diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 9a850582..77e0065c 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ SAX2 and Stax2 APIs
       <version.plugin.javadoc>3.1.1</version.plugin.javadoc>
 
       <!-- Woodstox 5.0 is 1.6+ -->
-      <javac.src.version>1.6</javac.src.version>
-      <javac.target.version>1.6</javac.target.version>
+      <javac.src.version>1.8</javac.src.version>
+      <javac.target.version>1.8</javac.target.version>
 
       <!-- Since our groupId is NOT the same as Java package id, need to explicitly define.
            And due to number of packages, let's just include all.
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ SAX2 and Stax2 APIs
           + "msv" ones (3 subgroups)
           + "com.sun.msv", but only for xsdlib
 
-          and all with varying sets of dependencies; 
+          and all with varying sets of dependencies;
           For now, we'll just use "msv", which does not properly define
           dependencies...
 
@@ -129,8 +129,12 @@ SAX2 and Stax2 APIs
  -->
             <optional>true</optional>
         </dependency>
-
-	<!-- 03-Jun-2019, tatu: Not sure why this was added as a dep as it's only one class,
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
+            <artifactId>aspectjrt</artifactId>
+            <version>1.9.7</version>
+        </dependency>
+    	<!-- 03-Jun-2019, tatu: Not sure why this was added as a dep as it's only one class,
 	     `com.sun.msv.writer.relaxng.Driver`, and some metadata. I assumed it was needed by MSV
 	     but at least unit tests do not cache issues. So, will remove from 5.3.0
 	  -->
@@ -174,6 +178,23 @@ SAX2 and Stax2 APIs
 
     <build>
       <plugins>
+        <plugin>
+            <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
+            <artifactId>aspectj-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+            <version>1.15.0</version>
+            <configuration>
+                <complianceLevel>1.8</complianceLevel>
+                <source>1.8</source>
+                <target>1.8</target>
+            </configuration>
+            <executions>
+                <execution>
+                    <goals>
+                        <goal>compile</goal> <!-- use this goal to weave all your main classes -->
+                    </goals>
+                </execution>
+            </executions>
+        </plugin>
 	<!-- 10-Jul-2021, tatu: Add code coverage again -->
 	<plugin>
           <groupId>org.jacoco</groupId>
@@ -217,8 +238,8 @@ SAX2 and Stax2 APIs
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                 <configuration>
-                    <source>1.6</source>
-                    <target>1.6</target>
+                    <source>1.8</source>
+                    <target>1.8</target>
 <!--
                     <excludes>
                         <exclude>test/**</exclude>
@@ -239,7 +260,15 @@ SAX2 and Stax2 APIs
                         <include>**/*Test.java</include>
                         <include>**/Test*.java</include>
                     </includes>
+                    <argLine>-javaagent:/home/data/m2/repository/org/aspectj/aspectjweaver/1.9.7/aspectjweaver-1.9.7.jar</argLine>
                 </configuration>
+                <dependencies>
+                    <dependency>
+                        <groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
+                        <artifactId>aspectjweaver</artifactId>
+                        <version>1.9.7</version>
+                    </dependency>
+                </dependencies>
             </plugin>
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.felix</groupId>
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/ctc/aop/TraceAspect.java b/src/main/java/com/ctc/aop/TraceAspect.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fb09a979
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/ctc/aop/TraceAspect.java
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+package com.ctc.aop;
+
+import org.aspectj.lang.annotation.Aspect;
+import org.aspectj.lang.annotation.Before;
+import org.aspectj.lang.reflect.CodeSignature;
+import org.aspectj.lang.reflect.MethodSignature;
+import org.aspectj.lang.annotation.AfterReturning;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.aspectj.lang.JoinPoint;
+
+@Aspect
+public class TraceAspect {
+
+    private int indent = 0;
+    private List<String> indents = new ArrayList<>();
+    private static final Set<String> renderableTypes = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(
+            javax.xml.namespace.QName.class.getName(),
+            int.class.getName(),
+            long.class.getName(),
+            byte.class.getName(),
+            boolean.class.getName(),
+            Integer.class.getName(),
+            Long.class.getName(),
+            Byte.class.getName(),
+            Boolean.class.getName()
+            ));
+
+    @Before("execution(* com.ctc.wstx..*.*(..)) && !handler(*) && !execution(* com.ctc.wstx.util.XmlChars.*(..))")
+    public void beforeMethodCall(JoinPoint joinPoint) {
+        if (joinPoint.getSignature() instanceof CodeSignature) {
+            CodeSignature sig = (CodeSignature) joinPoint.getSignature();
+            System.out.println(indent() + "> " + sig.getDeclaringTypeName() + "." + sig.getName() + "("+
+            params(sig.getParameterTypes(), joinPoint.getArgs()) +")");
+        }
+    }
+
+    @AfterReturning(pointcut = "execution(* com.ctc.wstx..*.*(..)) && !handler(*) && !execution(* com.ctc.wstx.util.XmlChars.*(..))", returning = "returnValue")
+    //@After("execution(* com.ctc.wstx..*.*(..)) && !handler(*) && !execution(* com.ctc.wstx.util.XmlChars.*(..))")
+    public void afterMethodCall(JoinPoint joinPoint, Object returnValue) {
+        if (joinPoint.getSignature() instanceof CodeSignature) {
+            CodeSignature sig = (CodeSignature) joinPoint.getSignature();
+            StringBuilder ret = new StringBuilder();
+            String returnType = (sig instanceof MethodSignature) ? ((MethodSignature) sig).getReturnType().getName() : "void";
+            param(ret, returnValue, returnType);
+            System.out.println(unindent() + "< " + sig.getDeclaringTypeName() + "." + sig.getName() + "("+
+                    params(sig.getParameterTypes(), joinPoint.getArgs()) +") : " + ret.toString());
+        }
+    }
+
+    static String params(Class<?>[] types, Object[] args) {
+        if (types.length == 0) {
+            return "";
+        }
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
+        for (int i = 0; i < types.length; i++) {
+            if (i > 0) {
+                sb.append(", ");
+            }
+            Object val = args[i];
+            final String type = types[i].getName();
+            param(sb, val, type);
+        }
+        return sb.toString();
+    }
+
+    private static void param(StringBuilder sb, Object val, final String type) {
+        if (val == null) {
+            sb.append("null").append(':').append(type);
+        } else if (val.getClass() == String.class) {
+            escapeString('"', (String) val, sb);
+            sb.append(':').append(type);
+        } else if (val != null && (val.getClass() == char.class || val.getClass() == Character.class)) {
+            escapeChar('\'', (Character) val, sb);
+            sb.append(':').append(type);
+        } else if (renderableTypes.contains(val.getClass().getName())) {
+            sb.append(val).append(':').append(type);
+        } else {
+            sb.append(type);
+        }
+    }
+    static void escapeString(char quote, String input, StringBuilder escapedString) {
+        escapedString.append(quote);
+        for (char c : input.toCharArray()) {
+            switch (c) {
+                case '\n':
+                    escapedString.append("\\n");
+                    break;
+                case '\r':
+                    escapedString.append("\\r");
+                    break;
+                case '\t':
+                    escapedString.append("\\t");
+                    break;
+                case '\"':
+                    escapedString.append("\\\"");
+                    break;
+                case '\\':
+                    escapedString.append("\\\\");
+                    break;
+                // Add more cases here for other special characters if needed
+                default:
+                    escapedString.append(c);
+            }
+        }
+        escapedString.append(quote);
+    }
+
+    static void escapeChar(char quote, Character c, StringBuilder escapedString) {
+        escapedString.append(quote);
+            switch (c.charValue()) {
+                case '\n':
+                    escapedString.append("\\n");
+                    break;
+                case '\r':
+                    escapedString.append("\\r");
+                    break;
+                case '\t':
+                    escapedString.append("\\t");
+                    break;
+                case '\"':
+                    escapedString.append("\\\"");
+                    break;
+                case '\\':
+                    escapedString.append("\\\\");
+                    break;
+                // Add more cases here for other special characters if needed
+                default:
+                    escapedString.append(c);
+            }
+        escapedString.append(quote);
+    }
+
+    private String indent() {
+        while (indent >= indents.size()) {
+            indents.add(spaces(indents.size()));
+        }
+        return indents.get(indent++);
+    }
+
+    private String unindent() {
+        return indents.get(--indent);
+    }
+
+    static String spaces(int size) {
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(size);
+        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+            sb.append(' ');
+        }
+        return sb.toString();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/resources/META-INF/aop.xml b/src/main/resources/META-INF/aop.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e12d2336
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/resources/META-INF/aop.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<aspectj>
+    <weaver>
+        <include within="com.ctc.wstx..*"/>
+    </weaver>
+    <aspects>
+        <aspect name="com.ctc.aop.TraceAspect"/>
+    </aspects>
+</aspectj>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/test/java/failing/TestW3CSchemaNillable179.java b/src/test/java/failing/TestW3CSchemaNillable179.java
index 82fadaaa..dd4eb527 100644
--- a/src/test/java/failing/TestW3CSchemaNillable179.java
+++ b/src/test/java/failing/TestW3CSchemaNillable179.java
@@ -49,6 +49,16 @@ public void testNillableInt() throws Exception
         testNillable("wstxtest/msv/nillableInt.xml");
     }
 
+    public void testNillableIntReader() throws Exception
+    {
+        /*
+<nl:nillableParent xmlns:nl="http://server.hw.demo/nillable">
+    <nl:nillableInt xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:nil="true"/>
+</nl:nillableParent>
+         */
+        testNillableReader("wstxtest/msv/nillableInt.xml");
+    }
+
     // for [woodstox-core#179]
     public void testNillableString() throws Exception
     {
@@ -121,20 +131,96 @@ public void reportProblem(XMLValidationProblem problem)
 
         // javax.xml.validation
         boolean javaxXmlValidationPassed = true;
+//        {
+//            InputStream schemaInput = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(xsdResource);
+//            InputStream xmlInput = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(xmlResource);
+//            SchemaFactory factory = SchemaFactory.newInstance(XMLConstants.W3C_XML_SCHEMA_NS_URI);
+//            try {
+//                Source schemaFile = new StreamSource(schemaInput);
+//                Schema schema = factory.newSchema(schemaFile);
+//                Validator validator = schema.newValidator();
+//                try {
+//                    validator.validate(new StreamSource(xmlInput));
+//                } catch (SAXException e) {
+//                    javaxXmlValidationPassed = false;
+//                } catch (IOException e) {
+//                    throw new RuntimeException(e);
+//                }
+//            } finally {
+//                if (xmlInput != null) {
+//                    xmlInput.close();
+//                }
+//                if (schemaInput != null) {
+//                    schemaInput.close();
+//                }
+//            }
+//        }
+
+        if (woodstoxPassed != javaxXmlValidationPassed) {
+            if (woodstoxPassed) {
+                fail("Woodstox MSV validator passed"
+                        + " but javax.xml.validation validator did not pass"
+                        + " for " + xsdResource + " and "+ xmlResource);
+
+            } else {
+                StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
+                woodstoxE.printStackTrace(new PrintWriter(sw));
+
+                fail("Woodstox MSV validator did not pass"
+                        + " but javax.xml.validation validator passed"
+                        + " for " + xsdResource + " and "+ xmlResource
+                        +".\nFailure: "+sw.toString());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+
+
+    void testNillableReader(String xmlResource) throws Exception
+    {
+        boolean woodstoxPassed = true;
+        Exception woodstoxE = null;
+        // Woodstox
+        final String xsdResource = "wstxtest/msv/nillable.xsd";
         {
+            XMLValidationSchemaFactory schF = XMLValidationSchemaFactory.newInstance(XMLValidationSchema.SCHEMA_ID_W3C_SCHEMA);
             InputStream schemaInput = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(xsdResource);
             InputStream xmlInput = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(xmlResource);
-            SchemaFactory factory = SchemaFactory.newInstance(XMLConstants.W3C_XML_SCHEMA_NS_URI);
             try {
-                Source schemaFile = new StreamSource(schemaInput);
-                Schema schema = factory.newSchema(schemaFile);
-                Validator validator = schema.newValidator();
+                XMLValidationSchema schema = schF.createSchema(schemaInput);
+                XMLInputFactory2 f = getInputFactory();
+                setValidating(f, false);
+
+                XMLStreamReader2 xmlReader = (XMLStreamReader2) f.createXMLStreamReader(xmlInput);
+
+                StringWriter writer = new StringWriter();
+                XMLStreamWriter2 xmlWriter = (XMLStreamWriter2) getOutputFactory().createXMLStreamWriter(writer);
+//                xmlWriter.setValidationProblemHandler(new ValidationProblemHandler() {
+//                    @Override
+//                    public void reportProblem(XMLValidationProblem problem)
+//                            throws XMLValidationException {
+//                        throw new LocalValidationError(problem);
+//                    }
+//                });
+//                xmlWriter.validateAgainst(schema);
+
+                xmlReader.setValidationProblemHandler(new ValidationProblemHandler() {
+                    @Override
+                    public void reportProblem(XMLValidationProblem problem)
+                            throws XMLValidationException {
+                        throw new LocalValidationError(problem);
+                    }
+                });
+                xmlReader.validateAgainst(schema);
                 try {
-                    validator.validate(new StreamSource(xmlInput));
-                } catch (SAXException e) {
-                    javaxXmlValidationPassed = false;
-                } catch (IOException e) {
-                    throw new RuntimeException(e);
+                    xmlWriter.copyEventFromReader(xmlReader, false);
+                    while (xmlReader.hasNext()) {
+                        xmlReader.next();
+                        xmlWriter.copyEventFromReader(xmlReader, false);
+                    }
+                } catch (LocalValidationError e) {
+                    woodstoxPassed = false;
+                    woodstoxE = e;
                 }
             } finally {
                 if (xmlInput != null) {
@@ -146,6 +232,33 @@ public void reportProblem(XMLValidationProblem problem)
             }
         }
 
+        // javax.xml.validation
+        boolean javaxXmlValidationPassed = true;
+//        {
+//            InputStream schemaInput = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(xsdResource);
+//            InputStream xmlInput = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(xmlResource);
+//            SchemaFactory factory = SchemaFactory.newInstance(XMLConstants.W3C_XML_SCHEMA_NS_URI);
+//            try {
+//                Source schemaFile = new StreamSource(schemaInput);
+//                Schema schema = factory.newSchema(schemaFile);
+//                Validator validator = schema.newValidator();
+//                try {
+//                    validator.validate(new StreamSource(xmlInput));
+//                } catch (SAXException e) {
+//                    javaxXmlValidationPassed = false;
+//                } catch (IOException e) {
+//                    throw new RuntimeException(e);
+//                }
+//            } finally {
+//                if (xmlInput != null) {
+//                    xmlInput.close();
+//                }
+//                if (schemaInput != null) {
+//                    schemaInput.close();
+//                }
+//            }
+//        }
+
         if (woodstoxPassed != javaxXmlValidationPassed) {
             if (woodstoxPassed) {
                 fail("Woodstox MSV validator passed"
@@ -163,7 +276,6 @@ public void reportProblem(XMLValidationProblem problem)
             }
         }
     }
-
     /*
     ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
     // Helper classes