diff --git a/src/Makefile.dep b/src/Makefile.dep
index 88924d2..53fbb00 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.dep
+++ b/src/Makefile.dep
@@ -2,51 +2,45 @@
 
 ./convert/inttostr.o: ./convert/inttostr.h
 ./convert/misc.o: ./convert/misc.h ./convert/text.h textstream/stream.h
-./convert/misc.o: textstream/types.h utf8/utf8_stream.h
-./convert/misc.o: textstream/textstream.h textstream/stream.h space/space.h
-./convert/misc.o: convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h utf8/utf8_templates.h
-./convert/misc.o: utf8/utf8_private.h date/date.h membuffer/membuffer.h
-./convert/misc.o: textstream/types.h ./convert/inttostr.h
+./convert/misc.o: textstream/types.h ./convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h
+./convert/misc.o: utf8/utf8_templates.h utf8/utf8_private.h
 ./convert/text.o: ./convert/text.h ./convert/text_private.h
 ./convert/double.o: ./convert/double.h textstream/textstream.h
 ./convert/double.o: textstream/stream.h space/space.h textstream/types.h
 ./convert/double.o: convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h textstream/stream.h
 ./convert/double.o: utf8/utf8_templates.h utf8/utf8_private.h date/date.h
 ./convert/double.o: membuffer/membuffer.h textstream/types.h
-./convert/double.o: utf8/utf8_stream.h
 ./convert/baseparser.o: ./convert/baseparser.h textstream/textstream.h
 ./convert/baseparser.o: textstream/stream.h space/space.h textstream/types.h
 ./convert/baseparser.o: convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h textstream/stream.h
 ./convert/baseparser.o: utf8/utf8_templates.h utf8/utf8_private.h date/date.h
 ./convert/baseparser.o: membuffer/membuffer.h textstream/types.h
-./convert/baseparser.o: utf8/utf8_stream.h
 ./date/date.o: ./date/date.h convert/inttostr.h
 ./log/filelog.o: ./log/filelog.h textstream/textstream.h textstream/stream.h
 ./log/filelog.o: space/space.h textstream/types.h convert/inttostr.h
 ./log/filelog.o: utf8/utf8.h textstream/stream.h utf8/utf8_templates.h
 ./log/filelog.o: utf8/utf8_private.h date/date.h membuffer/membuffer.h
-./log/filelog.o: textstream/types.h utf8/utf8_stream.h
+./log/filelog.o: textstream/types.h
 ./log/log.o: ./log/log.h textstream/textstream.h textstream/stream.h
 ./log/log.o: space/space.h textstream/types.h convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h
 ./log/log.o: textstream/stream.h utf8/utf8_templates.h utf8/utf8_private.h
 ./log/log.o: date/date.h membuffer/membuffer.h textstream/types.h
-./log/log.o: utf8/utf8_stream.h ./log/filelog.h
+./log/log.o: ./log/filelog.h
 ./space/space.o: ./space/space.h textstream/types.h convert/inttostr.h
 ./space/space.o: utf8/utf8.h textstream/stream.h utf8/utf8_templates.h
 ./space/space.o: utf8/utf8_private.h convert/convert.h ./convert/inttostr.h
 ./space/space.o: convert/patternreplacer.h textstream/textstream.h
 ./space/space.o: textstream/stream.h space/space.h date/date.h
-./space/space.o: membuffer/membuffer.h textstream/types.h utf8/utf8_stream.h
-./space/space.o: convert/strtoint.h ./convert/text.h ./convert/misc.h
-./space/space.o: ./convert/double.h
+./space/space.o: membuffer/membuffer.h textstream/types.h convert/strtoint.h
+./space/space.o: ./convert/text.h ./convert/misc.h ./convert/double.h
 ./space/spaceparser.o: ./space/spaceparser.h ./space/space.h
 ./space/spaceparser.o: textstream/types.h convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h
 ./space/spaceparser.o: textstream/stream.h utf8/utf8_templates.h
 ./space/spaceparser.o: utf8/utf8_private.h convert/baseparser.h
 ./space/spaceparser.o: textstream/textstream.h textstream/stream.h
 ./space/spaceparser.o: space/space.h date/date.h membuffer/membuffer.h
-./space/spaceparser.o: textstream/types.h utf8/utf8_stream.h
-./space/spaceparser.o: convert/strtoint.h ./convert/text.h ./convert/misc.h
+./space/spaceparser.o: textstream/types.h convert/strtoint.h ./convert/text.h
+./space/spaceparser.o: ./convert/misc.h
 ./utf8/utf8.o: ./utf8/utf8.h textstream/stream.h utf8/utf8_templates.h
 ./utf8/utf8.o: utf8/utf8_private.h
 ./utf8/utf8_private.o: utf8/utf8_private.h
@@ -55,7 +49,7 @@
 ./csv/csvparser.o: utf8/utf8_templates.h utf8/utf8_private.h
 ./csv/csvparser.o: convert/baseparser.h textstream/textstream.h
 ./csv/csvparser.o: textstream/stream.h date/date.h membuffer/membuffer.h
-./csv/csvparser.o: textstream/types.h utf8/utf8_stream.h
+./csv/csvparser.o: textstream/types.h
 ./mainoptions/mainoptionsparser.o: ./mainoptions/mainoptionsparser.h
 ./mainoptions/mainoptionsparser.o: space/space.h textstream/types.h
 ./mainoptions/mainoptionsparser.o: convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h
@@ -67,10 +61,9 @@
 ./html/bbcodeparser.o: convert/inttostr.h utf8/utf8.h textstream/stream.h
 ./html/bbcodeparser.o: utf8/utf8_templates.h utf8/utf8_private.h date/date.h
 ./html/bbcodeparser.o: membuffer/membuffer.h textstream/types.h
-./html/bbcodeparser.o: utf8/utf8_stream.h
 ./html/htmlparser.o: ./html/htmlparser.h convert/baseparser.h
 ./html/htmlparser.o: textstream/textstream.h textstream/stream.h
 ./html/htmlparser.o: space/space.h textstream/types.h convert/inttostr.h
 ./html/htmlparser.o: utf8/utf8.h textstream/stream.h utf8/utf8_templates.h
 ./html/htmlparser.o: utf8/utf8_private.h date/date.h membuffer/membuffer.h
-./html/htmlparser.o: textstream/types.h utf8/utf8_stream.h convert/text.h
+./html/htmlparser.o: textstream/types.h convert/text.h
diff --git a/src/convert/baseparser.cpp b/src/convert/baseparser.cpp
index 4a8b88e..e58d2ae 100644
--- a/src/convert/baseparser.cpp
+++ b/src/convert/baseparser.cpp
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@
 
 #include "baseparser.h"
 #include "utf8/utf8.h"
-#include "utf8/utf8_stream.h"
 
 
 namespace pt
diff --git a/src/convert/misc.h b/src/convert/misc.h
index 6228b67..ebc6cad 100644
--- a/src/convert/misc.h
+++ b/src/convert/misc.h
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@
 #include "text.h"
 #include "textstream/stream.h"
 #include "textstream/types.h"
-#include "utf8/utf8_stream.h"
 
 
 namespace pt
diff --git a/src/textstream/textstream.h b/src/textstream/textstream.h
index a5c3df7..d43a8c7 100644
--- a/src/textstream/textstream.h
+++ b/src/textstream/textstream.h
@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@
 #include "membuffer/membuffer.h"
 #include "types.h"
 #include "utf8/utf8.h"
-#include "utf8/utf8_stream.h"
 
 // for snprintf
 #include <cstdio>
@@ -213,6 +212,9 @@ public:
 
 protected:
 
+	template<typename char_type_to, size_t stack_size_to, size_t heap_block_size_to>
+	void put_stream(const TextStreamBase<char_type_to, stack_size_to, heap_block_size_to> & stream);
+
 	void put_stream(const Stream & stream);
 
 
@@ -599,8 +601,9 @@ void TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::to_str(std::string
 	if constexpr (sizeof(char_type) == sizeof(char) )
 	{
 		const_iterator i = begin();
+		const_iterator i_end = end();
 
-		for( ; i != end() ; ++i)
+		for( ; i != i_end ; ++i)
 			str += *i;
 	}
 	else
@@ -629,10 +632,7 @@ void TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::to_str(std::wstring
 	}
 	else
 	{
-		// IMPROVE ME don't use a temporary object
-		std::string utf8;
-		to_str(utf8);
-		utf8_to_wide(utf8, str, false);
+		utf8_to_wide(*this, str, false);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -715,7 +715,14 @@ template<typename char_type, size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size>
 TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size> &
 TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::operator<<(const std::string & str)
 {
-	operator<<(str.c_str());
+	if constexpr ( sizeof(char_type) == sizeof(char) )
+	{
+		buffer.append(str.c_str(), str.size());
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		utf8_to_wide(str, *this, false);
+	}
 
 return *this;
 }
@@ -733,7 +740,7 @@ TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::operator<<(const wchar_t
 	}
 	else
 	{
-		wide_to_utf8(str, *this);
+		wide_to_utf8(str, *this, false);
 	}
 
 return *this;
@@ -745,7 +752,14 @@ template<typename char_type, size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size>
 TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size> &
 TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::operator<<(const std::wstring & str)
 {
-	operator<<(str.c_str());
+	if constexpr (sizeof(char_type) == sizeof(wchar_t) )
+	{
+		buffer.append(str.c_str(), str.size());
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		wide_to_utf8(str, *this, false);
+	}
 
 return *this;
 }
@@ -988,6 +1002,44 @@ TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::operator<<(const Stream
 
 
 
+template<typename char_type, size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size>
+template<typename arg_char_type, size_t arg_stack_size, size_t arg_heap_block_size>
+void TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::put_stream(
+		const TextStreamBase<arg_char_type, arg_stack_size, arg_heap_block_size> & stream
+		)
+{
+	if( (sizeof(char_type) == sizeof(char) && stream.is_char_stream()) ||
+		(sizeof(char_type) == sizeof(wchar_t) && stream.is_wchar_stream()) )
+	{
+		// from utf8 to utf8 or from wide to wide
+
+		typename TextStreamBase<arg_char_type, arg_stack_size, arg_heap_block_size>::const_iterator i = stream.begin();
+
+		for( ; i != stream.end() ; ++i)
+		{
+			operator<<(*i);
+		}
+	}
+	else
+	if( sizeof(char_type) == sizeof(wchar_t) && stream.is_char_stream() )
+	{
+		// from utf8 to wide
+		utf8_to_wide(stream, *this, false);
+	}
+	else
+	if( sizeof(char_type) == sizeof(char) && stream.is_wchar_stream() )
+	{
+		// from wide to utf8
+		wide_stream_to_utf8(stream, *this, false);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		operator<<("such conversion is not implemented");
+	}
+}
+
+
+
 template<typename char_type, size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size>
 void TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::put_stream(const Stream & stream)
 {
@@ -1036,7 +1088,7 @@ template<typename char_type, size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size>
 TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size> &
 TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::operator<<(const Space & space)
 {
-	space.serialize_to_space_stream(*this, true);
+	space.serialize_to_json_stream(*this, true);
 
 return *this;
 }
@@ -1059,11 +1111,6 @@ TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size> &
 TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::operator<<(
 		const TextStreamBase<arg_char_type, arg_stack_size, arg_heap_block_size> & arg)
 {
-	/*
-	 * in the future we can have a faster implementation
-	 * which uses iterators instead of get_char() and get_wchar() methods
-	 *
-	 */
 	put_stream(arg);
 
 return *this;
@@ -1101,6 +1148,35 @@ TextStreamBase<char_type, stack_size, heap_block_size>::fill_up_if_needed(wchar_
 }
 
 
+
+
+
+/*!
+	this function converts an UTF-8 stream into wide stream or wide string
+	(is declared in utf8/utf8.h)
+
+	input:
+		iterator_in - an TextStream iterator for reading from
+		iterator_end - an end iterator (can be returned by end() method from TextStream)
+
+	output:
+		out_stream - an output wide stream or wide string
+
+		this function returns false if there were some errors when converting
+*/
+template<size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size, typename StreamOrStringType>
+bool utf8_to_wide(
+		const TextStreamBase<char, stack_size, heap_block_size> & utf8,
+		StreamOrStringType & out_stream,
+		bool clear_stream,
+		int mode
+		)
+{
+	typename TextStreamBase<char, stack_size, heap_block_size>::const_iterator i_begin = utf8.begin();
+	return utf8_to_wide(i_begin, utf8.end(), out_stream, clear_stream, mode);
+}
+
+
 } // namespace
 
 
diff --git a/src/utf8/utf8.cpp b/src/utf8/utf8.cpp
index 98c91c6..4cdb506 100644
--- a/src/utf8/utf8.cpp
+++ b/src/utf8/utf8.cpp
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 /* 
- * Copyright (c) 2010-2021, Tomasz Sowa
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2022, Tomasz Sowa
  * All rights reserved.
  * 
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
@@ -128,6 +128,25 @@ bool surrogate_pair_to_int(int c1, int c2, int & z)
 
 
 
+/*
+	converts an int to a wide string
+*/
+void int_to_wide(int c, std::wstring & res)
+{
+	if( sizeof(wchar_t)==2 && c>0xffff )
+	{
+		// UTF16 surrogate pairs
+		c -= 0x10000;
+		res += static_cast<wchar_t>(((c >> 10) & 0x3FF) + 0xD800);
+		res += static_cast<wchar_t>((c & 0x3FF) + 0xDC00);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		res += static_cast<wchar_t>(c);
+	}
+}
+
+
 
 /*!
 	this function converts one UTF-8 character into one wide-character
@@ -312,7 +331,7 @@ unsigned char uz;
 				uz = utf8.get_char(stream_index + i);
 
 				if( !private_namespace::utf8_to_int_add_next_octet(uz, res) )
-					return i;
+					return i + 1;
 			}
 
 			if( utf8_check_range(res, len) )
@@ -330,26 +349,6 @@ unsigned char uz;
 
 
 
-/*
-
-*/
-static void int_to_wide(int c, std::wstring & res)
-{
-	if( sizeof(wchar_t)==2 && c>0xffff )
-	{
-		// UTF16 surrogate pairs
-		c -= 0x10000;
-		res += static_cast<wchar_t>(((c >> 10) & 0x3FF) + 0xD800);
-		res += static_cast<wchar_t>((c & 0x3FF) + 0xDC00);
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		res += static_cast<wchar_t>(c);
-	}
-}
-
-
-
 
 
 /*!
diff --git a/src/utf8/utf8.h b/src/utf8/utf8.h
index d2f21bf..19c0cb6 100644
--- a/src/utf8/utf8.h
+++ b/src/utf8/utf8.h
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 /* 
- * Copyright (c) 2010-2021, Tomasz Sowa
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2022, Tomasz Sowa
  * All rights reserved.
  * 
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
@@ -128,6 +128,9 @@ size_t utf8_to_int(const std::string & utf8,           int & res, bool & correct
 size_t utf8_to_int(std::istream & utf8,                int & res, bool & correct);
 size_t utf8_to_int(const Stream & utf8, size_t stream_index, int & res, bool & correct);
 
+template<typename StreamIteratorType>
+size_t utf8_to_int(StreamIteratorType & iterator_in, const StreamIteratorType & iterator_end, int & res, bool & correct);
+
 
 /*!
 	converting one character from int to wide stream
@@ -136,6 +139,11 @@ template<typename StreamType>
 void int_to_wide(int c, StreamType & res);
 
 
+/*!
+	converting one character from int to wide string
+*/
+void int_to_wide(int c, std::wstring & res);
+
 
 /*!
 	converting UTF-8 string to a wide string
@@ -157,8 +165,18 @@ bool utf8_to_wide(const std::string & utf8, StreamType & res, bool clear = true,
 template<typename StreamType>
 bool utf8_to_wide(std::istream & utf8, StreamType & res, bool clear = true, int mode = 1); // need to be tested
 
-template<typename StreamType>
-bool utf8_to_wide(const Stream & stream, StreamType & res, bool clear = true, int mode = 1);
+template<typename StreamOrStringType>
+bool utf8_to_wide(const Stream & stream, StreamOrStringType & res, bool clear = true, int mode = 1);
+
+template<typename StreamIteratorType, typename StreamOrStringType>
+bool utf8_to_wide(StreamIteratorType & iterator_in, const StreamIteratorType & iterator_end, StreamOrStringType & out_stream, bool clear_stream = true, int mode = 1);
+
+template<typename CharT, size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size>
+class TextStreamBase;
+
+// defined at the end in textstream.h
+template<size_t stack_size, size_t heap_block_size, typename StreamOrStringType>
+bool utf8_to_wide(const TextStreamBase<char, stack_size, heap_block_size> & utf8,	StreamOrStringType & out_stream, bool clear_stream = true, int mode = 1);
 
 
 /*
diff --git a/src/utf8/utf8_private.h b/src/utf8/utf8_private.h
index 0122a49..c12a8c5 100644
--- a/src/utf8/utf8_private.h
+++ b/src/utf8/utf8_private.h
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2021, Tomasz Sowa
+ * Copyright (c) 2021-2022, Tomasz Sowa
  * All rights reserved.
  *
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ namespace private_namespace
 bool utf8_to_int_first_octet(unsigned char uz, size_t & len, int & res);
 bool utf8_to_int_add_next_octet(unsigned char uz, int & res);
 
-size_t wide_to_int(const wchar_t * wide_string, size_t string_len, int & z, bool & correct);
+size_t wide_to_int(const wchar_t * wide_string, size_t string_len, int & z, bool & correct); // may these methods make public?
 size_t wide_to_int(const wchar_t * wide_string, int & z, bool & correct);
 
 size_t wide_one_to_utf8(const wchar_t * wide_string, size_t string_len, char * utf8, size_t utf8_len,
diff --git a/src/utf8/utf8_stream.h b/src/utf8/utf8_stream.h
deleted file mode 100644
index a50af92..0000000
--- a/src/utf8/utf8_stream.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * This file is a part of PikoTools
- * and is distributed under the 2-Clause BSD licence.
- * Author: Tomasz Sowa <t.sowa@ttmath.org>
- */
-
-/*
- * Copyright (c) 2021-2022, Tomasz Sowa
- * All rights reserved.
- *
- * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
- * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- *
- * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
- * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
- *
- * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
- * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
- * documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
- *
- * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
- * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
- * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
- * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
- * LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
- * CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
- * SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
- * INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
- * CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
- * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
- * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
- *
- */
-
-#ifndef headerfile_pikotools_src_utf8_utf8_stream
-#define headerfile_pikotools_src_utf8_utf8_stream
-
-#include "textstream/textstream.h"
-
-namespace pt
-{
-
-
-/*!
-	this function converts one UTF-8 character into one wide-character
-
-	input:
-		iterator_in - an TextStream iterator for reading from
-		iterator_end - an end iterator (can be returned by end() method from TextStream)
-
-	output:
-		res - an output character
-		correct - true if it is a correct character
-
-		the function returns how many characters have been used from the input stream
-*/
-template<typename StreamIteratorType>
-size_t utf8_to_int(
-		StreamIteratorType & iterator_in,
-		const StreamIteratorType & iterator_end,
-		int & res,
-		bool & correct)
-{
-size_t i, len;
-unsigned char uz;
-
-	res = 0;
-	correct = false;
-
-	if( iterator_in == iterator_end )
-		return 0;
-
-	uz = *iterator_in;
-	++iterator_in;
-
-	if( !private_namespace::utf8_to_int_first_octet(uz, len, res) )
-		return 1;
-
-	for(i=1 ; i<len ; ++i)
-	{
-		if( iterator_in == iterator_end )
-			return i;
-
-		uz = *iterator_in;
-		++iterator_in;
-
-		if( !private_namespace::utf8_to_int_add_next_octet(uz, res) )
-			return i;
-	}
-
-	if( utf8_check_range(res, len) )
-		correct = true;
-
-return len;
-}
-
-
-
-}
-
-#endif
diff --git a/src/utf8/utf8_templates.h b/src/utf8/utf8_templates.h
index 562596a..b70eef3 100644
--- a/src/utf8/utf8_templates.h
+++ b/src/utf8/utf8_templates.h
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2021, Tomasz Sowa
+ * Copyright (c) 2021-2022, Tomasz Sowa
  * All rights reserved.
  *
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
@@ -62,6 +62,55 @@ void int_to_wide(int c, StreamType & res)
 }
 
 
+/*!
+	this function converts one UTF-8 character into int
+
+	input:
+		iterator_in - an stream iterator for reading from (the stream can by any stream, we use *, ++ and == operators only)
+		iterator_end - an end iterator
+
+	output:
+		res - an output character
+		correct - true if it is a correct character
+
+		the function returns how many characters have been used from the input stream
+*/
+template<typename StreamIteratorType>
+size_t utf8_to_int(StreamIteratorType & iterator_in, const StreamIteratorType & iterator_end, int & res, bool & correct)
+{
+size_t i, len;
+unsigned char uz;
+
+	res = 0;
+	correct = false;
+
+	if( iterator_in == iterator_end )
+		return 0;
+
+	uz = *iterator_in;
+	++iterator_in;
+
+	if( !private_namespace::utf8_to_int_first_octet(uz, len, res) )
+		return 1;
+
+	for(i=1 ; i<len ; ++i)
+	{
+		if( iterator_in == iterator_end )
+			return i;
+
+		uz = *iterator_in;
+		++iterator_in;
+
+		if( !private_namespace::utf8_to_int_add_next_octet(uz, res) )
+			return i + 1;
+	}
+
+	if( utf8_check_range(res, len) )
+		correct = true;
+
+return len;
+}
+
 
 
 /*!
@@ -136,7 +185,7 @@ return !was_error;
 
 
 /*
-this function converts a UTF-8 stream into wide stream
+this function converts a UTF-8 stream into a wide stream or a wide string
 
 input:
 	stream - a UTF-8 stream for converting
@@ -145,12 +194,12 @@ input:
 		1: put U+FFFD "replacement character" istead of the invalid character (default)
 
 output:
-	res - a wide stream for the output sequence
+	res - a wide stream or a wide string for the output sequence
 
 	this function returns false if there were some errors when converting
 */
-template<typename StreamType>
-bool utf8_to_wide(const Stream & stream, StreamType & res, bool clear, int mode)
+template<typename StreamOrStringType>
+bool utf8_to_wide(const Stream & stream, StreamOrStringType & res, bool clear, int mode)
 {
 	size_t len;
 	bool correct;
@@ -172,7 +221,7 @@ bool utf8_to_wide(const Stream & stream, StreamType & res, bool clear, int mode)
 			if( !correct )
 			{
 				if( mode == 1 )
-					res << 0xFFFD; // U+FFFD "replacement character"
+					int_to_wide(0xFFFD, res);  // U+FFFD "replacement character"
 
 				was_error = true;
 			}
@@ -194,6 +243,51 @@ bool utf8_to_wide(const Stream & stream, StreamType & res, bool clear, int mode)
 
 
 
+/*!
+	this function converts one UTF-8 character into a wide stream or a wide string
+
+	input:
+		iterator_in - an stream iterator for reading from (the stream can by any stream, we use *, ++ and == operators only)
+		iterator_end - an end iterator
+
+	output:
+		out_stream - an output wide stream or wide string (the stream can by of any kind, we use only << operator)
+
+		this function returns false if there were some errors when converting
+*/
+template<typename StreamIteratorType, typename StreamOrStringType>
+bool utf8_to_wide(StreamIteratorType & iterator_in, const StreamIteratorType & iterator_end, StreamOrStringType & out_stream, bool clear_stream, int mode)
+{
+	if( clear_stream )
+		out_stream.clear();
+
+	int res;
+	bool correct;
+	bool was_error = false;
+
+	while( iterator_in != iterator_end )
+	{
+		utf8_to_int(iterator_in, iterator_end, res, correct);
+
+		if( correct )
+		{
+			int_to_wide(res, out_stream);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			if( mode == 1 )
+				int_to_wide(0xFFFD, out_stream); // U+FFFD "replacement character"
+
+			was_error = true;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return !was_error;
+}
+
+
+
+
 /*!
 	this function converts one wide character into UTF-8 stream
 
@@ -387,6 +481,11 @@ void wide_stream_to_utf8(StreamTypeIn & buffer, StreamTypeOut & utf8, bool clear
 
 
 
+
+
+
+
+
 } // namespace pt
 
 #endif
diff --git a/tests/Makefile.dep b/tests/Makefile.dep
index 8cf551c..faa24dd 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile.dep
+++ b/tests/Makefile.dep
@@ -8,17 +8,15 @@
 ./convert.o: ../src/textstream/stream.h ../src/utf8/utf8_templates.h
 ./convert.o: ../src/utf8/utf8_private.h ../src/date/date.h
 ./convert.o: ../src/membuffer/membuffer.h ../src/textstream/types.h
-./convert.o: ../src/utf8/utf8_stream.h ../src/convert/strtoint.h
-./convert.o: ../src/convert/text.h ../src/convert/misc.h
-./convert.o: ../src/convert/double.h
+./convert.o: ../src/convert/strtoint.h ../src/convert/text.h
+./convert.o: ../src/convert/misc.h ../src/convert/double.h
 ./csvparser.o: csvparser.h ../src/csv/csvparser.h ../src/space/space.h
 ./csvparser.o: ../src/textstream/types.h ../src/convert/inttostr.h
 ./csvparser.o: ../src/utf8/utf8.h ../src/textstream/stream.h
 ./csvparser.o: ../src/utf8/utf8_templates.h ../src/utf8/utf8_private.h
 ./csvparser.o: ../src/convert/baseparser.h ../src/textstream/textstream.h
 ./csvparser.o: ../src/textstream/stream.h ../src/date/date.h
-./csvparser.o: ../src/membuffer/membuffer.h ../src/textstream/types.h
-./csvparser.o: ../src/utf8/utf8_stream.h test.h
+./csvparser.o: ../src/membuffer/membuffer.h ../src/textstream/types.h test.h
 ./main.o: convert.h mainoptionsparser.h csvparser.h
 ./test.o: test.h
 ./mainoptionsparser.o: mainoptionsparser.h test.h
@@ -33,6 +31,5 @@
 ./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/textstream/textstream.h
 ./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/textstream/stream.h ../src/date/date.h
 ./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/membuffer/membuffer.h ../src/textstream/types.h
-./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/utf8/utf8_stream.h ../src/convert/strtoint.h
-./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/convert/text.h ../src/convert/misc.h
-./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/convert/double.h
+./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/convert/strtoint.h ../src/convert/text.h
+./mainoptionsparser.o: ../src/convert/misc.h ../src/convert/double.h