMaxRawContentLength(), configB.getMaxRawContentLength());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testWithJsonLocation() throws Exception
     {
         // Truncated result
@@ -138,6 +151,7 @@ public void testWithJsonLocation() throws Exception
         _verifyJsonLocationToString("abc", 4, "\"abc\"");
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testWithJsonFactory() throws Exception
     {
         // default
@@ -160,6 +174,7 @@ public void testWithJsonFactory() throws Exception
                         .maxRawContentLength(0).build());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testExpectedTokenLengthWithConfigurations()
             throws Exception
     {
@@ -201,6 +216,7 @@ public void testExpectedTokenLengthWithConfigurations()
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testNonPositiveErrorTokenConfig()
     {
         // Zero should be ok
@@ -217,6 +233,7 @@ public void testNonPositiveErrorTokenConfig()
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testNullSetterThrowsException() {
         try {
             newStreamFactory().setErrorReportConfiguration(null);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestExceptions.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ExceptionsTest.java
similarity index 93%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestExceptions.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ExceptionsTest.java
index 998b45fe2e..f538b36c02 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestExceptions.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ExceptionsTest.java
@@ -2,14 +2,20 @@
 
 import java.io.StringWriter;
 
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.StreamReadException;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.JsonEOFException;
 
-public class TestExceptions extends BaseTest
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
+
+public class ExceptionsTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
     private final JsonFactory JSON_F = newStreamFactory();
 
     // For [core#10]
+    @Test
     public void testOriginalMesssage()
     {
         JsonProcessingException exc = new JsonParseException(null, "Foobar", JsonLocation.NA);
@@ -34,6 +40,7 @@ public void testOriginalMesssage()
     }
 
     // [core#198]
+    @Test
     public void testAccessToParser() throws Exception
     {
         JsonParser p = JSON_F.createParser("{}");
@@ -49,6 +56,7 @@ public void testAccessToParser() throws Exception
     }
 
     // [core#198]
+    @Test
     public void testAccessToGenerator() throws Exception
     {
         StringWriter w = new StringWriter();
@@ -61,18 +69,20 @@ public void testAccessToGenerator() throws Exception
     }
 
     // [core#281]: new eof exception
+    @Test
     public void testEofExceptionsBytes() throws Exception {
         _testEofExceptions(MODE_INPUT_STREAM);
     }
 
     // [core#281]: new eof exception
+    @Test
     public void testEofExceptionsChars() throws Exception {
         _testEofExceptions(MODE_READER);
     }
 
     private void _testEofExceptions(int mode) throws Exception
     {
-        JsonParser p = createParser(mode, "[ ");
+        JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, "[ ");
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
         try {
             p.nextToken();
@@ -82,7 +92,7 @@ private void _testEofExceptions(int mode) throws Exception
         }
         p.close();
 
-        p = createParser(mode, "{ \"foo\" : [ ] ");
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, "{ \"foo\" : [ ] ");
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken());
         assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken());
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
@@ -95,7 +105,7 @@ private void _testEofExceptions(int mode) throws Exception
         }
         p.close();
 
-        p = createParser(mode, "{ \"fo");
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, "{ \"fo");
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken());
         try {
             p.nextToken();
@@ -107,7 +117,7 @@ private void _testEofExceptions(int mode) throws Exception
         }
         p.close();
 
-        p = createParser(mode, "{ \"field\" : ");
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, "{ \"field\" : ");
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken());
         try {
             p.nextToken();
@@ -121,6 +131,7 @@ private void _testEofExceptions(int mode) throws Exception
         // any other cases we'd like to test?
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testContentSnippetWithOffset() throws Exception
     {
         final JsonFactory jsonF = streamFactoryBuilder()
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestJDKSerializability.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JDKSerializabilityTest.java
similarity index 96%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestJDKSerializability.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JDKSerializabilityTest.java
index b643268703..4fa10a5425 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/TestJDKSerializability.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JDKSerializabilityTest.java
@@ -2,15 +2,20 @@
 
 import java.io.*;
 
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.ContentReference;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.RecyclerPool;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.DefaultPrettyPrinter;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.JsonRecyclerPools;
 
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
+
 /**
  * Unit tests for [core#31] (https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core/issues/31)
  */
-public class TestJDKSerializability extends BaseTest
+public class JDKSerializabilityTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
     /*
     /**********************************************************************
@@ -18,6 +23,7 @@ public class TestJDKSerializability extends BaseTest
     /**********************************************************************
      */
 
+    @Test
     public void testJsonFactorySerializable() throws Exception
     {
         JsonFactory f = new JsonFactory();
@@ -40,6 +46,7 @@ public void testJsonFactorySerializable() throws Exception
     /**********************************************************************
      */
 
+    @Test
     public void testBase64Variant() throws Exception
     {
         {
@@ -71,6 +78,7 @@ public void testBase64Variant() throws Exception
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testPrettyPrinter() throws Exception
     {
         PrettyPrinter p = new DefaultPrettyPrinter();
@@ -80,6 +88,7 @@ public void testPrettyPrinter() throws Exception
         assertNotNull(back);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testLocation() throws Exception
     {
         JsonFactory jf = new JsonFactory();
@@ -96,6 +105,7 @@ public void testLocation() throws Exception
         jp.close();
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testSourceReference() throws Exception
     {
         ContentReference ref = ContentReference.construct(true, "text",
@@ -113,6 +123,7 @@ public void testSourceReference() throws Exception
     /**********************************************************************
      */
 
+    @Test
     public void testRecyclerPools() throws Exception
     {
         // First: shared/global pools that will always remain/become globally
@@ -156,6 +167,7 @@ private <T extends RecyclerPool<?>> T _testRecyclerPoolNonShared(T pool) throws
     /**********************************************************************
      */
 
+    @Test
     public void testParseException() throws Exception
     {
         JsonFactory jf = new JsonFactory();
@@ -174,6 +186,7 @@ public void testParseException() throws Exception
         assertNotNull(result);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testGenerationException() throws Exception
     {
         JsonFactory jf = new JsonFactory();
@@ -198,6 +211,7 @@ public void testGenerationException() throws Exception
     /**********************************************************************
      */
 
+    @Test
     public void testPointerSerializationNonEmpty() throws Exception
     {
         // First, see that we can write and read a general JsonPointer
@@ -228,14 +242,15 @@ public void testPointerSerializationNonEmpty() throws Exception
         assertEquals(leaf.hashCode(), copy.hashCode());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testPointerSerializationEmpty() throws Exception
     {
         // and then verify that "empty" instance gets canonicalized
         final JsonPointer emptyP = JsonPointer.empty();
         byte[] ser = jdkSerialize(emptyP);
         JsonPointer result = jdkDeserialize(ser);
-        assertSame("Should get same 'empty' instance when JDK serialize+deserialize",
-                emptyP, result);
+        assertSame(emptyP, result,
+                "Should get same 'empty' instance when JDK serialize+deserialize");
     }
 
     /*
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JUnit5TestBase.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JUnit5TestBase.java
index d9c899fa16..2a86532c50 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JUnit5TestBase.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JUnit5TestBase.java
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ protected String q(String str) {
     }
 
     protected String a2q(String json) {
-        return json.replace("'", "\"");
+        return json.replace('\'', '"');
     }
 
     protected byte[] utf8Bytes(String str) {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocationTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocationTest.java
index 769d406df8..aa13ab7de7 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocationTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonLocationTest.java
@@ -4,14 +4,24 @@
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.ContentReference;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 
-public class JsonLocationTest extends BaseTest
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
+
+/**
+ * Tests for verifying internal working of {@link JsonLocation} class itself,
+ * as opposed to accuracy of reported location information by parsers.
+ */
+public class JsonLocationTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
     static class Foobar { }
 
+    @Test
     public void testBasics()
     {
         JsonLocation loc1 = new JsonLocation(_sourceRef("src"),
@@ -27,6 +37,7 @@ public void testBasics()
         assertTrue(loc2.hashCode() != 0);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testBasicToString() throws Exception
     {
         // no location; presumed to be Binary due to defaulting
@@ -61,6 +72,7 @@ public void testBasicToString() throws Exception
                 new JsonLocation(_rawSourceRef(true, srcRef), 10L, 10L, 1, 2).toString());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testTruncatedSource() throws Exception
     {
         StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
@@ -80,6 +92,7 @@ public void testTruncatedSource() throws Exception
     }
 
     // for [jackson-core#658]
+    @Test
     public void testEscapeNonPrintable() throws Exception
     {
         final String DOC = "[ \"tab:[\t]/null:[\0]\" ]";
@@ -90,6 +103,7 @@ public void testEscapeNonPrintable() throws Exception
     }
 
     // for [jackson-core#356]
+    @Test
     public void testDisableSourceInclusion() throws Exception
     {
         JsonFactory f = JsonFactory.builder()
@@ -126,6 +140,7 @@ private void _verifyContentDisabled(JsonParseException e) {
     }
     
     // for [jackson-core#739]: try to support equality
+    @Test
     public void testLocationEquality() throws Exception
     {
         // important: create separate but equal instances
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonpCharacterEscapesTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonpCharacterEscapesTest.java
index 1e70fe41e5..bda30d97cf 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonpCharacterEscapesTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/JsonpCharacterEscapesTest.java
@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.SerializedString;
-import org.junit.Test;
 
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
 
 /**
  * Unit tests for class {@link JsonpCharacterEscapes}.
  *
- * @date 2017-07-20
  * @see JsonpCharacterEscapes
  *
  **/
-public class JsonpCharacterEscapesTest{
-
+public class JsonpCharacterEscapesTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
+{
     @Test
     public void testGetEscapeSequenceOne() {
         JsonpCharacterEscapes jsonpCharacterEscapes = JsonpCharacterEscapes.instance();
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ParserFeatureDefaultsTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ParserFeatureDefaultsTest.java
index 8bbf1ba80b..07e3a799ab 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ParserFeatureDefaultsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/ParserFeatureDefaultsTest.java
@@ -3,12 +3,17 @@
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.math.BigInteger;
 
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.ParserMinimalBase;
 
-public class ParserFeatureDefaultsTest extends BaseTest
-{
-    static class TestParser extends ParserMinimalBase {
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
 
+public class ParserFeatureDefaultsTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
+{
+    static class TestParser extends ParserMinimalBase
+    {
         @Override
         public JsonToken nextToken() {
             return null;
@@ -139,11 +144,13 @@ public BigDecimal getDecimalValue() {
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testParserFlagDefaults() throws Exception
     {
         try (JsonParser p = new TestParser()) {
             for (JsonParser.Feature feat : JsonParser.Feature.values()) {
-                assertEquals("Feature "+feat, feat.enabledByDefault(), p.isEnabled(feat));
+                assertEquals(feat.enabledByDefault(), p.isEnabled(feat),
+                        "Feature "+feat);
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/VersionTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/VersionClassTest.java
similarity index 93%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/VersionTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/VersionClassTest.java
index 69123265b8..74e2fe7cb9 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/VersionTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/VersionClassTest.java
@@ -1,13 +1,15 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core;
 
-import org.junit.Test;
-import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
 
 /**
  * Unit tests for class {@link Version}.
- *
- **/
-public class VersionTest
+ */
+public class VersionClassTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
     @Test
     public void testEqualsAndHashCode() {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/async/AsyncTestBase.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/async/AsyncTestBase.java
index 207b7a3d52..272752b708 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/async/AsyncTestBase.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/async/AsyncTestBase.java
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ public static AsyncReaderWrapper asyncForBytes(JsonFactory f,
     }
 
     public static AsyncReaderWrapper asyncForByteBuffer(JsonFactory f,
-                                                        int bytesPerRead,
-                                                        byte[] bytes, int padding) throws IOException
+            int bytesPerRead,
+            byte[] bytes, int padding) throws IOException
     {
         return new AsyncReaderWrapperForByteBuffer(f.createNonBlockingByteBufferParser(),
                 bytesPerRead, bytes, padding);
@@ -44,6 +44,6 @@ protected final JsonToken verifyStart(AsyncReaderWrapper reader) throws Exceptio
     }
 
     protected final byte[] _jsonDoc(String doc) throws IOException {
-        return doc.getBytes("UTF-8");
+        return utf8Bytes(doc);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64BinaryParsingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64BinaryParsingTest.java
index 68e9196448..46ea8bd714 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64BinaryParsingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64BinaryParsingTest.java
@@ -1,16 +1,19 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base64;
 
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertArrayEquals;
-
 import java.io.*;
 
-import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
+
 public class Base64BinaryParsingTest
-    extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
+    private final JsonFactory JSON_F = newStreamFactory();
+
+    @Test
     public void testBase64UsingInputStream() throws Exception
     {
         _testBase64Text(MODE_INPUT_STREAM);
@@ -18,11 +21,13 @@ public void testBase64UsingInputStream() throws Exception
         _testBase64Text(MODE_DATA_INPUT);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testBase64UsingReader() throws Exception
     {
         _testBase64Text(MODE_READER);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testStreaming() throws IOException
     {
         _testStreaming(MODE_INPUT_STREAM);
@@ -31,6 +36,7 @@ public void testStreaming() throws IOException
         _testStreaming(MODE_READER);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testSimple() throws IOException
     {
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
@@ -42,6 +48,7 @@ public void testSimple() throws IOException
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testInArray() throws IOException
     {
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
@@ -49,24 +56,27 @@ public void testInArray() throws IOException
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testWithEscaped() throws IOException {
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
             _testEscaped(mode);
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testWithEscapedPadding() throws IOException {
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
             _testEscapedPadding(mode);
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testInvalidTokenForBase64() throws IOException
     {
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
 
             // First: illegal padding
-            JsonParser p = createParser(mode, "[ ]");
+            JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, "[ ]");
             assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
             try {
                 p.getBinaryValue();
@@ -79,12 +89,13 @@ public void testInvalidTokenForBase64() throws IOException
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testInvalidChar() throws IOException
     {
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
 
             // First: illegal padding
-            JsonParser p = createParser(mode, q("a==="));
+            JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, q("a==="));
             assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
             try {
                 p.getBinaryValue(Base64Variants.MIME);
@@ -95,7 +106,7 @@ public void testInvalidChar() throws IOException
             p.close();
 
             // second: invalid space within
-            p = createParser(mode, q("ab de"));
+            p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, q("ab de"));
             assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
             try {
                 p.getBinaryValue(Base64Variants.MIME);
@@ -106,7 +117,7 @@ public void testInvalidChar() throws IOException
             p.close();
 
             // third: something else
-            p = createParser(mode, q("ab#?"));
+            p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, q("ab#?"));
             assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
             try {
                 p.getBinaryValue(Base64Variants.MIME);
@@ -118,6 +129,7 @@ public void testInvalidChar() throws IOException
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testOkMissingPadding() throws IOException {
         final byte[] DOC1 = new byte[] { (byte) 0xAD };
         _testOkMissingPadding(DOC1, MODE_INPUT_STREAM);
@@ -136,15 +148,16 @@ private void _testOkMissingPadding(byte[] input, int mode) throws IOException
     {
         final Base64Variant b64 = Base64Variants.MODIFIED_FOR_URL;
         final String encoded = b64.encode(input, false);
-        JsonParser p = createParser(mode, q(encoded));
+        JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, q(encoded));
         // 1 byte -> 2 encoded chars; 2 bytes -> 3 encoded chars
         assertEquals(input.length+1, encoded.length());
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         byte[] actual = p.getBinaryValue(b64);
-        Assert.assertArrayEquals(input, actual);
+        assertArrayEquals(input, actual);
         p.close();
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testFailDueToMissingPadding() throws IOException {
         final String DOC1 = q("fQ"); // 1 bytes, no padding
         _testFailDueToMissingPadding(DOC1, MODE_INPUT_STREAM);
@@ -163,7 +176,7 @@ private void _testFailDueToMissingPadding(String doc, int mode) throws IOExcepti
         final String EXP_EXCEPTION_MATCH = "Unexpected end of base64-encoded String: base64 variant 'MIME' expects padding";
 
         // First, without getting text value first:
-        JsonParser p = createParser(mode, doc);
+        JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, doc);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         try {
             /*byte[] b =*/ p.getBinaryValue(Base64Variants.MIME);
@@ -174,7 +187,7 @@ private void _testFailDueToMissingPadding(String doc, int mode) throws IOExcepti
         p.close();
 
         // second, access String first
-        p = createParser(mode, doc);
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, doc);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         /*String str =*/ p.getText();
         try {
@@ -193,7 +206,7 @@ private void _testFailDueToMissingPadding(String doc, int mode) throws IOExcepti
      */
 
     @SuppressWarnings("resource")
-    public void _testBase64Text(int mode) throws Exception
+    void _testBase64Text(int mode) throws Exception
     {
         // let's actually iterate over sets of encoding modes, lengths
 
@@ -205,7 +218,6 @@ public void _testBase64Text(int mode) throws Exception
                 Base64Variants.PEM
         };
 
-        JsonFactory jsonFactory = sharedStreamFactory();
         final ByteArrayOutputStream bytes = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
         StringWriter chars = null;
         for (int len : LENS) {
@@ -218,18 +230,18 @@ public void _testBase64Text(int mode) throws Exception
 
                 if (mode == MODE_READER) {
                     chars = new StringWriter();
-                    g = jsonFactory.createGenerator(chars);
+                    g = JSON_F.createGenerator(chars);
                 } else {
                     bytes.reset();
-                    g = jsonFactory.createGenerator(bytes, JsonEncoding.UTF8);
+                    g = JSON_F.createGenerator(bytes, JsonEncoding.UTF8);
                 }
                 g.writeBinary(variant, input, 0, input.length);
                 g.close();
                 JsonParser p;
                 if (mode == MODE_READER) {
-                    p = jsonFactory.createParser(chars.toString());
+                    p = JSON_F.createParser(chars.toString());
                 } else {
-                    p = createParser(jsonFactory, mode, bytes.toByteArray());
+                    p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, bytes.toByteArray());
                 }
                 assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
 
@@ -274,7 +286,6 @@ private void _testStreaming(int mode) throws IOException
             139000
         };
 
-        JsonFactory jsonFactory = sharedStreamFactory();
         final ByteArrayOutputStream bytes = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
         StringWriter chars = null;
 
@@ -283,10 +294,10 @@ private void _testStreaming(int mode) throws IOException
             JsonGenerator g;
             if (mode == MODE_READER) {
                 chars = new StringWriter();
-                g = jsonFactory.createGenerator(chars);
+                g = JSON_F.createGenerator(chars);
             } else {
                 bytes.reset();
-                g = jsonFactory.createGenerator(bytes, JsonEncoding.UTF8);
+                g = JSON_F.createGenerator(bytes, JsonEncoding.UTF8);
             }
 
             g.writeStartObject();
@@ -298,9 +309,9 @@ private void _testStreaming(int mode) throws IOException
             // and verify
             JsonParser p;
             if (mode == MODE_READER) {
-                p = jsonFactory.createParser(chars.toString());
+                p = JSON_F.createParser(chars.toString());
             } else {
-                p = createParser(jsonFactory, mode, bytes.toByteArray());
+                p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, bytes.toByteArray());
             }
             assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken());
 
@@ -342,7 +353,7 @@ private void _testSimple(int mode, boolean leadingWS, boolean trailingWS) throws
         }
 
         final String DOC = "\""+INPUT_STR+"\"";
-        JsonParser p = createParser(mode, DOC);
+        JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, DOC);
 
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         byte[] data = p.getBinaryValue();
@@ -353,12 +364,10 @@ private void _testSimple(int mode, boolean leadingWS, boolean trailingWS) throws
 
     private void _testInArray(int mode) throws IOException
     {
-        JsonFactory f = sharedStreamFactory();
-
         final int entryCount = 7;
 
         StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
-        JsonGenerator jg = f.createGenerator(sw);
+        JsonGenerator jg = JSON_F.createGenerator(sw);
         jg.writeStartArray();
 
         byte[][] entries = new byte[entryCount][];
@@ -374,7 +383,7 @@ private void _testInArray(int mode) throws IOException
         jg.writeEndArray();
         jg.close();
 
-        JsonParser p = createParser(f, mode, sw.toString());
+        JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, sw.toString());
 
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
 
@@ -394,7 +403,7 @@ private void _testEscaped(int mode) throws IOException
         // First, try with embedded linefeed half-way through:
 
         String DOC = q("VGVz\\ndCE="); // note: must double-quote to get linefeed
-        JsonParser p = createParser(mode, DOC);
+        JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, DOC);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         byte[] b = p.getBinaryValue();
         assertEquals("Test!", new String(b, "US-ASCII"));
@@ -406,7 +415,7 @@ private void _testEscaped(int mode) throws IOException
         // and then with escaped chars
 //            DOC = quote("V\\u0047V\\u007AdCE="); // note: must escape backslash...
         DOC = q("V\\u0047V\\u007AdCE="); // note: must escape backslash...
-        p = createParser(mode, DOC);
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, DOC);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         b = p.getBinaryValue();
         assertEquals("Test!", new String(b, "US-ASCII"));
@@ -422,7 +431,7 @@ private void _testEscapedPadding(int mode) throws IOException
         final String DOC = q("VGVzdCE\\u003d");
 
         // 06-Sep-2018, tatu: actually one more, test escaping of padding
-        JsonParser p = createParser(mode, DOC);
+        JsonParser p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, DOC);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         assertEquals("Test!", new String(p.getBinaryValue(), "US-ASCII"));
         if (mode != MODE_DATA_INPUT) {
@@ -431,7 +440,7 @@ private void _testEscapedPadding(int mode) throws IOException
         p.close();
 
         // also, try out alternate access method
-        p = createParser(mode, DOC);
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, DOC);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         assertEquals("Test!", new String(_readBinary(p), "US-ASCII"));
         if (mode != MODE_DATA_INPUT) {
@@ -441,7 +450,7 @@ private void _testEscapedPadding(int mode) throws IOException
 
         // and then different padding; "X" -> "WA=="
         final String DOC2 = q("WA\\u003D\\u003D");
-        p = createParser(mode, DOC2);
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, DOC2);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         assertEquals("X", new String(p.getBinaryValue(), "US-ASCII"));
         if (mode != MODE_DATA_INPUT) {
@@ -449,7 +458,7 @@ private void _testEscapedPadding(int mode) throws IOException
         }
         p.close();
 
-        p = createParser(mode, DOC2);
+        p = createParser(JSON_F, mode, DOC2);
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
         assertEquals("X", new String(_readBinary(p), "US-ASCII"));
         if (mode != MODE_DATA_INPUT) {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64CodecTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64CodecTest.java
index 7d7386b551..2c17d4b5eb 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64CodecTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64CodecTest.java
@@ -2,13 +2,16 @@
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
-import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
+
 public class Base64CodecTest
-    extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
+    @Test
     public void testVariantAccess()
     {
         for (Base64Variant var : new Base64Variant[] {
@@ -28,6 +31,7 @@ public void testVariantAccess()
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testProps()
     {
         Base64Variant std = Base64Variants.MIME;
@@ -42,6 +46,7 @@ public void testProps()
         assertEquals(76, std.getMaxLineLength());
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testCharEncoding() throws Exception
     {
         Base64Variant std = Base64Variants.MIME;
@@ -73,9 +78,10 @@ public void testCharEncoding() throws Exception
         byte[] exp = EXP_STR.getBytes("UTF-8");
         byte[] act = new byte[exp.length];
         std.encodeBase64Chunk(TRIPLET, act, 0);
-        Assert.assertArrayEquals(exp, act);
+        assertArrayEquals(exp, act);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testConvenienceMethods() throws Exception
     {
         final Base64Variant std = Base64Variants.MIME;
@@ -83,21 +89,22 @@ public void testConvenienceMethods() throws Exception
         byte[] input = new byte[] { 1, 2, 34, 127, -1 };
         String encoded = std.encode(input, false);
         byte[] decoded = std.decode(encoded);
-        Assert.assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
+        assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
 
         assertEquals(q(encoded), std.encode(input, true));
 
         // [core#414]: check white-space allow too
         decoded = std.decode("\n"+encoded);
-        Assert.assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
+        assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
         decoded = std.decode("   "+encoded);
-        Assert.assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
+        assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
         decoded = std.decode(encoded + "   ");
-        Assert.assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
+        assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
         decoded = std.decode(encoded + "\n");
-        Assert.assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
+        assertArrayEquals(input, decoded);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testConvenienceMethodWithLFs() throws Exception
     {
         final Base64Variant std = Base64Variants.MIME;
@@ -125,6 +132,7 @@ public void testConvenienceMethodWithLFs() throws Exception
     }
 
     @SuppressWarnings("unused")
+    @Test
     public void testErrors() throws Exception
     {
         try {
@@ -149,6 +157,7 @@ public void testErrors() throws Exception
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testPaddingReadBehaviour() throws Exception {
 
         for (Base64Variant variant: Arrays.asList(Base64Variants.MIME, Base64Variants.MIME_NO_LINEFEEDS, Base64Variants.PEM)) {
@@ -209,6 +218,5 @@ public void testPaddingReadBehaviour() throws Exception {
 
         Base64Variants.MODIFIED_FOR_URL.withPaddingAllowed().decode(BASE64_HELLO_WITHOUT_PADDING);
         Base64Variants.MODIFIED_FOR_URL.withPaddingForbidden().decode(BASE64_HELLO_WITHOUT_PADDING);
-
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64GenerationTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64GenerationTest.java
index 1a48d24e6f..94de5e5d4e 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64GenerationTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64GenerationTest.java
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@
 
 import java.io.*;
 
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.testsupport.ThrottledInputStream;
 
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
+
 public class Base64GenerationTest
-    extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
     /* The usual sample input string, from Thomas Hobbes's "Leviathan"
      * (via Wikipedia)
@@ -45,6 +49,7 @@ public class Base64GenerationTest
 
     private final JsonFactory JSON_F = new JsonFactory();
 
+    @Test
     public void testStreamingBinaryWrites() throws Exception
     {
         _testStreamingWrites(JSON_F, true);
@@ -52,6 +57,7 @@ public void testStreamingBinaryWrites() throws Exception
     }
 
     // For [core#55]
+    @Test
     public void testIssue55() throws Exception
     {
         final JsonFactory f = new JsonFactory();
@@ -84,6 +90,7 @@ public void testIssue55() throws Exception
      * as some kind of sanity check. Reader-side should more thoroughly
      * test things, as it does need writers to construct the data first.
      */
+    @Test
     public void testSimpleBinaryWrite() throws Exception
     {
         _testSimpleBinaryWrite(false);
@@ -91,6 +98,7 @@ public void testSimpleBinaryWrite() throws Exception
     }
 
     // for [core#318]
+    @Test
     public void testBinaryAsEmbeddedObject() throws Exception
     {
         JsonGenerator g;
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64Padding912Test.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64Padding912Test.java
index 3f29dd21ea..6613820a63 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64Padding912Test.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/base64/Base64Padding912Test.java
@@ -1,23 +1,31 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base64;
 
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+
 public class Base64Padding912Test
-    extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
+    extends JUnit5TestBase
 {
     private final JsonFactory JSON_F = newStreamFactory();
-    
+
+    @Test
     public void testPaddingUsingInputStream() throws Exception
     {
         _testPadding(MODE_INPUT_STREAM);
         _testPadding(MODE_INPUT_STREAM_THROTTLED);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testPaddingUsingReader() throws Exception
     {
         _testPadding(MODE_READER);
     }
 
+    @Test
     public void testPaddingUsingDataInput() throws Exception
     {
         _testPadding(MODE_DATA_INPUT);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/constraints/LargeNameReadTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/constraints/LargeNameReadTest.java
index 4c5665cfcb..0ef4cac43a 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/constraints/LargeNameReadTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/constraints/LargeNameReadTest.java
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@ public class LargeNameReadTest extends BaseTest
             .streamReadConstraints(StreamReadConstraints.builder().maxNameLength(100).build())
             .build();
 
+    private final JsonFactory JSON_F_NAME_100_B = new JsonFactory();
+    {
+        JSON_F_NAME_100_B.setStreamReadConstraints(StreamReadConstraints.builder()
+                .maxNameLength(100).build());
+    }
+
     // Test name that is below default max name
     public void testLargeNameBytes() throws Exception {
         final String doc = generateJSON(StreamReadConstraints.defaults().getMaxNameLength() - 100);
@@ -31,10 +37,15 @@ public void testLargeNameChars() throws Exception {
         }
     }
 
-    public void testLargeNameWithSmallLimitBytes() throws Exception
+    public void testLargeNameWithSmallLimitBytes() throws Exception {
+        _testLargeNameWithSmallLimitBytes(JSON_F_NAME_100);
+        _testLargeNameWithSmallLimitBytes(JSON_F_NAME_100_B);
+    }
+
+    private void _testLargeNameWithSmallLimitBytes(JsonFactory jf) throws Exception
     {
         final String doc = generateJSON(1000);
-        try (JsonParser p = createParserUsingStream(JSON_F_NAME_100, doc, "UTF-8")) {
+        try (JsonParser p = createParserUsingStream(jf, doc, "UTF-8")) {
             consumeTokens(p);
             fail("expected StreamConstraintsException");
         } catch (StreamConstraintsException e) {
@@ -42,10 +53,15 @@ public void testLargeNameWithSmallLimitBytes() throws Exception
         }
     }
 
-    public void testLargeNameWithSmallLimitChars() throws Exception
+    public void testLargeNameWithSmallLimitChars() throws Exception {
+        _testLargeNameWithSmallLimitChars(JSON_F_NAME_100);
+        _testLargeNameWithSmallLimitChars(JSON_F_NAME_100_B);
+    }
+
+    private void _testLargeNameWithSmallLimitChars(JsonFactory jf) throws Exception
     {
         final String doc = generateJSON(1000);
-        try (JsonParser p = createParserUsingReader(JSON_F_NAME_100, doc)) {
+        try (JsonParser p = createParserUsingReader(jf, doc)) {
             consumeTokens(p);
             fail("expected StreamConstraintsException");
         } catch (StreamConstraintsException e) {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicGeneratorFilteringTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicGeneratorFilteringTest.java
index 10d3844e7b..cc83bae739 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicGeneratorFilteringTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicGeneratorFilteringTest.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ static class NameMatchFilter extends TokenFilter
         private final Set<String> _names;
 
         public NameMatchFilter(String... names) {
-            _names = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(names));
+            _names = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(names));
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ static class NameExcludeFilter extends TokenFilter
         private final boolean _inclArrays;
 
         public NameExcludeFilter(boolean inclArrays, String... names) {
-            _names = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(names));
+            _names = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(names));
             _inclArrays = inclArrays;
         }
 
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ static class StrictNameMatchFilter extends TokenFilter
         private final Set<String> _names;
 
         public StrictNameMatchFilter(String... names) {
-            _names = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(names));
+            _names = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(names));
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ public void testSingleMatchFilteringWithPathRawBinary() throws Exception
         gen.writeStartArray();
         gen.writeBinary(new byte[] { 1 });
         gen.writeNumber((short) 1);
-        gen.writeNumber((int) 2);
+        gen.writeNumber(2);
         gen.writeNumber((long) 3);
         gen.writeNumber(BigInteger.valueOf(4));
         gen.writeRaw(" ");
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ public void testSingleMatchFilteringWithPathRawBinary() throws Exception
 
         gen.writeArrayFieldStart("extra");
         gen.writeNumber((short) 1);
-        gen.writeNumber((int) 2);
+        gen.writeNumber(2);
         gen.writeNumber((long) 3);
         gen.writeNumber(BigInteger.valueOf(4));
         gen.writeNumber(new BigDecimal("5.0"));
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicParserFilteringTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicParserFilteringTest.java
index ba847c98b5..7490ff8117 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicParserFilteringTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/filter/BasicParserFilteringTest.java
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ static class NameMatchFilter extends TokenFilter
         private final Set<String> _names;
 
         public NameMatchFilter(String... names) {
-            _names = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(names));
+            _names = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(names));
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ static class StrictNameMatchFilter extends TokenFilter
         private final Set<String> _names;
 
         public StrictNameMatchFilter(String... names) {
-            _names = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(names));
+            _names = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(names));
         }
 
         @Override
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/fuzz/Fuzz61198_1169_NumberParseTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/fuzz/Fuzz61198_1169_NumberParseTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9704ddf8f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/fuzz/Fuzz61198_1169_NumberParseTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.fuzz;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonReadFeature;
+
+// For
+//
+// * [core#1169],
+// * https://bugs.chromium.org/p/oss-fuzz/issues/detail?id=61198
+public class Fuzz61198_1169_NumberParseTest extends BaseTest
+{
+    // NOTE! Not enough to enable just first, but both it seem
+    private final JsonFactory JSON_F = JsonFactory.builder()
+            .enable(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_LEADING_PLUS_SIGN_FOR_NUMBERS)
+            .enable(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_LEADING_DECIMAL_POINT_FOR_NUMBERS)
+            .build();
+
+    public void testLeadingPlusSignMalformedBytes() throws Exception {
+        _testLeadingPlusMalformed(JSON_F, MODE_INPUT_STREAM);
+        _testLeadingPlusMalformed(JSON_F, MODE_INPUT_STREAM_THROTTLED);
+    }
+
+    public void testLeadingPlusSignMalformedReader() throws Exception {
+        _testLeadingPlusMalformed(JSON_F, MODE_READER);
+        _testLeadingPlusMalformed(JSON_F, MODE_READER_THROTTLED);
+    }
+
+    public void testLeadingPlusSignMalformedOther() throws Exception {
+        _testLeadingPlusMalformed(JSON_F, MODE_DATA_INPUT);
+    }
+
+    private void _testLeadingPlusMalformed(JsonFactory f, int mode) throws Exception
+    {
+        // But also, invalid case:
+        try (JsonParser p = createParser(f, mode, "[ +X  1 ")) {
+            assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
+            try {
+                JsonToken t = p.nextToken();
+                assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT, t);
+                // Either one works:
+//                p.getNumberType();
+                p.getIntValue();
+                fail("Should not pass, got: "+t);
+            } catch (JsonParseException e) {
+                verifyException(e, "Unexpected character ('X' (code 88");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParserTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParserTest.java
index a4e41cd3d8..4a4bc5c5af 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParserTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BigDecimalParserTest.java
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io;
 
-public class BigDecimalParserTest extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest {
-    public void testLongStringParse() {
+import java.math.BigDecimal;
+
+public class BigDecimalParserTest extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
+{
+    public void testLongInvalidStringParse() {
         try {
-            BigDecimalParser.parse(genLongString());
+            BigDecimalParser.parse(genLongInvalidString());
             fail("expected NumberFormatException");
         } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
             assertTrue("exception message starts as expected?", nfe.getMessage().startsWith("Value \"AAAAA"));
@@ -11,9 +14,9 @@ public void testLongStringParse() {
         }
     }
 
-    public void testLongStringFastParse() {
+    public void testLongInvalidStringFastParse() {
         try {
-            BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(genLongString());
+            BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(genLongInvalidString());
             fail("expected NumberFormatException");
         } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
             assertTrue("exception message starts as expected?", nfe.getMessage().startsWith("Value \"AAAAA"));
@@ -21,7 +24,41 @@ public void testLongStringFastParse() {
         }
     }
 
-    private String genLongString() {
-        return BigIntegerParserTest.genLongString();
+    public void testLongValidStringParse() {
+        String num = genLongValidString(500);
+        final BigDecimal EXP = new BigDecimal(num);
+
+        // Parse from String first, then char[]
+
+        assertEquals(EXP, BigDecimalParser.parse(num));
+        assertEquals(EXP, BigDecimalParser.parse(num.toCharArray(), 0, num.length()));
+    }
+
+    public void testLongValidStringFastParse() {
+        String num = genLongValidString(500);
+        final BigDecimal EXP = new BigDecimal(num);
+
+        // Parse from String first, then char[]
+        assertEquals(EXP, BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(num));
+        assertEquals(EXP, BigDecimalParser.parseWithFastParser(num.toCharArray(), 0, num.length()));
+    }
+
+    static String genLongInvalidString() {
+        final int len = 1500;
+        final StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(len);
+        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+            sb.append("A");
+        }
+        return sb.toString();
+    }
+
+    static String genLongValidString(int len) {
+        final StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(len+5);
+        sb.append("0.");
+        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+            sb.append('0');
+        }
+        sb.append('1');
+        return sb.toString();
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BufferRecyclerPoolTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BufferRecyclerPoolTest.java
index e389c94a80..477fd52756 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BufferRecyclerPoolTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/BufferRecyclerPoolTest.java
@@ -1,46 +1,49 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.OutputStream;
+
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonFactory;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonGenerator;
-import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonGeneratorImpl;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.GeneratorBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.BufferRecycler;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.RecyclerPool;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.JsonRecyclerPools;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.OutputStream;
-
 // Tests for [core#1064] wrt custom `BufferRecycler`
 public class BufferRecyclerPoolTest extends BaseTest
 {
     public void testNoOp() throws Exception {
         // no-op pool doesn't actually pool anything, so avoid checking it
-        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.nonRecyclingPool(), false);
+        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.nonRecyclingPool(), false, true);
     }
 
     public void testThreadLocal() throws Exception {
-        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.threadLocalPool(), true);
+        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.threadLocalPool(), true, false);
     }
 
     public void testLockFree() throws Exception {
-        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.newLockFreePool(), true);
+        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.newLockFreePool(), true, true);
     }
 
     public void testConcurrentDequeue() throws Exception {
-        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.newConcurrentDequePool(), true);
+        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.newConcurrentDequePool(), true, true);
     }
 
     public void testBounded() throws Exception {
-        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.newBoundedPool(1), true);
+        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(JsonRecyclerPools.newBoundedPool(1), true, true);
     }
 
     public void testPluggingPool() throws Exception {
-        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(new TestPool(), true);
+        checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(new TestPool(), true, true);
     }
 
     private void checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(RecyclerPool<BufferRecycler> pool,
-            boolean checkPooledResource) throws Exception {
+            boolean checkPooledResource,
+            boolean implementsClear)
+        throws Exception
+    {
         JsonFactory jsonFactory = JsonFactory.builder()
                 .recyclerPool(pool)
                 .build();
@@ -49,11 +52,22 @@ private void checkBufferRecyclerPoolImpl(RecyclerPool<BufferRecycler> pool,
         if (checkPooledResource) {
             // acquire the pooled BufferRecycler again and check if it is the same instance used before
             BufferRecycler pooledBufferRecycler = pool.acquireAndLinkPooled();
-            try {
-                assertSame(usedBufferRecycler, pooledBufferRecycler);
-            } finally {
-                pooledBufferRecycler.releaseToPool();
-            }
+            assertSame(usedBufferRecycler, pooledBufferRecycler);
+            // might as well return it back
+            pooledBufferRecycler.releaseToPool();
+        }
+
+        // Also: check `clear()` method -- optional, but supported by all impls
+        // except for ThreadLocal-based one
+        if (implementsClear) {
+            assertTrue(pool.clear());
+    
+            // cannot easily verify anything else except that we do NOT get the same recycled instance
+            BufferRecycler br2 = pool.acquireAndLinkPooled();
+            assertNotNull(br2);
+            assertNotSame(usedBufferRecycler, br2);
+        } else {
+            assertFalse(pool.clear());
         }
     }
 
@@ -61,7 +75,7 @@ private BufferRecycler write(Object value, JsonFactory jsonFactory, int expected
         BufferRecycler bufferRecycler;
         NopOutputStream out = new NopOutputStream();
         try (JsonGenerator gen = jsonFactory.createGenerator(out)) {
-            bufferRecycler = ((JsonGeneratorImpl) gen).ioContext()._bufferRecycler;
+            bufferRecycler = ((GeneratorBase) gen).ioContext().bufferRecycler();
             gen.writeObject(value);
         }
         assertEquals(expectedSize, out.size);
@@ -100,8 +114,17 @@ public BufferRecycler acquirePooled() {
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void releasePooled(BufferRecycler recycler) {
-            this.bufferRecycler = recycler;
+        public void releasePooled(BufferRecycler r) {
+            if (bufferRecycler == r) { // just sanity check for this test
+                throw new IllegalStateException("BufferRecyler released more than once");
+            }
+            bufferRecycler = r;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean clear() {
+            bufferRecycler = null;
+            return true;
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/TestMergedStream.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/MergedStreamTest.java
similarity index 98%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/TestMergedStream.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/MergedStreamTest.java
index 81a75ba1e7..1be4c37b4b 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/TestMergedStream.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/MergedStreamTest.java
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonEncoding;
 
-public class TestMergedStream
+public class MergedStreamTest
     extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
 {
     public void testSimple() throws Exception
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/TestNumberInput.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberInputTest.java
similarity index 61%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/TestNumberInput.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberInputTest.java
index 9c8c42d8d7..d7634f8eab 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/TestNumberInput.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberInputTest.java
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 import java.math.BigInteger;
 
-public class TestNumberInput
+public class NumberInputTest
     extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
 {
     public void testNastySmallDouble()
@@ -10,20 +10,20 @@ public void testNastySmallDouble()
         //relates to https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core/issues/750
         //prior to jackson v2.14, this value used to be returned as Double.MIN_VALUE
         final String nastySmallDouble = "2.2250738585072012e-308";
-        assertEquals(Double.parseDouble(nastySmallDouble), NumberInput.parseDouble(nastySmallDouble));
+        assertEquals(Double.parseDouble(nastySmallDouble), NumberInput.parseDouble(nastySmallDouble, false));
         assertEquals(Double.parseDouble(nastySmallDouble), NumberInput.parseDouble(nastySmallDouble, true));
     }
 
     public void testParseFloat()
     {
         final String exampleFloat = "1.199999988079071";
-        assertEquals(1.1999999f, NumberInput.parseFloat(exampleFloat));
+        assertEquals(1.1999999f, NumberInput.parseFloat(exampleFloat, false));
         assertEquals(1.1999999f, NumberInput.parseFloat(exampleFloat, true));
-        assertEquals(1.2f, (float)NumberInput.parseDouble(exampleFloat));
+        assertEquals(1.2f, (float)NumberInput.parseDouble(exampleFloat, false));
         assertEquals(1.2f, (float)NumberInput.parseDouble(exampleFloat, true));
 
         final String exampleFloat2 = "7.006492321624086e-46";
-        assertEquals("1.4E-45", Float.toString(NumberInput.parseFloat(exampleFloat2)));
+        assertEquals("1.4E-45", Float.toString(NumberInput.parseFloat(exampleFloat2, false)));
         assertEquals("1.4E-45", Float.toString(NumberInput.parseFloat(exampleFloat2, true)));
     }
 
@@ -34,13 +34,13 @@ public void testParseLongBigInteger()
             stringBuilder.append(7);
         }
         String test1000 = stringBuilder.toString();
-        assertEquals(new BigInteger(test1000), NumberInput.parseBigInteger(test1000));
+        assertEquals(new BigInteger(test1000), NumberInput.parseBigInteger(test1000, false));
         assertEquals(new BigInteger(test1000), NumberInput.parseBigInteger(test1000, true));
         for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
             stringBuilder.append(7);
         }
         String test2000 = stringBuilder.toString();
-        assertEquals(new BigInteger(test2000), NumberInput.parseBigInteger(test2000));
+        assertEquals(new BigInteger(test2000), NumberInput.parseBigInteger(test2000, false));
         assertEquals(new BigInteger(test2000), NumberInput.parseBigInteger(test2000, true));
     }
 
@@ -56,10 +56,34 @@ public void testBigIntegerWithRadix()
     public void testParseBigIntegerFailsWithENotation()
     {
         try {
-            NumberInput.parseBigInteger("1e10");
+            NumberInput.parseBigInteger("1e10", false);
             fail("expected NumberFormatException");
-        } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
-            // expected
+        } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
+            verifyException(e, "1e10");
         }
     }
+
+    public void testLooksLikeValidNumber()
+    {
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("0"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("1"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("-1"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("0001")); // non-JSON
+
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("0.01"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("-0.10"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("+0.25")); // non-JSON
+
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("1E10"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("-1E10"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("1e-10"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("1e+10"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("+1e+10"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("1.4E-45"));
+        assertTrue(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("1.4e+45"));
+
+        assertFalse(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber(""));
+        assertFalse(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("   "));
+        assertFalse(NumberInput.looksLikeValidNumber("10_000"));
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberOutputTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberOutputTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e006e418a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/NumberOutputTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Disabled;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.fail;
+
+public class NumberOutputTest
+{
+    @Test
+    public void testDivBy1000Small()
+    {
+        for (int number = 0; number <= 999_999; ++number) {
+            int expected = number / 1000;
+            int actual = NumberOutput.divBy1000(number);
+            if (expected != actual) { // only construct String if fail
+                fail("With "+number+" should get "+expected+", got: "+actual);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testDivBy1000Sampled()
+    {
+        for (int number = 1_000_000; number > 0; number += 7) {
+            int expected = number / 1000;
+            int actual = NumberOutput.divBy1000(number);
+            if (expected != actual) { // only construct String if fail
+                fail("With "+number+" should get "+expected+", got: "+actual);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // And then full range, not included in CI since code shouldn't change;
+    // but has been run to verify full range manually
+    @Test
+    // Comment out for manual testing:
+    @Disabled
+    public void testDivBy1000FullRange() {
+        for (int number = 0; number <= Integer.MAX_VALUE; ++number) {
+            int expected = number / 1000;
+            int actual = NumberOutput.divBy1000(number);
+            if (expected != actual) { // only construct String if fail
+                fail("With "+number+" should get "+expected+", got: "+actual);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriterTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriterTest.java
index 761f009752..dcd620aa01 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriterTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/SegmentedStringWriterTest.java
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.GeneratorBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.BufferRecycler;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util.JsonRecyclerPools;
 
 public class SegmentedStringWriterTest
     extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
@@ -44,4 +47,36 @@ public void testSimple() throws Exception
         String act = w.getAndClear();
         assertEquals(exp.toString(), act);
     }
+
+    // [core#1195]: Try to verify that BufferRecycler instance is indeed reused
+    public void testBufferRecyclerReuse() throws Exception
+    {
+        JsonFactory f = new JsonFactory();
+        BufferRecycler br = new BufferRecycler()
+                // need to link with some pool
+                .withPool(JsonRecyclerPools.newBoundedPool(3));
+
+        SegmentedStringWriter ssw = new SegmentedStringWriter(br);
+        assertSame(br, ssw.bufferRecycler());
+
+        JsonGenerator g = f.createGenerator(ssw);
+        IOContext ioCtxt = ((GeneratorBase) g).ioContext();
+        assertSame(br, ioCtxt.bufferRecycler());
+        assertTrue(ioCtxt.bufferRecycler().isLinkedWithPool());
+
+        g.writeStartArray();
+        g.writeEndArray();
+        g.close();
+
+        // Generator.close() should NOT release buffer recycler
+        assertTrue(br.isLinkedWithPool());
+
+        // Nor accessing contents
+        assertEquals("[]", ssw.getAndClear());
+        assertTrue(br.isLinkedWithPool());
+
+        // only explicit release does
+        br.releaseToPool();
+        assertFalse(br.isLinkedWithPool());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8WriterTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8WriterTest.java
index 1907b9bf82..2c9fc2e12c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8WriterTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/UTF8WriterTest.java
@@ -136,6 +136,22 @@ public void testSurrogatesFail() throws Exception
         }
     }
 
+    // For [core#1218]
+    // @since 2.17
+    public void testSurrogateConversion()
+    {
+        for (int first = UTF8Writer.SURR1_FIRST; first <= UTF8Writer.SURR1_LAST; first++) {
+            for (int second = UTF8Writer.SURR2_FIRST; second <= UTF8Writer.SURR2_LAST; second++) {
+                int expected = 0x10000 + ((first - UTF8Writer.SURR1_FIRST) << 10) + (second - UTF8Writer.SURR2_FIRST);
+                int actual = (first << 10) + second + UTF8Writer.SURROGATE_BASE;
+                if (expected != actual) {
+                    fail("Mismatch on: "+Integer.toHexString(first) + " " + Integer.toHexString(second)
+                        +"; expected: "+expected+", actual: "+actual);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     private IOContext _ioContext() {
         return testIOContext();
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/schubfach/FloatToDecimalChecker.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/schubfach/FloatToDecimalChecker.java
index 92107efcd2..3f3620a1af 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/schubfach/FloatToDecimalChecker.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/io/schubfach/FloatToDecimalChecker.java
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ public class FloatToDecimalChecker extends ToDecimalChecker {
     static final int H = flog10pow2(P) + 2;
 
     static final float MIN_VALUE = scalb(1.0f, Q_MIN);
-    static final float MIN_NORMAL = scalb((float) C_MIN, Q_MIN);
-    static final float MAX_VALUE = scalb((float) C_MAX, Q_MAX);
+    static final float MIN_NORMAL = scalb(C_MIN, Q_MIN);
+    static final float MAX_VALUE = scalb(C_MAX, Q_MAX);
 
     static final int E_MIN = e(MIN_VALUE);
     static final int E_MAX = e(MAX_VALUE);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonParserClosedCaseTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonParserClosedCaseTest.java
index 06483ba4be..11feb9284d 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonParserClosedCaseTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/JsonParserClosedCaseTest.java
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ public void testNullReturnedOnClosedParserOnNextValue() throws Exception {
     }
 
     private static Collection<Object[]> closeParsers(JsonParser... parsersToClose) throws IOException {
-        List<Object[]> list = new ArrayList<Object[]>();
+        List<Object[]> list = new ArrayList<>();
         for (JsonParser p : parsersToClose) {
             p.close();
             list.add(new Object[] { p.getClass().getSimpleName(), p });
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/TestWithTonsaSymbols.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/TestWithTonsaSymbols.java
index 76fa290e18..889ca6cac0 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/TestWithTonsaSymbols.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/TestWithTonsaSymbols.java
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ private String buildDoc(int len)
                 sb.append(',');
             }
             sb.append('"');
-            fieldNameFor(sb, i);
+            sb.append(fieldNameFor(i));
             sb.append('"');
             sb.append(':');
             sb.append(i);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncConcurrencyTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncConcurrencyTest.java
index 56f4be1f8d..214b226a4c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncConcurrencyTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncConcurrencyTest.java
@@ -117,10 +117,10 @@ void _testConcurrentAsyncOnce(final int round, final int maxRounds) throws Excep
         final ExecutorService executor = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(numThreads);
         final AtomicInteger errorCount = new AtomicInteger(0);
         final AtomicInteger completedCount = new AtomicInteger(0);
-        final AtomicReference<String> errorRef = new AtomicReference<String>();
+        final AtomicReference<String> errorRef = new AtomicReference<>();
 
         // First, add a few shared work units
-        final ArrayBlockingQueue<WorkUnit> q = new ArrayBlockingQueue<WorkUnit>(20);
+        final ArrayBlockingQueue<WorkUnit> q = new ArrayBlockingQueue<>(20);
         for (int i = 0; i < 7; ++i) {
             q.add(new WorkUnit());
         }
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ void _testConcurrentAsyncOnce(final int round, final int maxRounds) throws Excep
         // then invoke swarm of workers on it...
 
         final int REP_COUNT = 99000;
-        ArrayList<Future<?>> futures = new ArrayList<Future<?>>();
+        ArrayList<Future<?>> futures = new ArrayList<>();
         for (int i = 0; i < REP_COUNT; i++) {
             Callable<Void> c = () -> {
                 WorkUnit w = q.take();
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInArrayTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInArrayTest.java
index 9d68d83662..65c6f0d68e 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInArrayTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInArrayTest.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ public class AsyncMissingValuesInArrayTest extends AsyncTestBase
     private final HashSet<JsonReadFeature> features;
 
     public AsyncMissingValuesInArrayTest(Collection<JsonReadFeature> features) {
-        this.features = new HashSet<JsonReadFeature>(features);
+        this.features = new HashSet<>(features);
         JsonFactoryBuilder b = (JsonFactoryBuilder) JsonFactory.builder();
         for (JsonReadFeature feature : features) {
             b = b.enable(feature);
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ public AsyncMissingValuesInArrayTest(Collection<JsonReadFeature> features) {
     @Parameterized.Parameters(name = "Features {0}")
     public static Collection<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>> getTestCases()
     {
-        List<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>> cases = new ArrayList<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>>();
+        List<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>> cases = new ArrayList<>();
         cases.add(EnumSet.noneOf(JsonReadFeature.class));
         cases.add(EnumSet.of(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_MISSING_VALUES));
         cases.add(EnumSet.of(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_TRAILING_COMMA));
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInObjectTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInObjectTest.java
index 014c6c9fc2..dc37b336ca 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInObjectTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncMissingValuesInObjectTest.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ public class AsyncMissingValuesInObjectTest extends AsyncTestBase
     private HashSet<JsonReadFeature> features;
 
     public AsyncMissingValuesInObjectTest(Collection<JsonReadFeature> features) {
-        this.features = new HashSet<JsonReadFeature>(features);
+        this.features = new HashSet<>(features);
         JsonFactoryBuilder b = (JsonFactoryBuilder) JsonFactory.builder();
         for (JsonReadFeature feature : features) {
             b = b.enable(feature);
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ public AsyncMissingValuesInObjectTest(Collection<JsonReadFeature> features) {
     @Parameterized.Parameters(name = "Features {0}")
     public static Collection<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>> getTestCases()
     {
-        List<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>> cases = new ArrayList<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>>();
+        List<EnumSet<JsonReadFeature>> cases = new ArrayList<>();
         cases.add(EnumSet.noneOf(JsonReadFeature.class));
         cases.add(EnumSet.of(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_MISSING_VALUES));
         cases.add(EnumSet.of(JsonReadFeature.ALLOW_TRAILING_COMMA));
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncNaNHandlingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncNaNHandlingTest.java
index 099744781d..bce551c11e 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncNaNHandlingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/json/async/AsyncNaNHandlingTest.java
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ private void _testAllowNaN(JsonFactory f, String doc, int readBytes) throws Exce
             /*BigDecimal dec =*/ p.getDecimalValue();
             fail("Should fail when trying to access NaN as BigDecimal");
         } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
-            verifyException(e, "can not be represented as `java.math.BigDecimal`");
+            verifyException(e, "can not be deserialized as `java.math.BigDecimal`");
         }
 
         assertToken(JsonToken.END_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/jsonptr/JsonPointerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/jsonptr/JsonPointerTest.java
index 53a0936bd7..78c2af1277 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/jsonptr/JsonPointerTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/jsonptr/JsonPointerTest.java
@@ -175,6 +175,8 @@ public void testAppend()
         JsonPointer appended = ptr.append(apd);
 
         assertEquals("extension", appended.last().getMatchingProperty());
+
+        assertEquals("/Image/15/name/extension", appended.toString());
     }
 
     public void testAppendWithFinalSlash()
@@ -183,25 +185,48 @@ public void testAppendWithFinalSlash()
         final String APPEND = "/extension";
 
         JsonPointer ptr = JsonPointer.compile(INPUT);
-        JsonPointer apd = JsonPointer.compile(APPEND);
+        // 14-Dec-2023, tatu: Not sure WTH was slash being removed for...
+        assertEquals("/Image/15/name/", ptr.toString());
 
+        JsonPointer apd = JsonPointer.compile(APPEND);
         JsonPointer appended = ptr.append(apd);
 
         assertEquals("extension", appended.last().getMatchingProperty());
+
+        assertEquals("/Image/15/name//extension", appended.toString());
     }
 
     public void testAppendProperty()
     {
         final String INPUT = "/Image/15/name";
-        final String APPEND_WITH_SLASH = "/extension";
         final String APPEND_NO_SLASH = "extension";
+        final String APPEND_WITH_SLASH = "/extension~";
 
         JsonPointer ptr = JsonPointer.compile(INPUT);
-        JsonPointer appendedWithSlash = ptr.appendProperty(APPEND_WITH_SLASH);
         JsonPointer appendedNoSlash = ptr.appendProperty(APPEND_NO_SLASH);
+        JsonPointer appendedWithSlash = ptr.appendProperty(APPEND_WITH_SLASH);
+
+        assertEquals(APPEND_NO_SLASH, appendedNoSlash.last().getMatchingProperty());
+        assertEquals("/Image/15/name/extension", appendedNoSlash.toString());
+        
+        assertEquals(APPEND_WITH_SLASH, appendedWithSlash.last().getMatchingProperty());
+        assertEquals("/Image/15/name/~1extension~0", appendedWithSlash.toString());
+    }
+
+    // [core#1145]: Escape property
+    public void testAppendPropertyEmpty()
+    {
+        final String BASE = "/Image/72/src";
+
+        JsonPointer basePtr = JsonPointer.compile(BASE);
+
+        // Same as before 2.17
+        assertSame(basePtr, basePtr.appendProperty(null));
+        // but this is different:
+        JsonPointer sub = basePtr.appendProperty("");
+        assertNotSame(basePtr, sub);
 
-        assertEquals("extension", appendedWithSlash.last().getMatchingProperty());
-        assertEquals("extension", appendedNoSlash.last().getMatchingProperty());
+        assertEquals(BASE+"/", sub.toString());
     }
 
     public void testAppendIndex()
@@ -251,7 +276,7 @@ public void testQuotedPath() throws Exception
     // [core#133]
     public void testLongNumbers() throws Exception
     {
-        final long LONG_ID = ((long) Integer.MAX_VALUE) + 1L;
+        final long LONG_ID = (Integer.MAX_VALUE) + 1L;
 
         final String INPUT = "/User/"+LONG_ID;
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardNumberParsingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardNumberParsingTest.java
index 585f83995a..a28f66a66f 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardNumberParsingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardNumberParsingTest.java
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonReadFeature;
 
+import java.math.BigDecimal;
+
 @FixMethodOrder(MethodSorters.NAME_ASCENDING) // easier to read on IDE
 public class NonStandardNumberParsingTest
     extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
@@ -56,7 +58,25 @@ public void testNegativeHexadecimal() throws Exception {
         }
     }
 
-    //JSON does not allow numbers to have f or d suffixes
+    /**
+     * Test for checking that Overflow for Double value does not lead
+     * to bogus NaN information.
+     */
+    public void testLargeDecimal() throws Exception {
+        final String biggerThanDouble = "7976931348623157e309";
+        for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
+            try (JsonParser p = createParser(mode, " " + biggerThanDouble + " ")) {
+                assertEquals(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT, p.nextToken());
+                assertEquals(new BigDecimal(biggerThanDouble), p.getDecimalValue());
+                assertFalse(p.isNaN());
+                assertEquals(Double.POSITIVE_INFINITY, p.getValueAsDouble());
+                // 01-Dec-2023, tatu: [core#1137] NaN only from explicit value
+                assertFalse(p.isNaN());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // JSON does not allow numbers to have f or d suffixes
     public void testFloatMarker() throws Exception {
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
             try (JsonParser p = createParser(mode, " -0.123f ")) {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardParserFeaturesTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardParserFeaturesTest.java
index a8a79ba6ec..3a60543c5c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardParserFeaturesTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NonStandardParserFeaturesTest.java
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ private void _testAllowNaN(int mode) throws Exception
             /*BigDecimal dec =*/ p.getDecimalValue();
             fail("Should fail when trying to access NaN as BigDecimal");
         } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
-            verifyException(e, "can not be represented as `java.math.BigDecimal`");
+            verifyException(e, "can not be deserialized as `java.math.BigDecimal`");
         }
 
         assertToken(JsonToken.END_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NumberParsingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NumberParsingTest.java
index 8415329500..f72bfb7a92 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NumberParsingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/NumberParsingTest.java
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ private void _testSimpleInt(int EXP_I, int mode) throws Exception
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
         assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT, p.nextToken());
         assertEquals(JsonParser.NumberType.INT, p.getNumberType());
+        assertEquals(JsonParser.NumberTypeFP.UNKNOWN, p.getNumberTypeFP());
         assertTrue(p.isExpectedNumberIntToken());
         assertEquals(""+EXP_I, p.getText());
 
@@ -102,9 +103,9 @@ private void _testSimpleInt(int EXP_I, int mode) throws Exception
         assertEquals(EXP_I, p.getIntValue());
         assertEquals(EXP_I, p.getValueAsInt(EXP_I + 3));
         assertEquals(EXP_I, p.getValueAsInt());
-        assertEquals((long) EXP_I, p.getLongValue());
+        assertEquals(EXP_I, p.getLongValue());
         assertEquals((double) EXP_I, p.getDoubleValue());
-        assertEquals(BigDecimal.valueOf((long) EXP_I), p.getDecimalValue());
+        assertEquals(BigDecimal.valueOf(EXP_I), p.getDecimalValue());
         assertToken(JsonToken.END_ARRAY, p.nextToken());
         p.close();
 
@@ -117,9 +118,9 @@ private void _testSimpleInt(int EXP_I, int mode) throws Exception
         int i = p.getIntValue();
 
         assertEquals(EXP_I, i);
-        assertEquals((long) EXP_I, p.getLongValue());
+        assertEquals(EXP_I, p.getLongValue());
         assertEquals((double) EXP_I, p.getDoubleValue());
-        assertEquals(BigDecimal.valueOf((long) EXP_I), p.getDecimalValue());
+        assertEquals(BigDecimal.valueOf(EXP_I), p.getDecimalValue());
         p.close();
 
         // and finally, coercion from double to int; couple of variants
@@ -305,7 +306,7 @@ private void _testSimpleLong(int mode) throws Exception
             assertEquals(Integer.TYPE, e.getTargetType());
         }
         assertEquals((double) EXP_L, p.getDoubleValue());
-        assertEquals(BigDecimal.valueOf((long) EXP_L), p.getDecimalValue());
+        assertEquals(BigDecimal.valueOf(EXP_L), p.getDecimalValue());
         p.close();
     }
 
@@ -431,12 +432,39 @@ public void testBigNumbers() throws Exception
         BigInteger biggie = new BigInteger(NUMBER_STR);
 
         for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
-            JsonParser p = createParser(jsonFactory(), mode, NUMBER_STR +" ");
-            assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT, p.nextToken());
-            assertEquals(JsonParser.NumberType.BIG_INTEGER, p.getNumberType());
-            assertEquals(NUMBER_STR, p.getText());
-            assertEquals(biggie, p.getBigIntegerValue());
-            p.close();
+            try (JsonParser p = createParser(jsonFactory(), mode, NUMBER_STR +" ")) {
+                assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT, p.nextToken());
+                assertEquals(JsonParser.NumberType.BIG_INTEGER, p.getNumberType());
+                assertEquals(NUMBER_STR, p.getText());
+                assertEquals(biggie, p.getBigIntegerValue());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Related to [core#1135]: JsonParser.isNaN() should not be fooled
+    // by possible Double overflow
+    public void testBiggerThanFloatHandling() throws Exception
+    {
+        BigDecimal tooBig = BigDecimal.valueOf(Double.MAX_VALUE);
+        tooBig = tooBig.add(tooBig);
+        // Otherwise becomes an int, need to add fractional part
+        tooBig = tooBig.add(BigDecimal.valueOf(0.25));
+        String tooBigString = tooBig.toPlainString();
+
+        // sanity check that it is beyond Double range:
+        assertTrue(new Double(tooBigString).isInfinite());
+
+        for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
+            try (JsonParser p = createParser(jsonFactory(), mode, tooBigString +" ")) {
+                assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_FLOAT, p.nextToken());
+                // NOTE! We MUST NOT call `p.getNumberType()` as that would make
+                // it `NumberType.DOUBLE`
+//                assertEquals(JsonParser.NumberType.BIG_DECIMAL, p.getNumberType());
+                assertFalse(p.isNaN());
+                assertEquals(tooBigString, p.getText());
+                assertEquals(tooBig, p.getDecimalValue());
+                assertFalse(p.isNaN());
+            }
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/SimpleParserTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/SimpleParserTest.java
index b9bfa5b10c..deddbc585d 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/SimpleParserTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/SimpleParserTest.java
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ public void testNameEscaping() throws IOException
 
     private void _testNameEscaping(int mode) throws IOException
     {
-        final Map<String,String> NAME_MAP = new LinkedHashMap<String,String>();
+        final Map<String,String> NAME_MAP = new LinkedHashMap<>();
         NAME_MAP.put("", "");
         NAME_MAP.put("\\\"funny\\\"", "\"funny\"");
         NAME_MAP.put("\\\\", "\\");
@@ -756,4 +756,141 @@ private void _doTestSpec(boolean verify) throws IOException
         verifyJsonSpecSampleDoc(p, verify);
         p.close();
     }
+
+    protected void verifyJsonSpecSampleDoc(JsonParser p, boolean verifyContents)
+        throws IOException
+    {
+        verifyJsonSpecSampleDoc(p, verifyContents, true);
+    }
+
+    protected void verifyJsonSpecSampleDoc(JsonParser p, boolean verifyContents,
+            boolean requireNumbers)
+        throws IOException
+    {
+        if (!p.hasCurrentToken()) {
+            p.nextToken();
+        }
+        // first basic check, mostly for test coverage
+        assertNull(p.getTypeId());
+        assertNull(p.getObjectId());
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.currentToken()); // main object
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Image'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Image");
+        }
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'image' object
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Width'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Width");
+        }
+
+        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers);
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_WIDTH);
+        }
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Height'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Height");
+        }
+
+        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers);
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_HEIGHT);
+        }
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Title'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Title");
+        }
+        assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
+        assertEquals(SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TITLE, getAndVerifyText(p));
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Thumbnail'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Thumbnail");
+        }
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'thumbnail' object
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Url'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Url");
+        }
+        assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            assertEquals(SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_URL, getAndVerifyText(p));
+        }
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Height'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Height");
+        }
+        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers);
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_HEIGHT);
+        }
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'Width'
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyFieldName(p, "Width");
+        }
+        // Width value is actually a String in the example
+        assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_STRING, p.nextToken());
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            assertEquals(SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_WIDTH, getAndVerifyText(p));
+        }
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.END_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'thumbnail' object
+        assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken()); // 'IDs'
+        assertToken(JsonToken.START_ARRAY, p.nextToken()); // 'ids' array
+        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[0]
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID1);
+        }
+        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[1]
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID2);
+        }
+        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[2]
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID3);
+        }
+        verifyIntToken(p.nextToken(), requireNumbers); // ids[3]
+        if (verifyContents) {
+            verifyIntValue(p, SAMPLE_SPEC_VALUE_TN_ID4);
+        }
+        assertToken(JsonToken.END_ARRAY, p.nextToken()); // 'ids' array
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.END_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // 'image' object
+
+        assertToken(JsonToken.END_OBJECT, p.nextToken()); // main object
+    }
+
+    private void verifyIntToken(JsonToken t, boolean requireNumbers)
+    {
+        if (t == JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (requireNumbers) { // to get error
+            assertToken(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT, t);
+        }
+        // if not number, must be String
+        if (t != JsonToken.VALUE_STRING) {
+            fail("Expected INT or STRING value, got "+t);
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected void verifyFieldName(JsonParser p, String expName)
+        throws IOException
+    {
+        assertEquals(expName, p.getText());
+        assertEquals(expName, p.currentName());
+    }
+
+    protected void verifyIntValue(JsonParser p, long expValue)
+        throws IOException
+    {
+        // First, via textual
+        assertEquals(String.valueOf(expValue), p.getText());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/TrailingCommasTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/TrailingCommasTest.java
index 372123999c..866bc2d506 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/TrailingCommasTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/TrailingCommasTest.java
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ public class TrailingCommasTest extends BaseTest {
   private final int mode;
 
   public TrailingCommasTest(int mode, List<JsonReadFeature> features) {
-      this.features = new HashSet<JsonReadFeature>(features);
+      this.features = new HashSet<>(features);
       JsonFactoryBuilder b = (JsonFactoryBuilder) JsonFactory.builder();
       for (JsonReadFeature feature : features) {
           b = b.enable(feature);
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ public TrailingCommasTest(int mode, List<JsonReadFeature> features) {
 
   @Parameterized.Parameters(name = "Mode {0}, Features {1}")
   public static Collection<Object[]> getTestCases() {
-    ArrayList<Object[]> cases = new ArrayList<Object[]>();
+    ArrayList<Object[]> cases = new ArrayList<>();
 
     for (int mode : ALL_MODES) {
       cases.add(new Object[]{mode, Collections.emptyList()});
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationDuringReaderParsingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationDuringReaderParsingTest.java
similarity index 99%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationDuringReaderParsingTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationDuringReaderParsingTest.java
index 265f85fa19..5e6b6824a0 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationDuringReaderParsingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationDuringReaderParsingTest.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read;
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read.loc;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationDuringStreamParsingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationDuringStreamParsingTest.java
similarity index 99%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationDuringStreamParsingTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationDuringStreamParsingTest.java
index 9244d68bf8..1049e10e23 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationDuringStreamParsingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationDuringStreamParsingTest.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read;
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read.loc;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationInArrayTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationInArrayTest.java
similarity index 98%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationInArrayTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationInArrayTest.java
index 9ca30e6890..173c1337fe 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationInArrayTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationInArrayTest.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read;
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read.loc;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationInObjectTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationInObjectTest.java
similarity index 98%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationInObjectTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationInObjectTest.java
index 370caec517..09e647f799 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationInObjectTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationInObjectTest.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read;
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read.loc;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/read/LocationOfError1173Test.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOfError1173Test.java
similarity index 89%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/read/LocationOfError1173Test.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOfError1173Test.java
index 43ef25ec7e..175e28bb70 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/read/LocationOfError1173Test.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOfError1173Test.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.fasterxml.jackson.failing.read;
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read.loc;
 
 import java.io.*;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
 
 /**
- * Tests that the {@link JsonLocation} attached to a thrown {@link JsonProcessingException} due to invalid json points
- * to the correct character.
+ * Tests that the {@link JsonLocation} attached to a thrown {@link StreamReadException}
+ * due to invalid JSON points to the correct character.
  */
 public class LocationOfError1173Test
 {
@@ -200,39 +200,6 @@ public JsonParser createParser(String input) throws Exception
             1,
             2
         ),
-        new InvalidJson(
-            "Incorrect case for false literal",
-            "{\"isThisValidJson\": FALSE}",
-            24,
-            24,
-            1,
-            25
-        ),
-        new InvalidJson(
-            "Incorrect case for true literal",
-            "{\"shouldYouAvoidWritingJsonLikeThis\": TRUE}",
-            41,
-            41,
-            1,
-            42
-        ),
-        new InvalidJson(
-            "Incorrect case for null literal",
-            "{\"licensePlate\": NULL}",
-            20,
-            20,
-            1,
-            21
-        ),
-        new InvalidJson(
-            "Invalid JSON with raw unicode character",
-            // javac will parse the unicode control sequence, it will be passed to the parser as a raw unicode character
-            "{\"validJson\":\"\u274c\",\"right\", \"here\"}",
-            26,
-            24,
-            1,
-            25
-        ),
         new InvalidJson(
             "Error in middle of line for multiline input",
             // missing comma delimiter between properties two and three
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationOffsets455Test.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOffsets455Test.java
similarity index 97%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationOffsets455Test.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOffsets455Test.java
index d6956d1348..afc04a200f 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationOffsets455Test.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOffsets455Test.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read;
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read.loc;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonLocation;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser;
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationOffsetsTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOffsetsTest.java
similarity index 99%
rename from src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationOffsetsTest.java
rename to src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOffsetsTest.java
index 4ef5df51f4..85641a0bb3 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/LocationOffsetsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/read/loc/LocationOffsetsTest.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read;
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.read.loc;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/ByteQuadsCanonicalizerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/ByteQuadsCanonicalizerTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..697a56b3a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/ByteQuadsCanonicalizerTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.sym;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+public class ByteQuadsCanonicalizerTest
+{
+    @Test
+    public void testMultiplyByFourFifths()
+    {
+        int i = 0;
+        for (; i >= 0; i += 7) {
+            int expected = (int) (i * 0.80);
+            int actual = ByteQuadsCanonicalizer.multiplyByFourFifths(i);
+            if (expected != actual) {
+                fail("Input for 80% of "+i+" differs: expected="+expected+", actual="+actual);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/SymbolsViaParserTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/SymbolsViaParserTest.java
index 07b4930ebb..545b955195 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/SymbolsViaParserTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/SymbolsViaParserTest.java
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ private void _test17Chars(boolean useBytes) throws IOException
         JsonParser p = useBytes
                 ? f.createParser(doc.getBytes("UTF-8"))
                 : f.createParser(doc);
-        HashSet<String> syms = new HashSet<String>();
+        HashSet<String> syms = new HashSet<>();
         assertToken(JsonToken.START_OBJECT, p.nextToken());
         for (int i = 0; i < 50; ++i) {
             assertToken(JsonToken.FIELD_NAME, p.nextToken());
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/TestHashCollisionChars.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/TestHashCollisionChars.java
index 98d879269b..3e9b9b07e4 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/TestHashCollisionChars.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/sym/TestHashCollisionChars.java
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ public void testReaderCollisions() throws Exception
 
     static List<String> collisions() {
         // we'll get 6^4, which is bit over 1k
-        ArrayList<String> result = new ArrayList<String>(36 * 36);
+        ArrayList<String> result = new ArrayList<>(36 * 36);
 
         final String[] FRAGMENTS = MULT_COLLISION_FRAGMENTS;
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilderTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilderTest.java
index d9914a04a7..7fd883cf54 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilderTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/ByteArrayBuilderTest.java
@@ -1,7 +1,14 @@
 package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.util;
 
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+
 import org.junit.Assert;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonFactory;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonGenerator;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.base.GeneratorBase;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.io.IOContext;
+
 public class ByteArrayBuilderTest extends com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest
 {
     public void testSimple() throws Exception
@@ -21,10 +28,43 @@ public void testSimple() throws Exception
         byte[] result = b.toByteArray();
         assertEquals(100, result.length);
         for (int i = 0; i < 100; ++i) {
-            assertEquals(i, (int) result[i]);
+            assertEquals(i, result[i]);
         }
 
         b.release();
         b.close();
     }
+
+    // [core#1195]: Try to verify that BufferRecycler instance is indeed reused
+    public void testBufferRecyclerReuse() throws Exception
+    {
+        JsonFactory f = new JsonFactory();
+        BufferRecycler br = new BufferRecycler()
+                // need to link with some pool
+                .withPool(JsonRecyclerPools.newBoundedPool(3));
+
+        ByteArrayBuilder bab = new ByteArrayBuilder(br, 20);
+        assertSame(br, bab.bufferRecycler());
+
+        JsonGenerator g = f.createGenerator(bab);
+        IOContext ioCtxt = ((GeneratorBase) g).ioContext();
+        assertSame(br, ioCtxt.bufferRecycler());
+        assertTrue(ioCtxt.bufferRecycler().isLinkedWithPool());
+
+        g.writeStartArray();
+        g.writeEndArray();
+        g.close();
+
+        // Generator.close() should NOT release buffer recycler
+        assertTrue(br.isLinkedWithPool());
+
+        byte[] result = bab.getClearAndRelease();
+        assertEquals("[]", new String(result, StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+        // Nor accessing contents
+        assertTrue(br.isLinkedWithPool());
+
+        // only explicit release does
+        br.releaseToPool();
+        assertFalse(br.isLinkedWithPool());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonBufferRecyclersTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonBufferRecyclersTest.java
index 5bebf35958..be1556f57e 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonBufferRecyclersTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/JsonBufferRecyclersTest.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 
 // Basic testing for [core#1064] wrt usage by `JsonParser` / `JsonGenerator`
+// (wrt simple reads/writes working without issues)
 public class JsonBufferRecyclersTest extends BaseTest
 {
     // // Parsers with RecyclerPools:
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDefaultPrettyPrinter.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDefaultPrettyPrinter.java
index 123a0bfca9..a3a896fbd0 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDefaultPrettyPrinter.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDefaultPrettyPrinter.java
@@ -233,6 +233,92 @@ public void testWithoutSeparatorsNew() throws IOException
         assertEquals("1[2]{\"a\":3}", _printTestData(pp, false, writeTestData));
     }
 
+    public void testObjectEmptySeparatorDefault() throws IOException
+    {
+        Separators separators = new Separators()
+            .withRootSeparator(null)
+            .withObjectFieldValueSpacing(Spacing.NONE);
+        DefaultPrettyPrinter pp = new DefaultPrettyPrinter()
+                .withSeparators(separators)
+                .withArrayIndenter(null)
+                .withObjectIndenter(null);
+
+        ThrowingConsumer<JsonGenerator> writeTestData = gen -> {
+            gen.writeStartObject();
+            gen.writeFieldName("objectEmptySeparatorDefault");
+            gen.writeStartObject();
+            gen.writeEndObject();
+            gen.writeEndObject();
+        };
+        
+        assertEquals("{\"objectEmptySeparatorDefault\":{ }}", _printTestData(pp, false, writeTestData));
+    }
+
+    public void testObjectEmptySeparatorCustom() throws IOException
+    {
+        Separators separators = new Separators()
+            .withRootSeparator(null)
+            .withObjectFieldValueSpacing(Spacing.NONE)
+            .withObjectEmptySeparator("    ");
+        DefaultPrettyPrinter pp = new DefaultPrettyPrinter()
+                .withSeparators(separators)
+                .withArrayIndenter(null)
+                .withObjectIndenter(null);
+
+        ThrowingConsumer<JsonGenerator> writeTestData = gen -> {
+            gen.writeStartObject();
+            gen.writeFieldName("objectEmptySeparatorCustom");
+            gen.writeStartObject();
+            gen.writeEndObject();
+            gen.writeEndObject();
+        };
+        
+        assertEquals("{\"objectEmptySeparatorCustom\":{    }}", _printTestData(pp, false, writeTestData));
+    }
+
+    public void testArrayEmptySeparatorDefault() throws IOException
+    {
+        Separators separators = new Separators()
+            .withRootSeparator(null)
+            .withObjectFieldValueSpacing(Spacing.NONE);
+        DefaultPrettyPrinter pp = new DefaultPrettyPrinter()
+                .withSeparators(separators)
+                .withArrayIndenter(null)
+                .withObjectIndenter(null);
+
+        ThrowingConsumer<JsonGenerator> writeTestData = gen -> {
+            gen.writeStartObject();
+            gen.writeFieldName("arrayEmptySeparatorDefault");
+            gen.writeStartArray();
+            gen.writeEndArray();
+            gen.writeEndObject();
+        };
+        
+        assertEquals("{\"arrayEmptySeparatorDefault\":[ ]}", _printTestData(pp, false, writeTestData));
+    }
+
+    public void testArrayEmptySeparatorCustom() throws IOException
+    {
+        Separators separators = new Separators()
+            .withRootSeparator(null)
+            .withObjectFieldValueSpacing(Spacing.NONE)
+            .withArrayEmptySeparator("    ");
+        DefaultPrettyPrinter pp = new DefaultPrettyPrinter()
+                .withSeparators(separators)
+                .withArrayIndenter(null)
+                .withObjectIndenter(null);
+
+        ThrowingConsumer<JsonGenerator> writeTestData = gen -> {
+            gen.writeStartObject();
+            gen.writeFieldName("arrayEmptySeparatorCustom");
+            gen.writeStartArray();
+            gen.writeEndArray();
+            gen.writeEndObject();
+        };
+        
+        assertEquals("{\"arrayEmptySeparatorCustom\":[    ]}", _printTestData(pp, false, writeTestData));
+    }
+
     private String _printTestData(PrettyPrinter pp, boolean useBytes) throws IOException
     {
         return _printTestData(pp, useBytes, gen -> {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDelegates.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDelegates.java
index c7290c2744..03acb78aac 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDelegates.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestDelegates.java
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser.NumberType;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser.NumberTypeFP;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.ResolvedType;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.type.TypeReference;
 
@@ -263,6 +264,7 @@ public void testParserDelegate() throws IOException
         assertFalse(del.isNaN());
         assertTrue(del.isExpectedNumberIntToken());
         assertEquals(NumberType.INT, del.getNumberType());
+        assertEquals(NumberTypeFP.UNKNOWN, del.getNumberTypeFP());
         assertEquals(Integer.valueOf(1), del.getNumberValue());
         assertNull(del.getEmbeddedObject());
 
@@ -376,7 +378,7 @@ public void testGeneratorDelegateArrays() throws IOException
 
         final Object MARKER = new Object();
         del.writeStartArray(MARKER);
-        assertSame(MARKER, del.getCurrentValue());
+        assertSame(MARKER, del.currentValue());
 
         del.writeArray(new int[] { 1, 2, 3 }, 0, 3);
         del.writeArray(new long[] { 1, 123456, 2 }, 1, 1);
@@ -397,7 +399,7 @@ public void testGeneratorDelegateComments() throws IOException
 
         final Object MARKER = new Object();
         del.writeStartArray(MARKER, 5);
-        assertSame(MARKER, del.getCurrentValue());
+        assertSame(MARKER, del.currentValue());
 
         del.writeNumber((short) 1);
         del.writeNumber(12L);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestNumberPrinting.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestNumberPrinting.java
index bad5bdbc03..26bd962a7f 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestNumberPrinting.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/util/TestNumberPrinting.java
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ public void testLongPrinting() throws Exception
         Random rnd = new Random(12345L);
         // Bigger value space, need more iterations for long
         for (int i = 0; i < 678000; ++i) {
-            long l = ((long) rnd.nextInt() << 32) | (long) rnd.nextInt();
+            long l = ((long) rnd.nextInt() << 32) | rnd.nextInt();
             assertLongPrint(l, i);
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/JsonWriteFeatureEscapeForwardSlashTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/JsonWriteFeatureEscapeForwardSlashTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2933898d41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/JsonWriteFeatureEscapeForwardSlashTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.core.write;
+
+import java.io.*;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonFactory;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonGenerator;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.json.JsonWriteFeature;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+
+/**
+ * @since 2.17
+ */
+public class JsonWriteFeatureEscapeForwardSlashTest
+{
+    @Test
+    public void testDontEscapeForwardSlash() throws Exception {
+        final JsonFactory jsonF = JsonFactory.builder()
+                .disable(JsonWriteFeature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES)
+                .build();
+        final String expJson = "{\"url\":\"http://example.com\"}";
+
+        _testWithStringWriter(jsonF, expJson);
+        _testWithByteArrayOutputStream(jsonF, expJson); // Also test with byte-backed output
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testEscapeForwardSlash() throws Exception {
+        final JsonFactory jsonF = JsonFactory.builder()
+                .enable(JsonWriteFeature.ESCAPE_FORWARD_SLASHES)
+                .build();
+        final String expJson = "{\"url\":\"http:\\/\\/example.com\"}";
+
+        _testWithStringWriter(jsonF, expJson);
+        _testWithByteArrayOutputStream(jsonF, expJson); // Also test with byte-backed output
+    }
+
+    private void _testWithStringWriter(JsonFactory jsonF, String expJson) throws Exception {
+        // Given
+        Writer jsonWriter = new StringWriter();
+        // When
+        try (JsonGenerator generator = jsonF.createGenerator(jsonWriter)) {
+            _writeDoc(generator);
+        }
+        // Then
+        assertEquals(expJson, jsonWriter.toString());
+    }
+
+    private void _testWithByteArrayOutputStream(JsonFactory jsonF, String expJson) throws Exception {
+        // Given
+        ByteArrayOutputStream bytes = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
+        // When
+        try (JsonGenerator generator = jsonF.createGenerator(bytes)) {
+            _writeDoc(generator);
+        }
+        // Then
+        assertEquals(expJson, bytes.toString());
+    }
+
+    private void _writeDoc(JsonGenerator generator) throws Exception
+    {
+        generator.writeStartObject(); // start object
+        generator.writeStringField("url", "http://example.com");
+        generator.writeEndObject(); // end object
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/RawStringWriteTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/RawStringWriteTest.java
index ea8610a9d9..dc4828c904 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/RawStringWriteTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/RawStringWriteTest.java
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ private void _testWriteRawWithSerializable(JsonFactory f, boolean useBytes) thro
     private List<byte[]> generateStrings(Random rnd, int totalLength, boolean includeCtrlChars)
         throws IOException
     {
-        ArrayList<byte[]> strings = new ArrayList<byte[]>();
+        ArrayList<byte[]> strings = new ArrayList<>();
         do {
             int len = 2;
             int bits = rnd.nextInt(13);
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/UTF8GeneratorTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/UTF8GeneratorTest.java
index 0d15d2a44d..5d63d1bd4d 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/UTF8GeneratorTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/core/write/UTF8GeneratorTest.java
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ public void testFilteringWithEscapedChars() throws Exception
         gen.writeStartObject();
 
         gen.writeFieldName("a");
-        gen.writeNumber((int) 123);
+        gen.writeNumber(123);
 
         gen.writeFieldName("array");
         gen.writeStartArray();
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/LocationOfError1180Test.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/LocationOfError1180Test.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..44b18a8d62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/LocationOfError1180Test.java
@@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.failing;
+
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.Arguments;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.MethodSource;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.async.ByteArrayFeeder;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.exc.StreamReadException;
+
+import static com.fasterxml.jackson.core.BaseTest.a2q;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * Tests that the {@link JsonLocation} attached to a thrown {@link StreamReadException}
+ * due to invalid JSON points to the correct character.
+ */
+public class LocationOfError1180Test
+{
+    static final JsonFactory JSON_F = new JsonFactory();
+
+    /** Represents the different parser backends */
+    public enum ParserVariant
+    {
+        BYTE_ARRAY(
+            (String input) -> JSON_F.createParser(input.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8)),
+            true,   // supports byte offsets in reported location
+            false,  // supports character offsets in reported location
+            true    // supports column numbers in reported location
+        ),
+        CHAR_ARRAY(
+            (String input) -> JSON_F.createParser(input.toCharArray()),
+            false,
+            true,
+            true
+        ),
+        ASYNC(
+            (String input) -> {
+                JsonParser parser = JSON_F.createNonBlockingByteArrayParser();
+                ByteArrayFeeder feeder = (ByteArrayFeeder) parser.getNonBlockingInputFeeder();
+                assertTrue(feeder.needMoreInput());
+
+                byte[] inputBytes = input.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+                feeder.feedInput(inputBytes, 0, inputBytes.length);
+                feeder.endOfInput();
+
+                return parser;
+            },
+            true,
+            false,
+            true
+        )
+        ;
+
+        ParserVariant(
+            ParserGenerator parserGenerator,
+            boolean supportsByteOffset,
+            boolean supportsCharOffset,
+            boolean supportsColumnNr
+        )
+        {
+            _parserGenerator = parserGenerator;
+
+            this.supportsByteOffset = supportsByteOffset;
+            this.supportsCharOffset = supportsCharOffset;
+            this.supportsColumnNr = supportsColumnNr;
+        }
+
+        public JsonParser createParser(String input) throws Exception
+        {
+            return _parserGenerator.createParser(input);
+        }
+
+        private final ParserGenerator _parserGenerator;
+        public final boolean supportsByteOffset;
+        public final boolean supportsCharOffset;
+        public final boolean supportsColumnNr;
+    }
+
+    /** Collection of differing invalid JSON input cases to test */
+    private static final List<InvalidJson> INVALID_JSON_CASES = Arrays.asList(
+        new InvalidJson(
+            "Incorrect case for false literal",
+            "{\"isThisValidJson\": FALSE}",
+            24,
+            24,
+            1,
+            25
+        ),
+        new InvalidJson(
+            "Incorrect case for true literal",
+            "{\"shouldYouAvoidWritingJsonLikeThis\": TRUE}",
+            41,
+            41,
+            1,
+            42
+        ),
+        new InvalidJson(
+            "Incorrect case for null literal",
+            "{\"licensePlate\": NULL}",
+            20,
+            20,
+            1,
+            21
+        ),
+        // NOTE: to be removed, eventually
+        new InvalidJson(
+            "Invalid JSON with raw unicode character",
+            // javac will parse the 3-byte unicode control sequence, it will be passed to the parser as a raw unicode character
+            a2q("{'validJson':'\u274c','right', 'here'}"),
+            26,
+            24,
+            1,
+            25
+        )
+    );
+
+    @ParameterizedTest
+    @MethodSource("_generateTestData")
+    public void testParserBackendWithInvalidJson(ParserVariant variant, InvalidJson invalidJson)
+        throws Exception
+    {
+        try (JsonParser parser = variant.createParser(invalidJson.input))
+        {
+            StreamReadException e = Assertions.assertThrows(
+                    StreamReadException.class,
+                () -> {
+                    // Blindly advance the parser through the end of input
+                    while (parser.nextToken() != null) {}
+                }
+            );
+
+            JsonLocation location = e.getLocation();
+            assertEquals(invalidJson.lineNr, location.getLineNr());
+            final String msg = e.getOriginalMessage();
+
+            if (variant.supportsByteOffset)
+            {
+                assertEquals("Incorrect byte offset (for '"+msg+"')",
+                        invalidJson.byteOffset, location.getByteOffset());
+            }
+            if (variant.supportsCharOffset)
+            {
+                assertEquals("Incorrect char offset (for '"+msg+"')",
+                        invalidJson.charOffset, location.getCharOffset());
+            }
+            if (variant.supportsColumnNr)
+            {
+                assertEquals("Incorrect column (for '"+msg+"')",
+                        invalidJson.columnNr, location.getColumnNr());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static Stream<Arguments> _generateTestData()
+    {
+        return Arrays.stream(ParserVariant.values())
+            .flatMap(parserVariant -> INVALID_JSON_CASES.stream().map(
+                invalidJson -> Arguments.of(parserVariant, invalidJson)
+            ));
+    }
+
+    @FunctionalInterface
+    public interface ParserGenerator
+    {
+        JsonParser createParser(String input) throws Exception;
+    }
+
+    static class InvalidJson
+    {
+        InvalidJson(String name, String input, int byteOffset, int charOffset,
+                int lineNr, int columnNr)
+        {
+            _name = name;
+
+            this.input = input;
+            this.byteOffset = byteOffset;
+            this.charOffset = charOffset;
+            this.lineNr = lineNr;
+            this.columnNr = columnNr;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String toString()
+        {
+            return _name;
+        }
+
+        private final String _name;
+        public final String input;
+        public final int byteOffset;
+        public final int charOffset;
+        public final int lineNr;
+        public final int columnNr;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/async/FilteringOnAsyncInfiniteLoop1144Test.java b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/async/FilteringOnAsyncInfiniteLoop1144Test.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7829801b61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fasterxml/jackson/failing/async/FilteringOnAsyncInfiniteLoop1144Test.java
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+package com.fasterxml.jackson.failing.async;
+
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.Future;
+import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+import org.assertj.core.api.Assertions;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.*;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.async.ByteArrayFeeder;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.filter.FilteringParserDelegate;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.filter.JsonPointerBasedFilter;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.filter.TokenFilter;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNull;
+
+public class FilteringOnAsyncInfiniteLoop1144Test
+{
+    private final JsonFactory JSON_F = new JsonFactory();
+
+    private final byte[] DOC = "{\"first\":1,\"second\":2}"
+            .getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+
+    // Just to show expected filtering behavior with blocking alternative
+    @Test
+    public void testFilteringBlockingParser() throws Exception
+    {
+        try (JsonParser p = JSON_F.createParser(DOC)) {
+            try (JsonParser fp = new FilteringParserDelegate(p,
+                new JsonPointerBasedFilter("/second"),
+                    TokenFilter.Inclusion.ONLY_INCLUDE_ALL, false)) {
+                assertEquals(JsonToken.VALUE_NUMBER_INT, fp.nextToken());
+                assertEquals(2, fp.getIntValue());
+                assertNull(fp.nextToken());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // And here's reproduction of infinite loop
+    @SuppressWarnings("resource")
+    @Test
+    public void testFilteringNonBlockingParser() throws Exception
+    {
+        JsonParser nonBlockingParser = JSON_F.createNonBlockingByteArrayParser();
+        ByteArrayFeeder inputFeeder = (ByteArrayFeeder) nonBlockingParser.getNonBlockingInputFeeder();
+
+        // If we did this, things would work:
+        /*
+        inputFeeder.feedInput(DOC, 0, DOC.length);
+        inputFeeder.endOfInput();
+         */
+
+        JsonParser filteringParser = new FilteringParserDelegate(nonBlockingParser,
+                new JsonPointerBasedFilter("/second"),
+                    TokenFilter.Inclusion.ONLY_INCLUDE_ALL, false);
+
+        ScheduledExecutorService executor = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor();
+        executor.schedule(() -> {
+            try {
+                // This doesn't seem to make a difference:
+                inputFeeder.feedInput(DOC, 0, DOC.length);
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                throw new RuntimeException(e);
+            }
+        }, 500, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+        
+        Future<JsonToken> future = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor().submit(() -> filteringParser.nextToken());
+        Assertions.assertThat(future)
+                .succeedsWithin(Duration.ofSeconds(5))
+                .isNotNull()
+                .isNotEqualTo(JsonToken.NOT_AVAILABLE);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/perf/EnumByBytesLookup.java b/src/test/java/perf/EnumByBytesLookup.java
index 1f757ac454..e9cfd3405c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/perf/EnumByBytesLookup.java
+++ b/src/test/java/perf/EnumByBytesLookup.java
@@ -22,14 +22,14 @@ private EnumByBytesLookup(Trie<E> root, int size) {
 
     public static <EIN extends Enum<EIN>> EnumByBytesLookup<EIN> buildFor(Class<EIN> enumClass)
     {
-        Trie<EIN> root = new Trie<EIN>(null);
+        Trie<EIN> root = new Trie<>(null);
         int size = 0;
         for (EIN en : enumClass.getEnumConstants()) {
             byte[] key = en.name().getBytes(UTF8);
             root = root.with(en, key);
             ++size;
         }
-        return new EnumByBytesLookup<EIN>(root, size);
+        return new EnumByBytesLookup<>(root, size);
     }
 
     public E find(byte[] rawId) {
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ public Trie<T> with(T match, byte[] rawId) {
 
     private Trie<T> with(T match, byte[] rawId, int start, int end) {
       if (start == end) {
-        return new Trie<T>(this, match);
+        return new Trie<>(this, match);
       }
       // Ok: two choices; either we follow existing branch; or need to create new one
       final byte b = rawId[start++];
@@ -126,16 +126,16 @@ private Trie<T> with(T match, byte[] rawId, int start, int end) {
           // existing branch: good day for delegation...
           Trie<T> old = nextNodes[i];
           // to keep things truly immutable, copy underlying arrays, then
-          return new Trie<T>(this, i, old.with(match, rawId, start, end));
+          return new Trie<>(this, i, old.with(match, rawId, start, end));
         }
       }
       // simplest recursively, but for fun let's convert to iteration. Start with tail
-      Trie<T> curr = new Trie<T>(match);
+      Trie<T> curr = new Trie<>(match);
 
       for (int i = end-1; i >= start; --i) {
-        curr = new Trie<T>(this, rawId[i], curr);
+        curr = new Trie<>(this, rawId[i], curr);
       }
-      return new Trie<T>(this, b, curr);
+      return new Trie<>(this, b, curr);
     }
 
     public T find(byte[] id) {
diff --git a/src/test/java/perf/ManualCharAccessTest.java b/src/test/java/perf/ManualCharAccessTest.java
index da0d697ea8..870065eb30 100644
--- a/src/test/java/perf/ManualCharAccessTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/perf/ManualCharAccessTest.java
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ private void test() throws Exception
             if (lf) {
                 ++roundsDone;
                 if ((roundsDone % 7) == 0 && roundsDone > WARMUP_ROUNDS) {
-                    double den = (double) (roundsDone - WARMUP_ROUNDS);
+                    double den = roundsDone - WARMUP_ROUNDS;
                     System.out.printf("Averages after %d rounds (classic, byte[], int[]): "
                             +"%.1f / %.1f / %.1f msecs\n",
                             (int) den
diff --git a/src/test/java/perf/ManualPerfTestBase.java b/src/test/java/perf/ManualPerfTestBase.java
index d9d895a73f..4a5a2f121e 100644
--- a/src/test/java/perf/ManualPerfTestBase.java
+++ b/src/test/java/perf/ManualPerfTestBase.java
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ protected <T1, T2> void test(String desc1, String desc2, int expSize)
             if (lf) {
                 ++roundsDone;
                 if ((roundsDone % 3) == 0 && roundsDone > WARMUP_ROUNDS) {
-                    double den = (double) (roundsDone - WARMUP_ROUNDS);
+                    double den = roundsDone - WARMUP_ROUNDS;
                     System.out.printf("Averages after %d rounds ("+desc1+" / "+desc2+"): %.1f / %.1f msecs\n",
                             (int) den,
                             times[0] / den, times[1] / den);
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ protected long _testRead2(int reps) throws Exception {
     protected abstract void testRead2(int reps) throws Exception;
 
     protected static String a2q(String json) {
-        return json.replace("'", "\"");
+        return json.replace('\'', '"');
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/perf/MediaItem.java b/src/test/java/perf/MediaItem.java
index cac70c9d07..65a139f27c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/perf/MediaItem.java
+++ b/src/test/java/perf/MediaItem.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ public MediaItem(Content c)
 
     public void addPhoto(Photo p) {
         if (_photos == null) {
-            _photos = new ArrayList<Photo>();
+            _photos = new ArrayList<>();
         }
         _photos.add(p);
     }
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ public Content() { }
 
         public void addPerson(String p) {
             if (_persons == null) {
-                _persons = new ArrayList<String>();
+                _persons = new ArrayList<>();
             }
             _persons.add(p);
         }