diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index b8b6980..9cef8df 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -96,6 +96,14 @@ set(source_files
   src/binsrv/event/generic_post_header_fwd.hpp
   src/binsrv/event/generic_post_header.hpp
 
+  src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits_fwd.hpp
+  src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.hpp
+  src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.cpp
+
+  src/binsrv/event/reader_context_fwd.hpp
+  src/binsrv/event/reader_context.hpp
+  src/binsrv/event/reader_context.cpp
+
   src/binsrv/event/rotate_body_impl_fwd.hpp
   src/binsrv/event/rotate_body_impl.hpp
   src/binsrv/event/rotate_body_impl.cpp
diff --git a/src/app.cpp b/src/app.cpp
index f46c7cd..ab1382b 100644
--- a/src/app.cpp
+++ b/src/app.cpp
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 #include "binsrv/event/code_type.hpp"
 #include "binsrv/event/event.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/reader_context.hpp"
 
 #include "easymysql/binlog.hpp"
 #include "easymysql/connection.hpp"
@@ -220,8 +221,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     static constexpr std::byte expected_event_packet_prefix{'\0'};
 
     util::const_byte_span portion;
-    binsrv::event::optional_format_description_post_header fde_post_header{};
-    binsrv::event::optional_format_description_body fde_body{};
+
+    binsrv::event::reader_context context{};
 
     while (!(portion = binlog.fetch()).empty()) {
       if (portion[0] != expected_event_packet_prefix) {
@@ -233,24 +234,19 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                   "fetched " + std::to_string(std::size(portion)) +
                       "-byte(s) event from binlog");
 
-      const binsrv::event::event generic_event{portion, fde_post_header,
-                                               fde_body};
+      const binsrv::event::event current_event{context, portion};
 
-      log_event_common_header(*logger, generic_event.get_common_header());
-      if (generic_event.get_common_header().get_type_code() ==
+      log_event_common_header(*logger, current_event.get_common_header());
+      if (current_event.get_common_header().get_type_code() ==
           binsrv::event::code_type::format_description) {
-        const auto &local_fde_post_header =
-            std::get<binsrv::event::generic_post_header<
-                binsrv::event::code_type::format_description>>(
-                generic_event.get_post_header());
-        const auto &local_fde_body = std::get<binsrv::event::generic_body<
-            binsrv::event::code_type::format_description>>(
-            generic_event.get_body());
+        const auto &local_fde_post_header = current_event.get_post_header<
+            binsrv::event::code_type::format_description>();
+        const auto &local_fde_body =
+            current_event
+                .get_body<binsrv::event::code_type::format_description>();
 
         log_format_description_event(*logger, local_fde_post_header,
                                      local_fde_body);
-        fde_post_header = local_fde_post_header;
-        fde_body = local_fde_body;
       }
       log_span_dump(*logger, portion);
     }
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/common_header.hpp b/src/binsrv/event/common_header.hpp
index 2e9a1d6..4b4ccdf 100644
--- a/src/binsrv/event/common_header.hpp
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/common_header.hpp
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 #include "binsrv/event/code_type_fwd.hpp"
 #include "binsrv/event/flag_type_fwd.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/protocol_traits_fwd.hpp"
 
 #include "util/byte_span_fwd.hpp"
 
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ namespace binsrv::event {
 
 class [[nodiscard]] common_header {
 public:
-  static constexpr std::size_t size_in_bytes{19U};
+  static constexpr std::size_t size_in_bytes{default_common_header_length};
 
   explicit common_header(util::const_byte_span portion);
 
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/event.cpp b/src/binsrv/event/event.cpp
index 20e238c..3b32c0d 100644
--- a/src/binsrv/event/event.cpp
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/event.cpp
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 #include "binsrv/event/flag_type.hpp"
 #include "binsrv/event/generic_body.hpp"
 #include "binsrv/event/generic_post_header.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/protocol_traits_fwd.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/reader_context.hpp"
 
 #include "util/byte_span_fwd.hpp"
 #include "util/conversion_helpers.hpp"
@@ -20,9 +22,7 @@
 
 namespace binsrv::event {
 
-event::event(util::const_byte_span portion,
-             const optional_format_description_post_header &fde_post_header,
-             const optional_format_description_body &fde_body)
+event::event(reader_context &context, util::const_byte_span portion)
     : common_header_{
           [](util::const_byte_span event_portion) -> util::const_byte_span {
             if (std::size(event_portion) <
@@ -42,13 +42,13 @@ event::event(util::const_byte_span portion,
     // format_description_events always include event footers with checksums
     footer_size = footer::size_in_bytes;
   } else {
-    if (fde_body) {
+    if (context.has_fde_processed()) {
       // if format_description event has already been encountered, we determine
       // whether there is a footer in the event from it
-      footer_size =
-          (fde_body->get_checksum_algorithm() == checksum_algorithm_type::crc32
-               ? footer::size_in_bytes
-               : 0U);
+      footer_size = (context.get_current_checksum_algorithm() ==
+                             checksum_algorithm_type::crc32
+                         ? footer::size_in_bytes
+                         : 0U);
     } else {
       // we get in this branch only for the very first artificial rotate event
       // and in this case it does not include the footer
@@ -63,10 +63,10 @@ event::event(util::const_byte_span portion,
         "header");
   }
   std::size_t post_header_size{0U};
-  if (fde_post_header) {
+  if (context.has_fde_processed()) {
     // if format_description event has already been encountered in the stream,
     // we take post-header length from it
-    post_header_size = fde_post_header->get_post_header_length(type_code);
+    post_header_size = context.get_current_post_header_length(type_code);
   } else {
     // we expect that we can receive only 2 events before there is a
     // format_description event we can refer to: rotate (with artificial
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ event::event(util::const_byte_span portion,
         footer_size);
     footer_.emplace(footer_portion);
   };
+  context.process_event(*this);
 }
 
 void event::emplace_post_header(code_type code, util::const_byte_span portion) {
@@ -126,7 +127,7 @@ void event::emplace_post_header(code_type code, util::const_byte_span portion) {
   // then, we define an alias for a container that can store
   // '<number_of_events>' such member function pointers
   using emplace_function_container =
-      std::array<emplace_function, number_of_events>;
+      std::array<emplace_function, default_number_of_events>;
   // after that we declare a constexpr instance of such array and initialize it
   // with immediately invoked lambda
   static constexpr emplace_function_container emplace_functions{
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ void event::emplace_body(code_type code, util::const_byte_span portion) {
   // here we use the same technique as in 'emplace_post_header()'
   using emplace_function = void (event::*)(util::const_byte_span);
   using emplace_function_container =
-      std::array<emplace_function, number_of_events>;
+      std::array<emplace_function, default_number_of_events>;
   static constexpr emplace_function_container emplace_functions{
       []<std::size_t... IndexPack>(
           std::index_sequence<IndexPack...>) -> emplace_function_container {
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/event.hpp b/src/binsrv/event/event.hpp
index a75332d..5736507 100644
--- a/src/binsrv/event/event.hpp
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/event.hpp
@@ -22,29 +22,22 @@
 #include "binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.hpp" // IWYU pragma: export
 #include "binsrv/event/generic_body.hpp"            // IWYU pragma: export
 #include "binsrv/event/generic_post_header.hpp"     // IWYU pragma: export
+#include "binsrv/event/reader_context_fwd.hpp"
 #include "binsrv/event/rotate_body_impl.hpp"        // IWYU pragma: export
 #include "binsrv/event/rotate_post_header_impl.hpp" // IWYU pragma: export
 #include "binsrv/event/unknown_body.hpp"            // IWYU pragma: export
 #include "binsrv/event/unknown_post_header.hpp"     // IWYU pragma: export
 
 #include "util/byte_span_fwd.hpp"
-#include "util/conversion_helpers.hpp"
 
 namespace binsrv::event {
 
-using optional_format_description_post_header =
-    std::optional<generic_post_header<code_type::format_description>>;
-using optional_format_description_body =
-    std::optional<generic_body<code_type::format_description>>;
-
 class [[nodiscard]] event {
 private:
-  static constexpr std::size_t number_of_events{
-      util::enum_to_index(code_type::delimiter)};
-
   // here we create an index sequence (std::index_sequence) specialized
   // with the following std::size_t constant pack: 0 .. <number_of_events>
-  using code_index_sequence = std::make_index_sequence<number_of_events>;
+  using code_index_sequence =
+      std::make_index_sequence<default_number_of_events>;
   // almost all boost::mp11 algorithms accept lists of types (rather than
   // lists of constants), so we convert std::index_sequence into
   // boost::mp11::mp_list of std::integral_constant types
@@ -72,8 +65,8 @@ class [[nodiscard]] event {
   using post_header_variant =
       boost::mp11::mp_rename<unique_post_header_type_list, std::variant>;
 
-  // identical techniqure is used to obtain the std::variant of all possible
-  // unique event bodyies
+  // identical technique is used to obtain the std::variant of all possible
+  // unique event bodies
   template <typename Index>
   using index_to_body_mf =
       generic_body<util::index_to_enum<code_type>(Index::value)>;
@@ -86,17 +79,26 @@ class [[nodiscard]] event {
   using optional_footer = std::optional<footer>;
 
 public:
-  event(util::const_byte_span portion,
-        const optional_format_description_post_header &fde_post_header,
-        const optional_format_description_body &fde_body);
+  event(reader_context &context, util::const_byte_span portion);
 
   [[nodiscard]] const common_header &get_common_header() const noexcept {
     return common_header_;
   }
-  [[nodiscard]] const post_header_variant &get_post_header() const noexcept {
+  [[nodiscard]] const post_header_variant &
+  get_generic_post_header() const noexcept {
     return post_header_;
   }
-  [[nodiscard]] const body_variant &get_body() const noexcept { return body_; }
+  template <code_type Code> [[nodiscard]] const auto &get_post_header() const {
+    return std::get<generic_post_header<Code>>(get_generic_post_header());
+  }
+
+  [[nodiscard]] const body_variant &get_generic_body() const noexcept {
+    return body_;
+  }
+  template <code_type Code> [[nodiscard]] const auto &get_body() const {
+    return std::get<generic_body<Code>>(get_generic_body());
+  }
+
   [[nodiscard]] const optional_footer &get_footer() const noexcept {
     return footer_;
   }
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.cpp b/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.cpp
index b3f2638..a0b0c17 100644
--- a/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.cpp
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.cpp
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 #include "binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.hpp"
 
-#include <cstddef>
-#include <iterator>
 #include <stdexcept>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
@@ -16,7 +14,6 @@
 
 #include "util/byte_span.hpp"
 #include "util/byte_span_extractors.hpp"
-#include "util/conversion_helpers.hpp"
 #include "util/exception_location_helpers.hpp"
 
 namespace binsrv::event {
@@ -49,11 +46,6 @@ generic_post_header_impl<code_type::format_description>::
                 "mismatch in "
                 "generic_post_header_impl<code_type::format_description>::"
                 "server_version_length");
-  static_assert(number_of_events ==
-                    util::enum_to_index(code_type::delimiter) - 1U,
-                "mismatch in "
-                "generic_post_header_impl<code_type::format_description>::"
-                "number_of_events");
 
   // TODO: initialize size_in_bytes directly based on the sum of fields
   // widths instead of this static_assert
@@ -103,17 +95,4 @@ generic_post_header_impl<code_type::format_description>::get_server_version()
       boost::posix_time::from_time_t(get_create_timestamp()));
 }
 
-[[nodiscard]] std::size_t
-generic_post_header_impl<code_type::format_description>::get_post_header_length(
-    code_type code) const noexcept {
-  // here the very first "unknown" code is not included in the array by the
-  // spec
-  const auto index{util::enum_to_index(code)};
-  if (index == 0U || index >= util::enum_to_index(code_type::delimiter)) {
-    return 0U;
-  }
-  // NOLINTNEXTLINE(cppcoreguidelines-pro-bounds-constant-array-index)
-  return static_cast<std::size_t>(post_header_lengths_[index - 1U]);
-}
-
 } // namespace binsrv::event
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.hpp b/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.hpp
index b697501..3ccc547 100644
--- a/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.hpp
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/format_description_post_header_impl.hpp
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
 
+#include "binsrv/event/protocol_traits.hpp"
+
 #include "util/byte_span_fwd.hpp"
 
 namespace binsrv::event {
@@ -18,15 +20,10 @@ template <>
 class [[nodiscard]] generic_post_header_impl<code_type::format_description> {
 public:
   static constexpr std::size_t server_version_length{50U};
-  static constexpr std::size_t number_of_events{41U};
   static constexpr std::size_t size_in_bytes{98U};
 
-private:
   using server_version_storage = std::array<std::byte, server_version_length>;
-  using post_header_lengths_storage =
-      std::array<std::uint8_t, number_of_events>;
 
-public:
   explicit generic_post_header_impl(util::const_byte_span portion);
 
   [[nodiscard]] std::uint16_t get_binlog_version_raw() const noexcept {
@@ -55,19 +52,21 @@ class [[nodiscard]] generic_post_header_impl<code_type::format_description> {
     return static_cast<std::size_t>(get_common_header_length_raw());
   }
 
-  [[nodiscard]] const post_header_lengths_storage &
+  [[nodiscard]] const post_header_length_container &
   get_post_header_lengths_raw() const noexcept {
     return post_header_lengths_;
   }
   [[nodiscard]] std::size_t
-  get_post_header_length(code_type code) const noexcept;
+  get_post_header_length(code_type code) const noexcept {
+    return get_post_header_length_for_code(post_header_lengths_, code);
+  }
 
 private:
   // the members are deliberately reordered for better packing
   std::uint32_t create_timestamp_{};                  // 2
   server_version_storage server_version_{};           // 1
   std::uint16_t binlog_version_{};                    // 0
-  post_header_lengths_storage post_header_lengths_{}; // 4
+  post_header_length_container post_header_lengths_{}; // 4
   std::uint8_t common_header_length_{};               // 3
 };
 
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.cpp b/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6254079
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#include "binsrv/event/protocol_traits.hpp"
+
+#include <cstddef>
+
+#include "binsrv/event/code_type.hpp"
+
+#include "util/conversion_helpers.hpp"
+
+namespace binsrv::event {
+
+[[nodiscard]] std::size_t
+get_post_header_length_for_code(const post_header_length_container &storage,
+                                code_type code) noexcept {
+  static_assert(default_number_of_events ==
+                    util::enum_to_index(code_type::delimiter),
+                "mismatch between number_of_events and code_type enum");
+
+  // here the very first "unknown" code is not included in the array by the
+  // spec
+  const auto index{util::enum_to_index(code)};
+  if (index == 0U || index >= default_number_of_events) {
+    return 0U;
+  }
+  // NOLINTNEXTLINE(cppcoreguidelines-pro-bounds-constant-array-index)
+  return static_cast<std::size_t>(storage[index - 1U]);
+}
+
+} // namespace binsrv::event
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.hpp b/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b940a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+#ifndef BINSRV_EVENT_PROTOCOL_TRAITS_HPP
+#define BINSRV_EVENT_PROTOCOL_TRAITS_HPP
+
+#include "binsrv/event/protocol_traits_fwd.hpp" // IWYU pragma: export
+
+#include <array>
+#include <cstddef>
+#include <cstdint>
+
+#include "binsrv/event/code_type_fwd.hpp"
+
+namespace binsrv::event {
+
+// we do not store length for the first element which is the "unknown" event
+using post_header_length_container =
+    std::array<std::uint8_t, default_number_of_events - 1U>;
+
+[[nodiscard]] std::size_t
+get_post_header_length_for_code(const post_header_length_container &storage,
+                                code_type code) noexcept;
+
+} // namespace binsrv::event
+
+#endif // BINSRV_EVENT_PROTOCOL_TRAITS_HPP
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits_fwd.hpp b/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits_fwd.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9600f07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/protocol_traits_fwd.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#ifndef BINSRV_EVENT_PROTOCOL_TRAITS_FWD_HPP
+#define BINSRV_EVENT_PROTOCOL_TRAITS_FWD_HPP
+
+#include <cstddef>
+#include <cstdint>
+
+namespace binsrv::event {
+
+inline constexpr std::uint16_t default_binlog_version{4U};
+inline constexpr std::size_t default_number_of_events{42U};
+inline constexpr std::size_t default_common_header_length{19U};
+
+} // namespace binsrv::event
+
+#endif // BINSRV_EVENT_PROTOCOL_TRAITS_FWD_HPP
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/reader_context.cpp b/src/binsrv/event/reader_context.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7af778
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/reader_context.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#include "binsrv/event/reader_context.hpp"
+
+#include "binsrv/event/checksum_algorithm_type.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/code_type.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/event.hpp"
+
+namespace binsrv::event {
+
+reader_context::reader_context()
+    : checksum_algorithm_{checksum_algorithm_type::off} {}
+
+void reader_context::process_event(const event &current_event) {
+  // TODO: add some kind of state machine where the expected sequence of events
+  //       is the following -
+  //       (ROTATE(artificial) FORMAT_DESCRIPTION <ANY>* ROTATE)*
+  if (current_event.get_common_header().get_type_code() ==
+      code_type::format_description) {
+    const auto &post_header{
+        current_event.get_post_header<code_type::format_description>()};
+    const auto &body{current_event.get_body<code_type::format_description>()};
+
+    // TODO: check if binlog_version == default_binlog_version
+    // TODO: check if common_header_length == default_common_header_length
+    // TODO: check if post_header_lengths for known events has expected
+    //       generic_post_header_impl<code_type::xxx>::size_in_bytes
+    //       (at least for 'format_description' and 'rotate')
+
+    fde_processed_ = true;
+    post_header_lengths_ = post_header.get_post_header_lengths_raw();
+    checksum_algorithm_ = body.get_checksum_algorithm();
+  }
+  // TODO: add position counter and check if common_header.event_size /
+  //       common_header. next_event_position match this counter
+  // TODO: check if CRC32 checksum from the footer (if present) matches the
+  //       calculated one
+}
+
+} // namespace binsrv::event
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/reader_context.hpp b/src/binsrv/event/reader_context.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5dd0201
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/reader_context.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#ifndef BINSRV_EVENT_READER_CONTEXT_HPP
+#define BINSRV_EVENT_READER_CONTEXT_HPP
+
+#include "binsrv/event/reader_context_fwd.hpp" // IWYU pragma: export
+
+#include "binsrv/event/checksum_algorithm_type_fwd.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/event_fwd.hpp"
+#include "binsrv/event/protocol_traits.hpp"
+
+namespace binsrv::event {
+
+class [[nodiscard]] reader_context {
+  friend class event;
+
+public:
+  reader_context();
+
+  [[nodiscard]] bool has_fde_processed() const noexcept {
+    return fde_processed_;
+  }
+  [[nodiscard]] checksum_algorithm_type
+  get_current_checksum_algorithm() const noexcept {
+    return checksum_algorithm_;
+  }
+  [[nodiscard]] std::size_t
+  get_current_post_header_length(code_type code) const noexcept {
+    return get_post_header_length_for_code(post_header_lengths_, code);
+  }
+
+private:
+  bool fde_processed_{false};
+  // NOLINTNEXTLINE(cppcoreguidelines-use-default-member-init,modernize-use-default-member-init)
+  checksum_algorithm_type checksum_algorithm_;
+  post_header_length_container post_header_lengths_{};
+
+  void process_event(const event &current_event);
+};
+
+} // namespace binsrv::event
+
+#endif // BINSRV_EVENT_READER_CONTEXT_HPP
diff --git a/src/binsrv/event/reader_context_fwd.hpp b/src/binsrv/event/reader_context_fwd.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de9ddd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/binsrv/event/reader_context_fwd.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#ifndef BINSRV_EVENT_READER_CONTEXT_FWD_HPP
+#define BINSRV_EVENT_READER_CONTEXT_FWD_HPP
+
+namespace binsrv::event {
+
+class reader_context;
+
+} // namespace binsrv::event
+
+#endif // BINSRV_EVENT_READER_CONTEXT_FWD_HPP
diff --git a/src/binsrv/logger_config.hpp b/src/binsrv/logger_config.hpp
index ff67f73..68608fd 100644
--- a/src/binsrv/logger_config.hpp
+++ b/src/binsrv/logger_config.hpp
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 
 namespace binsrv {
 
-// NOLINTNEXTLINE(bugprone-exception-escape)
 struct [[nodiscard]] logger_config
     : util::nv_tuple<
           // clang-format off
diff --git a/src/easymysql/connection_config.hpp b/src/easymysql/connection_config.hpp
index 08efba0..aa00558 100644
--- a/src/easymysql/connection_config.hpp
+++ b/src/easymysql/connection_config.hpp
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@
 
 namespace easymysql {
 
-// NOLINTNEXTLINE(bugprone-exception-escape)
 struct [[nodiscard]] connection_config
     : util::nv_tuple<
           // clang-format off
diff --git a/src/util/nv_tuple.hpp b/src/util/nv_tuple.hpp
index 1620445..e2c8d51 100644
--- a/src/util/nv_tuple.hpp
+++ b/src/util/nv_tuple.hpp
@@ -16,12 +16,6 @@
 
 namespace util {
 
-// most probably due to a bug in the bugprone-exception-escape
-// clanng-tidy rule logic, the exception that may potentially come from the
-// special functions of both nv and nv_tuple class templates is not properly
-// handled
-
-// NOLINTNEXTLINE(bugprone-exception-escape)
 template <ct_string CTS, typename T> struct nv {
   using type = T;
   static constexpr decltype(CTS) name{CTS};
@@ -29,7 +23,6 @@ template <ct_string CTS, typename T> struct nv {
   type value;
 };
 
-// NOLINTNEXTLINE(bugprone-exception-escape)
 template <named_value... NVPack> struct nv_tuple : NVPack... {
   // TODO: add constraint to make sure that we have only uniqie names in the
   //       NVPack