diff --git a/examples/errors_all_options.php b/examples/errors_all_options.php
index 68d86f5..d6eb968 100644
--- a/examples/errors_all_options.php
+++ b/examples/errors_all_options.php
@@ -25,10 +25,15 @@
 $error->add_meta($key='foo', $meta_data='bar');
 $error->fill_meta($meta_data=['bar' => 'baz']);
 
+// or as object
+$meta_object = new stdClass();
+$meta_object->property = 'value';
+$error->add_meta($key='object', $meta_object);
+
 // the http status code
 // @note it is better to set this on the jsonapi\errors object ..
 //       .. as only a single one can be consumed by the browser
-$error->set_http_status($http_status=\alsvanzelf\jsonapi\base::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
+$error->set_http_status($http_status=\alsvanzelf\jsonapi\response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
 
 // if not set during construction, set them here
 $error->set_error_message($error_message='too much options');
@@ -40,7 +45,7 @@
  */
 
 $another_error  = new \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\error('kiss', 'Error objects can be small and simple as well.');
-$some_exception = new Exception('please don\'t throw things', \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\base::STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR);
+$some_exception = new Exception('please don\'t throw things', \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\response::STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR);
 
 /**
  * building up the json response
@@ -56,7 +61,7 @@
 $jsonapi->add_error($another_error);
 $jsonapi->add_exception($some_exception);
 
-$jsonapi->set_http_status(\alsvanzelf\jsonapi\base::STATUS_BAD_REQUEST);
+$jsonapi->set_http_status(\alsvanzelf\jsonapi\response::STATUS_BAD_REQUEST);
 
 /**
  * sending the response
diff --git a/examples/errors_exception.php b/examples/errors_exception.php
index 981b0d7..17dab29 100644
--- a/examples/errors_exception.php
+++ b/examples/errors_exception.php
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
  */
 
 try {
-	throw new Exception('unknown user', \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\base::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
+	throw new Exception('unknown user', \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
 }
 catch (Exception $e) {
 	$jsonapi = new \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\errors($e);
diff --git a/src/base.php b/src/base.php
index 0ee343e..109b5b2 100644
--- a/src/base.php
+++ b/src/base.php
@@ -5,30 +5,31 @@
 class base {
 
 /**
- * advised http status codes
+ * @deprecated
+ * @see response::STATUS_*
  */
-const STATUS_BAD_REQUEST           = 400;
-const STATUS_UNAUTHORIZED          = 401;
-const STATUS_FORBIDDEN             = 403;
-const STATUS_NOT_FOUND             = 404;
-const STATUS_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED    = 405;
-const STATUS_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY  = 422;
-const STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR = 500;
-const STATUS_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE   = 503;
+const STATUS_BAD_REQUEST           = response::STATUS_BAD_REQUEST;
+const STATUS_UNAUTHORIZED          = response::STATUS_UNAUTHORIZED;
+const STATUS_FORBIDDEN             = response::STATUS_FORBIDDEN;
+const STATUS_NOT_FOUND             = response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND;
+const STATUS_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED    = response::STATUS_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED;
+const STATUS_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY  = response::STATUS_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY;
+const STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR = response::STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR;
+const STATUS_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE   = response::STATUS_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE;
 
 /**
- * content type headers
+ * @deprecated
+ * @see response::CONTENT_TYPE_*
  */
-const CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL = 'application/vnd.api+json';
-const CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG = 'application/json';
+const CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL = response::CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL;
+const CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG    = response::CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG;
 
 /**
- * json encode options
- * default is JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES|JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE
- * in debug mode (@see ::$debug) JSON_PRETTY_PRINT is added
+ * @deprecated
+ * @see response::ENCODE_*
  */
-const ENCODE_DEFAULT = 320;
-const ENCODE_DEBUG   = 448;
+const ENCODE_DEFAULT = response::ENCODE_DEFAULT;
+const ENCODE_DEBUG   = response::ENCODE_DEBUG;
 
 /**
  * debug modus for non-production environments
@@ -36,8 +37,8 @@ class base {
  * this is automatically set based on the display_errors directive
  * it can be overridden by setting it to a boolean value
  * 
- * - encodes json with in pretty print (@see ::ENCODE_DEBUG) (*)
- * - makes browser display json instead of offering a file (@see ::CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG) (*)
+ * - encodes json with in pretty print (@see response::ENCODE_DEBUG) (*)
+ * - makes browser display json instead of offering a file (@see response::CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG) (*)
  * - outputs the error message for errors (@see error->get_array())
  * - outputs exception details for errors (@see errors->add_exception())
  * 
@@ -47,201 +48,16 @@ class base {
 public static $debug = null;
 
 /**
- * internal data containers
- */
-protected $links              = array();
-protected $meta_data          = array();
-protected $included_resources = array();
-
-/**
- * base constructor for all response objects (resource, collection, errors)
+ * base constructor for all objects
  * 
- * a few things are arranged here:
+ * few things are arranged here:
  * - determines ::$debug based on the display_errors directive
- * - sets the self link using $_SERVER variables
- * 
- * @see ->set_self_link() to override this default behavior
  */
 public function __construct() {
 	// set debug mode based on display_errors
 	if (is_null(self::$debug)) {
 		self::$debug = (bool)ini_get('display_errors');
 	}
-	
-	// auto-fill the self link based on the current request
-	$self_link = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
-	if (isset($_SERVER['PATH_INFO'])) {
-		$self_link = $_SERVER['PATH_INFO'];
-	}
-	
-	$this->set_self_link($self_link);
-}
-
-/**
- * alias for ->get_json()
- * 
- * @see ->get_json()
- * 
- * @return string
- */
-public function __toString() {
-	return $this->get_json();
-}
-
-/**
- * returns the whole response body as json
- * it generates the response via ->get_array()
- * 
- * @see ->get_array() for the structure
- * @see json_encode() options
- * 
- * @param  int  $encode_options optional, $options for json_encode()
- *                              defaults to ::ENCODE_DEFAULT or ::ENCODE_DEBUG, @see ::$debug
- * @return json
- */
-public function get_json($encode_options=null) {
-	if (is_int($encode_options) == false) {
-		$encode_options = self::ENCODE_DEFAULT;
-	}
-	if (self::$debug || strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT'], '/json') == false) {
-		$encode_options = self::ENCODE_DEBUG;
-	}
-	
-	$response = $this->get_array();
-	
-	$json = json_encode($response, $encode_options);
-	
-	return $json;
-}
-
-/**
- * sends out the json response to the browser
- * this will fetch the response from ->get_json() if not given via $response
- * 
- * @param  string $content_type   optional, defaults to ::CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL (the official IANA registered one) ..
- *                                .. or to ::CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG, @see ::$debug
- * @param  int    $encode_options optional, $options for json_encode()
- *                                defaults to ::ENCODE_DEFAULT or ::ENCODE_DEBUG, @see ::$debug
- * @param  json   $response       optional, defaults to ::get_json()
- * @return void                   however, a string will be echo'd to the browser
- */
-public function send_response($content_type=null, $encode_options=null, $response=null) {
-	if (is_null($response)) {
-		$response = $this->get_json($encode_options);
-	}
-	
-	if (empty($content_type)) {
-		$content_type = self::CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL;
-	}
-	if (self::$debug || strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT'], '/json') == false) {
-		$content_type = self::CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG;
-	}
-	
-	header('Content-Type: '.$content_type.'; charset=utf-8');
-	echo $response;
-}
-
-/**
- * returns the included resource objects
- * this is used by a collection to work with the actual objects
- * 
- * @return array
- */
-public function get_included_resources() {
-	return $this->included_resources;
-}
-
-/**
- * sets the link to the request used to give this response
- * this will end up in response.links.self ..
- * and in response.data.links.self for single resource objects
- * 
- * by default this is already set using $_SERVER variables
- * use this method to override this default behavior
- * @see ::__construct()
- * 
- * @param  string $link
- * @return void
- */
-public function set_self_link($link) {
-	$this->links['self'] = $link;
-}
-
-/**
- * adds an included resource
- * this will end up in response.included[]
- * 
- * prefer using ->add_relation() instead
- * 
- * a $resource should have its 'id' set
- * 
- * @note this can only be used by resource and collection, not by errors
- * 
- * @param \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\resource $resource
- */
-public function add_included_resource(\alsvanzelf\jsonapi\resource $resource) {
-	if (property_exists($this, 'included_resources') == false) {
-		throw new \Exception(get_class($this).' can not contain included resources');
-	}
-	
-	$resource_array = $resource->get_array();
-	if (empty($resource_array['data']['id'])) {
-		return;
-	}
-	
-	$resource_array = $resource_array['data'];
-	unset($resource_array['relationships'], $resource_array['meta']);
-	
-	$key = $resource_array['type'].'/'.$resource_array['id'];
-	
-	$this->included_data[$key] = $resource_array;
-	
-	// make a backup of the actual resource, to pass on to a collection
-	$this->included_resources[$key] = $resource;
-}
-
-/**
- * fills the included resources
- * this will end up in response.included[]
- * 
- * prefer using ->fill_relations() instead
- * 
- * @param  array $resources of \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\resource objects
- * @return void
- */
-public function fill_included_resources($resources) {
-	foreach ($resources as $resource) {
-		$this->add_included_resource($resource);
-	}
-}
-
-/**
- * adds some meta data
- * this will end up in response.meta.{$key}
- * 
- * @param  string  $key
- * @param  mixed   $meta_data objects are converted in arrays, @see ::convert_object_to_array()
- * @return void
- */
-public function add_meta($key, $meta_data) {
-	if (is_object($meta_data)) {
-		$meta_data = self::convert_object_to_array($meta_data);
-	}
-	
-	$this->meta_data[$key] = $meta_data;
-}
-
-/**
- * fills the meta data
- * this will end up in response.meta
- * 
- * @param  array   $meta_data
- * @return void
- */
-public function fill_meta($meta_data) {
-	foreach ($meta_data as $key => $single_meta_data) {
-		$this->add_meta($key, $single_meta_data);
-	}
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/collection.php b/src/collection.php
index 6d551b8..66bd199 100644
--- a/src/collection.php
+++ b/src/collection.php
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
  * - included  although possible, you should set those via the resource
  */
 
-class collection extends base {
+class collection extends response {
 
 /**
  * internal data containers
diff --git a/src/error.php b/src/error.php
index fdfb406..1334b1f 100644
--- a/src/error.php
+++ b/src/error.php
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
  *       it is used, and can be used, to fill an errors collection
  */
 
-class error {
+class error extends base {
 
 /**
  * internal data containers
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ class error {
  * @param string $about_link       optional, @see ->set_about_link()
  */
 public function __construct($error_message, $friendly_message=null, $about_link=null) {
+	parent::__construct();
+	
 	$this->set_error_message($error_message);
 	
 	if ($friendly_message) {
@@ -224,7 +226,7 @@ public function set_identifier($identifier) {
  */
 public function add_meta($key, $meta_data) {
 	if (is_object($meta_data)) {
-		$meta_data = base::convert_object_to_array($meta_data);
+		$meta_data = parent::convert_object_to_array($meta_data);
 	}
 	
 	$this->meta_data[$key] = $meta_data;
diff --git a/src/errors.php b/src/errors.php
index 0b2c058..ef344eb 100644
--- a/src/errors.php
+++ b/src/errors.php
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
  * ```
  */
 
-class errors extends base {
+class errors extends response {
 
 /**
  * http status messages used for string output
diff --git a/src/resource.php b/src/resource.php
index 4d7dd97..16ac037 100644
--- a/src/resource.php
+++ b/src/resource.php
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
  * - included  @see ->add_included_resource() or ->fill_included_resources()
  */
 
-class resource extends base {
+class resource extends response {
 
 /**
  * internal data containers
@@ -259,13 +259,13 @@ public function fill_links($links) {
 /**
  * sets the link to the request used to give this response
  * this will end up in response.links.self and response.data.links.self
- * this overrides the jsonapi\base->set_self_link() which only adds it to response.links.self
+ * this overrides the jsonapi\response->set_self_link() which only adds it to response.links.self
  * 
- * @see jsonapi\base->set_self_link()
+ * @see jsonapi\response->set_self_link()
  * 
  * by default this is already set using $_SERVER variables
  * use this method to override this default behavior
- * @see jsonapi\base::__construct()
+ * @see jsonapi\response::__construct()
  * 
  * @param  string $link
  * @return void
diff --git a/src/response.php b/src/response.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..404f43b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/response.php
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace alsvanzelf\jsonapi;
+
+class response extends base {
+
+/**
+ * advised http status codes
+ */
+const STATUS_BAD_REQUEST           = 400;
+const STATUS_UNAUTHORIZED          = 401;
+const STATUS_FORBIDDEN             = 403;
+const STATUS_NOT_FOUND             = 404;
+const STATUS_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED    = 405;
+const STATUS_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY  = 422;
+const STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR = 500;
+const STATUS_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE   = 503;
+
+/**
+ * content type headers
+ */
+const CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL = 'application/vnd.api+json';
+const CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG    = 'application/json';
+
+/**
+ * json encode options
+ * default is JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES|JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE
+ * in debug mode (@see ::$debug) JSON_PRETTY_PRINT is added
+ */
+const ENCODE_DEFAULT = 320;
+const ENCODE_DEBUG   = 448;
+
+/**
+ * internal data containers
+ */
+protected $links              = array();
+protected $meta_data          = array();
+protected $included_resources = array();
+
+/**
+ * base constructor for all response objects (resource, collection, errors)
+ * 
+ * a few things are arranged here:
+ * - sets the self link using $_SERVER variables
+ * 
+ * @see ->set_self_link() to override this default behavior
+ */
+public function __construct() {
+	parent::__construct();
+	
+	// auto-fill the self link based on the current request
+	$self_link = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
+	if (isset($_SERVER['PATH_INFO'])) {
+		$self_link = $_SERVER['PATH_INFO'];
+	}
+	
+	$this->set_self_link($self_link);
+}
+
+/**
+ * alias for ->get_json()
+ * 
+ * @see ->get_json()
+ * 
+ * @return string
+ */
+public function __toString() {
+	return $this->get_json();
+}
+
+/**
+ * returns the whole response body as json
+ * it generates the response via ->get_array()
+ * 
+ * @see ->get_array() for the structure
+ * @see json_encode() options
+ * 
+ * @param  int  $encode_options optional, $options for json_encode()
+ *                              defaults to ::ENCODE_DEFAULT or ::ENCODE_DEBUG, @see ::$debug
+ * @return json
+ */
+public function get_json($encode_options=null) {
+	if (is_int($encode_options) == false) {
+		$encode_options = self::ENCODE_DEFAULT;
+	}
+	if (base::$debug || strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT'], '/json') == false) {
+		$encode_options = self::ENCODE_DEBUG;
+	}
+	
+	$response = $this->get_array();
+	
+	$json = json_encode($response, $encode_options);
+	
+	return $json;
+}
+
+/**
+ * sends out the json response to the browser
+ * this will fetch the response from ->get_json() if not given via $response
+ * 
+ * @param  string $content_type   optional, defaults to ::CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL (the official IANA registered one) ..
+ *                                .. or to ::CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG, @see ::$debug
+ * @param  int    $encode_options optional, $options for json_encode()
+ *                                defaults to ::ENCODE_DEFAULT or ::ENCODE_DEBUG, @see ::$debug
+ * @param  json   $response       optional, defaults to ::get_json()
+ * @return void                   however, a string will be echo'd to the browser
+ */
+public function send_response($content_type=null, $encode_options=null, $response=null) {
+	if (is_null($response)) {
+		$response = $this->get_json($encode_options);
+	}
+	
+	if (empty($content_type)) {
+		$content_type = self::CONTENT_TYPE_OFFICIAL;
+	}
+	if (base::$debug || strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT'], '/json') == false) {
+		$content_type = self::CONTENT_TYPE_DEBUG;
+	}
+	
+	header('Content-Type: '.$content_type.'; charset=utf-8');
+	echo $response;
+}
+
+/**
+ * returns the included resource objects
+ * this is used by a collection to work with the actual objects
+ * 
+ * @return array
+ */
+public function get_included_resources() {
+	return $this->included_resources;
+}
+
+/**
+ * sets the link to the request used to give this response
+ * this will end up in response.links.self ..
+ * and in response.data.links.self for single resource objects
+ * 
+ * by default this is already set using $_SERVER variables
+ * use this method to override this default behavior
+ * @see ::__construct()
+ * 
+ * @param  string $link
+ * @return void
+ */
+public function set_self_link($link) {
+	$this->links['self'] = $link;
+}
+
+/**
+ * adds an included resource
+ * this will end up in response.included[]
+ * 
+ * prefer using ->add_relation() instead
+ * 
+ * a $resource should have its 'id' set
+ * 
+ * @note this can only be used by resource and collection, not by errors
+ * 
+ * @param \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\resource $resource
+ */
+public function add_included_resource(\alsvanzelf\jsonapi\resource $resource) {
+	if (property_exists($this, 'included_resources') == false) {
+		throw new \Exception(get_class($this).' can not contain included resources');
+	}
+	
+	$resource_array = $resource->get_array();
+	if (empty($resource_array['data']['id'])) {
+		return;
+	}
+	
+	$resource_array = $resource_array['data'];
+	unset($resource_array['relationships'], $resource_array['meta']);
+	
+	$key = $resource_array['type'].'/'.$resource_array['id'];
+	
+	$this->included_data[$key] = $resource_array;
+	
+	// make a backup of the actual resource, to pass on to a collection
+	$this->included_resources[$key] = $resource;
+}
+
+/**
+ * fills the included resources
+ * this will end up in response.included[]
+ * 
+ * prefer using ->fill_relations() instead
+ * 
+ * @param  array $resources of \alsvanzelf\jsonapi\resource objects
+ * @return void
+ */
+public function fill_included_resources($resources) {
+	foreach ($resources as $resource) {
+		$this->add_included_resource($resource);
+	}
+}
+
+/**
+ * adds some meta data
+ * this will end up in response.meta.{$key}
+ * 
+ * @param  string  $key
+ * @param  mixed   $meta_data objects are converted in arrays, @see base::convert_object_to_array()
+ * @return void
+ */
+public function add_meta($key, $meta_data) {
+	if (is_object($meta_data)) {
+		$meta_data = parent::convert_object_to_array($meta_data);
+	}
+	
+	$this->meta_data[$key] = $meta_data;
+}
+
+/**
+ * fills the meta data
+ * this will end up in response.meta
+ * 
+ * @param  array   $meta_data
+ * @return void
+ */
+public function fill_meta($meta_data) {
+	foreach ($meta_data as $key => $single_meta_data) {
+		$this->add_meta($key, $single_meta_data);
+	}
+}
+
+}