diff --git a/examples/03_parsing_database.c b/examples/03_parsing_database.c
index ccc9c01..94afbd3 100644
--- a/examples/03_parsing_database.c
+++ b/examples/03_parsing_database.c
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ bool parse_person(Jimp *jimp, Person *p)
     if (!jimp_object_begin(jimp)) return false;
     while (jimp_object_member(jimp)) {
         if (strcmp(jimp->member, "name") == 0) {
-            if (!jimp_string(jimp, &p->name))       return false;
+            if (!jimp_string(jimp, &p->name, NULL))       return false;
         } else if (strcmp(jimp->member, "age") == 0) {
-            if (!jimp_number(jimp, &p->age))        return false;
+            if (!jimp_number(jimp, &p->age, 0))        return false;
         } else if (strcmp(jimp->member, "location") == 0) {
-            if (!jimp_string(jimp, &p->location))   return false;
+            if (!jimp_string(jimp, &p->location, NULL))   return false;
         } else if (strcmp(jimp->member, "body_count") == 0) {
-            if (!jimp_number(jimp, &p->body_count)) return false;
+            if (!jimp_number(jimp, &p->body_count, 0)) return false;
         } else {
             jimp_unknown_member(jimp);
             return false;
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ int main()
             if (!jimp_array_begin(&jimp)) return 1;
             while (jimp_array_item(&jimp)) {
                 double x = 0;
-                if (!jimp_number(&jimp, &x)) return 1;
+                if (!jimp_number(&jimp, &x, 0)) return 1;
                 da_append(&xs, x);
             }
             if (!jimp_array_end(&jimp)) return 1;
diff --git a/examples/04_parsing_defaults.c b/examples/04_parsing_defaults.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a44783
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/04_parsing_defaults.c
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#define NOB_IMPLEMENTATION
+#define NOB_STRIP_PREFIX
+#include "../thirdparty/nob.h"
+#define JIMP_IMPLEMENTATION
+#include "../jimp.h"
+
+typedef struct {
+    const char *name;
+    double age;
+    const char *location;
+    double body_count;
+} Person;
+
+typedef struct {
+    Person *items;
+    size_t count;
+    size_t capacity;
+} People;
+
+bool parse_person(Jimp *jimp, Person *p)
+{
+    if (!jimp_object_begin(jimp)) return false;
+    while (jimp_object_member(jimp)) {
+        if (strcmp(jimp->member, "name") == 0) {
+            if (!jimp_string(jimp, &p->name, strdup("Default Name"))) return false;
+        } else if (strcmp(jimp->member, "age") == 0) {
+            if (!jimp_number(jimp, &p->age, 18))          return false;
+        } else if (strcmp(jimp->member, "location") == 0) {
+            if (!jimp_string(jimp, &p->location, strdup("UNKNOWN")))   return false;
+        } else if (strcmp(jimp->member, "body_count") == 0) {
+            if (!jimp_number(jimp, &p->body_count, 69))   return false;
+        } else {
+            jimp_unknown_member(jimp);
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+    return jimp_object_end(jimp);
+}
+
+bool parse_people(Jimp *jimp, People *ps)
+{
+    if (!jimp_array_begin(jimp)) return false;
+    while (jimp_array_item(jimp)) {
+        Person p = {0}; // jimp_object_* uses this value as its default
+        if (!parse_person(jimp, &p)) return false;
+        da_append(ps, p);
+    }
+    if (!jimp_array_end(jimp)) return false;
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+void print_person(const Person *p)
+{
+    printf("name       = %s\n",  p->name);
+    printf("age        = %lf\n", p->age);
+    printf("location   = %s\n",  p->location);
+    printf("body_count = %lf\n", p->body_count);
+}
+
+typedef struct {
+    long *items;
+    size_t count;
+    size_t capacity;
+} Numbers;
+
+int main()
+{
+    const char *file_path = "database_default.json";
+    String_Builder sb = {0};
+    if (!read_entire_file(file_path, &sb)) return 1;
+    Jimp jimp = {
+        .file_path = file_path,
+        .start = sb.items,
+        .end = sb.items + sb.count,
+        .point = sb.items,
+    };
+
+    People ps = {0};
+    Numbers xs = {0};
+    Numbers xs_null = {0};
+    if (!jimp_object_begin(&jimp)) return 1;
+    while (jimp_object_member(&jimp)) {
+        if (strcmp(jimp.member, "profile") == 0) {
+            if (!parse_people(&jimp, &ps)) return 1;
+        } else if (strcmp(jimp.member, "number") == 0) {
+            if (!jimp_array_begin(&jimp)) return 1;
+            while (jimp_array_item(&jimp)) {
+                double x;
+                if (!jimp_number(&jimp, &x, 0)) return 1;
+                da_append(&xs, x);
+            }
+            if (!jimp_array_end(&jimp)) return 1;
+        } else if (strcmp(jimp.member, "array_null") == 0) {
+            // The default for array is an empty array 
+            if (!jimp_array_begin(&jimp)) return 1;
+            while (jimp_array_item(&jimp)) {
+                double x;
+                if (!jimp_number(&jimp, &x, 0)) return 1;
+                da_append(&xs_null, x);
+            }
+            if (!jimp_array_end(&jimp)) return 1;
+        } else {
+            jimp_unknown_member(&jimp);
+            return 1;
+        }
+    }
+    if (!jimp_object_end(&jimp)) return 1;
+
+    da_foreach(Person, p, &ps) {
+        print_person(p);
+        printf("\n");
+    }
+    printf("------------------------------\n");
+    da_foreach(long, x, &xs) {
+        printf("%ld ", *x);
+    }
+    printf("\n");
+    printf("------------------------------\n");
+    if(xs_null.count == 0) {
+        printf("[]\n");
+    } else {
+        da_foreach(long, x, &xs_null) {
+            printf("%ld ", *x);
+        }
+    }
+    printf("\n");
+
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/examples/Makefile b/examples/Makefile
index c2874fc..90856c4 100644
--- a/examples/Makefile
+++ b/examples/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 CFLAGS=-Wall -Wextra -Wswitch-enum -ggdb
 
 .PHONY: all
-all: 01_from_readme 02_binary_tree 03_parsing_database
+all: 01_from_readme 02_binary_tree 03_parsing_database 04_parsing_defaults
 
 01_from_readme: 01_from_readme.c ../jim.h
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o 01_from_readme 01_from_readme.c
@@ -11,3 +11,6 @@ all: 01_from_readme 02_binary_tree 03_parsing_database
 
 03_parsing_database: 03_parsing_database.c ../jimp.h ../thirdparty/nob.h
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o 03_parsing_database 03_parsing_database.c
+
+04_parsing_defaults: 04_parsing_defaults.c ../jimp.h ../thirdparty/nob.h
+	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o 04_parsing_defaults 04_parsing_defaults.c
diff --git a/examples/database_default.json b/examples/database_default.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d4918e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/database_default.json
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+    "number": [69, 420, null, 80085],
+    "array_null": null,
+    "profile": [
+        {
+            "location": "Wonderland",
+            "location": "Wonderland",
+            "body_count": 150,
+            "name": "Alice Smith",
+            "age": 34
+        },
+        {
+            "name": null,
+            "age": 45,
+            "location": "Atlantis",
+            "body_count": null
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "Ian Malcolm",
+            "age": 60,
+            "location": null,
+            "body_count": 400
+        },
+        null
+    ]
+}
diff --git a/jimp.h b/jimp.h
index a46e7c2..54a30af 100644
--- a/jimp.h
+++ b/jimp.h
@@ -50,12 +50,12 @@ typedef struct {
     double number;
 
     const char *member;
+    bool value_is_null;
 } Jimp;
 
-// TODO: how do null-s fit into this entire system?
-bool jimp_bool(Jimp *jimp, bool *boolean);
-bool jimp_number(Jimp *jimp, double *number);
-bool jimp_string(Jimp *jimp, const char **string);
+bool jimp_bool(Jimp *jimp, bool *boolean, bool defaultt);
+bool jimp_number(Jimp *jimp, double *number, double defaultt);
+bool jimp_string(Jimp *jimp, const char **string, const char*defaultt);
 bool jimp_object_begin(Jimp *jimp);
 bool jimp_object_member(Jimp *jimp);
 bool jimp_object_end(Jimp *jimp);
@@ -200,37 +200,50 @@ void jimp_diagf(Jimp *jimp, const char *fmt, ...)
 
 static const char *jimp__token_kind(Jimp_Token token)
 {
-   switch (token) {
-   case JIMP_EOF:      return "end of input";
-   case JIMP_INVALID:  return "invalid";
-   case JIMP_OCURLY:   return "{";
-   case JIMP_CCURLY:   return "}";
-   case JIMP_OBRACKET: return "[";
-   case JIMP_CBRACKET: return "]";
-   case JIMP_COMMA:    return ",";
-   case JIMP_COLON:    return ":";
-   case JIMP_TRUE:     return "true";
-   case JIMP_FALSE:    return "false";
-   case JIMP_NULL:     return "null";
-   case JIMP_STRING:   return "string";
-   case JIMP_NUMBER:   return "number";
-   }
-   assert(0 && "unreachable");
-   return NULL;
+    switch (token) {
+    case JIMP_EOF:      return "end of input";
+    case JIMP_INVALID:  return "invalid";
+    case JIMP_OCURLY:   return "{";
+    case JIMP_CCURLY:   return "}";
+    case JIMP_OBRACKET: return "[";
+    case JIMP_CBRACKET: return "]";
+    case JIMP_COMMA:    return ",";
+    case JIMP_COLON:    return ":";
+    case JIMP_TRUE:     return "true";
+    case JIMP_FALSE:    return "false";
+    case JIMP_NULL:     return "null";
+    case JIMP_STRING:   return "string";
+    case JIMP_NUMBER:   return "number";
+    }
+    assert(0 && "unreachable");
+    return NULL;
 }
 
 bool jimp_array_begin(Jimp *jimp)
 {
-    return jimp__get_and_expect_token(jimp, JIMP_OBRACKET);
+    if (!jimp__get_token(jimp)) return false;
+    if(jimp->token == JIMP_NULL) {
+        jimp->value_is_null = true;
+        return true;
+    } else if(jimp->token != JIMP_OBRACKET) {
+        jimp_diagf(jimp, "ERROR: expected `%s` or `%s`, but got `%s`\n", jimp__token_kind(JIMP_OBRACKET), jimp__token_kind(JIMP_NULL), jimp__token_kind(jimp->token));
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
 }
 
 bool jimp_array_end(Jimp *jimp)
 {
+    if(jimp->value_is_null) {
+        jimp->value_is_null = false;
+        return true;
+    }
     return jimp__get_and_expect_token(jimp, JIMP_CBRACKET);
 }
 
 bool jimp_array_item(Jimp *jimp)
 {
+    if(jimp->value_is_null) return false;
     const char *point = jimp->point;
     if (!jimp__get_token(jimp)) return false;
     if (jimp->token == JIMP_COMMA) return true;
@@ -249,11 +262,19 @@ void jimp_unknown_member(Jimp *jimp)
 
 bool jimp_object_begin(Jimp *jimp)
 {
-    return jimp__get_and_expect_token(jimp, JIMP_OCURLY);
+    if (!jimp__get_token(jimp)) return false;
+    if(jimp->token == JIMP_NULL) {
+        jimp->value_is_null = true;
+    } else if(jimp->token != JIMP_OCURLY) {
+        jimp_diagf(jimp, "ERROR: expected `%s` or `%s`, but got `%s`\n", jimp__token_kind(JIMP_OCURLY), jimp__token_kind(JIMP_NULL), jimp__token_kind(jimp->token));
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
 }
 
 bool jimp_object_member(Jimp *jimp)
 {
+    if(jimp->value_is_null) return false;
     const char *point = jimp->point;
     if (!jimp__get_token(jimp)) return false;
     if (jimp->token == JIMP_COMMA) {
@@ -274,34 +295,54 @@ bool jimp_object_member(Jimp *jimp)
 
 bool jimp_object_end(Jimp *jimp)
 {
+    if(jimp->value_is_null) {
+        jimp->value_is_null = false;
+        return true;
+    }
     return jimp__get_and_expect_token(jimp, JIMP_CCURLY);
 }
 
-bool jimp_string(Jimp *jimp, const char **string)
+bool jimp_string(Jimp *jimp, const char **string, const char*defaultt)
 {
-    if (!jimp__get_and_expect_token(jimp, JIMP_STRING)) return false;
-    *string = strdup(jimp->string);
+    if (!jimp__get_token(jimp)) return false;
+    if(jimp->token == JIMP_NULL) {
+        *string = defaultt;
+    } else if(jimp->token == JIMP_STRING) {
+        *string = strdup(jimp->string);
+    } else {
+        jimp_diagf(jimp, "ERROR: expected `%s` or `%s`, but got `%s`\n", jimp__token_kind(JIMP_STRING), jimp__token_kind(JIMP_NULL), jimp__token_kind(jimp->token));
+        return false;
+    }
     return true;
 }
 
-bool jimp_bool(Jimp *jimp, bool *boolean)
+bool jimp_bool(Jimp *jimp, bool *boolean, bool defaultt)
 {
-    jimp__get_token(jimp);
-    if (jimp->token == JIMP_TRUE) {
+    if (!jimp__get_token(jimp)) return false;
+    if(jimp->token == JIMP_NULL) {
+        *boolean = defaultt;
+    } else if (jimp->token == JIMP_TRUE) {
         *boolean = true;
     } else if (jimp->token == JIMP_FALSE) {
         *boolean = false;
     } else {
-        jimp_diagf(jimp, "ERROR: expected boolean, but got `%s`\n", jimp__token_kind(jimp->token));
+        jimp_diagf(jimp, "ERROR: expected boolean or `%s`, but got `%s`\n", jimp__token_kind(JIMP_NULL), jimp__token_kind(jimp->token));
         return false;
     }
     return true;
 }
 
-bool jimp_number(Jimp *jimp, double *number)
+bool jimp_number(Jimp *jimp, double *number, double defaultt)
 {
-    if (!jimp__get_and_expect_token(jimp, JIMP_NUMBER)) return false;
-    *number = jimp->number;
+    if (!jimp__get_token(jimp)) return false;
+    if(jimp->token == JIMP_NULL) {
+        *number = defaultt;
+    } else if(jimp->token == JIMP_NUMBER) {
+        *number = jimp->number;
+    } else {
+        jimp_diagf(jimp, "ERROR: expected `%s` or `%s`, but got `%s`\n", jimp__token_kind(JIMP_NUMBER), jimp__token_kind(JIMP_NULL), jimp__token_kind(jimp->token));
+        return false;
+    }
     return true;
 }