diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a9544ee..3a7cffc 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
-# Basic Makefile example from flex documentation -- provides explicit rules
-# Creates "myprogram" from "scan.l" and "myprogram.c"
-#
-#LEX=flex
-#myprogram: scan.o myprogram.o
-        #$(CC) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS) $^
-#myprogram.o: myprogram.c
-        #$(CC) $(CPPFLAGS) $(CFLAGS) -o $@ -c $^
-#scan.o: scan.c
-        #$(CC) $(CPPFLAGS) $(CFLAGS) -o $@ -c $^
-#scan.c: scan.l
-        #$(LEX) $(LFLAGS) -o $@ $^
-#clean:
-        #$(RM) *.o scan.c
+CC := gcc
+FLEX := flex
+LEX := lexicalStructure.lex
+EXE := lexicalStructure
+
+lexicalStructure:
+	$(FLEX) $(LEX)
+	$(CC) lex.yy.c -o $(EXE)
+
+test_operators:
+	./$(EXE) ./tests/test_operators.alpha
+
+clean:
+	rm -f *.o
+	rm -f lex.yy.c
+	rm -f $(EXE)
diff --git a/lexicalStructure.lex b/lexicalStructure.lex
index f31ebfd..e1a70ee 100644
--- a/lexicalStructure.lex
+++ b/lexicalStructure.lex
@@ -1,14 +1,26 @@
-/* Lexical Analysis with Flex (2.6.0) We used some of the code from this manual */
+/* Lexical Analysis with Flex (1.6.0) We used some of the code from this manual */
 /*                                    so we placed the citation here. */
 /* definitions */
+
 %option noyywrap
-%{
-#include "typedefs.h"
+
+%{ 
+#include "typedefs.h" 
 %}
         int line_number = 1, column_number = 1;
 
+DIGIT [0-9]
+CHAR \\n|\\t|\\'|[^'\n\t\\]
+	/* char can be a newline, tab, an escaped quote, or anything but a single quote, an actual line break, an actual tab, or a backslash by itself (to prevent confusion from escaped quote */
+SCHAR \\n|\\t|\\\"|[^\"\n\\]  
+	/*similar to above, a string Char (SCHAR) is the same as a CHAR except we cannot have double quotes instead of single quotes. Double quotes need to be escaped in Flex unlike single quotes based on documentation */
+STARTCOM \(\*
+ENDCOM \*\)
+COMMENTCHAR [^\*]|\*[^\)]
+	/*Making the contents of a comment anything that is either not a * or not a * followed by ) to terminate comments at the first ENDCOM */
 %%
 
+
 \n      line_number++ column_number = 1;
 .       column_number++;
 
@@ -17,8 +29,11 @@
 "Boolean"       {return T_BOOLEAN}
 "character"     {return T_CHARACTER}
 
-        /* KEYWARDS */
 
+	/* rules */
+{DIGIT}+ {printf( "C_INTEGER: %s (%d)\n", yytext, atoi( yytext ) );}
+
+"null" {printf( "C_NULL: %s (%d)\n", yytext, atoi( yytext ) );}
 
 "while"         {return WHILE}
 "if"            {return IF}
@@ -30,5 +45,34 @@
 "external"      {return EXTERNAL}
 "as"            {return AS}
 
+'{CHAR}' {printf( "C_CHARACTER: %s (%d)\n", yytext, atoi( yytext ) );} /*using double \ per documentation to show escaped chars*/
+
+"true" {printf( "C_TRUE: %s (%d)\n", yytext, atoi( yytext ) );}
+
+
+"false" {printf( "C_FALSE: %s (%d)\n", yytext, atoi( yytext ) );}
+
+	/* OPERATORS */
+
+"+"		{return ADD;}
+"-"		{return SUB_OR_NEG;}
+"*"		{return  MUL;}
+"/"		{return DIV;}
+"%"		{return REM;}
+"<"		{return LESS_THAN;}
+"="		{return EQUAL_TO;}
+":="		{return ASSIGN;}
+"!"		{return NOT;}
+"&"		{return AND;}
+"|"		{return OR;}
+"."		{return DOT;}
+"reserve"	{return RESERVE;}
+"release" 	{return RELEASE;}
+ 
+
+\"{SCHAR}*\" {printf( "C_STRING: %s (%d)\n", yytext, atoi( yytext ) );}
+
+{STARTCOM}{COMMENTCHAR}*{ENDCOM} {printf( "COMMENT: %s (%d)\n", yytext, atoi( yytext ) );}
+ 
 
 %%
diff --git a/simpleIntTest.txt b/simpleIntTest.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..507ec22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/simpleIntTest.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+45
+123
+8392
+
diff --git a/simpleLiteralTest.a b/simpleLiteralTest.a
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f97cf52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/simpleLiteralTest.a
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+"this is a string" 721398 'g' '/n' (* should print 3 tokens before this *)
+'
+' 
+12893 "this is not a string (*one valid token before this*)
+(* spacey comment here     
+over multiple lines
+will it work? *)
+"
+'''
+'\'
+false
+(**)
+'''
+nullfalse
+"nulltrue
+null
+'7'
+true
+'189
+'\t'
+'"'
+'/'
+'\n'
+'\''
+'\t'
+'\\'
+'n'
+'\'
+'fdsf'
+(*/jnewjno2893u86^ 	Lots of random characters /n /t '") *)
+'
+'
+'	'
+'''
+"STRINGwithnotSPaces"
+' '
+'\ '
+"J"
+""
+" "
+\"\"
+"{SCHAR}"
+"SCHAR"
+"[SCHAR]"
+"FINAL: I'd think this is a legal \"string\" that contains \n \t several escaped characters, isn't it?"
+"I'd think this is a legal \"string\" that contains several \\n \t escaped characters, isn't it?"
diff --git a/tests/test_operators.alpha b/tests/test_operators.alpha
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b985387
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_operators.alpha
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
++
+-
+*
+/
+\
+%
+<
+>
+=
+:=
+=:
+:
+=
+!
+&
+|
+.
+relEASE
+release
+RELEASE
+reserve
+RESERVE
+reSERVe
\ No newline at end of file