diff --git a/pmd-apex/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/apex/rule/design/StdCyclomaticComplexityTest.java b/pmd-apex/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/apex/rule/design/StdCyclomaticComplexityTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 421d5c45e5..0000000000
--- a/pmd-apex/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/apex/rule/design/StdCyclomaticComplexityTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,44 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * BSD-style license; for more info see http://pmd.sourceforge.net/license.html
- */
-
-package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.apex.rule.design;
-
-import java.io.StringReader;
-import java.util.Arrays;
-
-import org.junit.Assert;
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleContext;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersion;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ParserOptions;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.apex.ApexLanguageModule;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.testframework.PmdRuleTst;
-
-public class StdCyclomaticComplexityTest extends PmdRuleTst {
-    /**
-     * Make sure the entry stack is empty, if show classes complexity is
-     * disabled.
-     *
-     * @see <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/pmd/bugs/1501/">bug #1501</a>
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void entryStackMustBeEmpty() {
-        StdCyclomaticComplexityRule rule = new StdCyclomaticComplexityRule();
-        rule.setProperty(StdCyclomaticComplexityRule.SHOW_CLASSES_COMPLEXITY_DESCRIPTOR, Boolean.FALSE);
-
-        RuleContext ctx = new RuleContext();
-        LanguageVersion javaLanguageVersion = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(ApexLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion();
-        ParserOptions parserOptions = javaLanguageVersion.getLanguageVersionHandler().getDefaultParserOptions();
-        Parser parser = javaLanguageVersion.getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        Node node = parser.parse("test", new StringReader("public class SampleClass {}"));
-
-        rule.apply(Arrays.asList(node), ctx);
-
-        Assert.assertTrue(rule.entryStack.isEmpty());
-    }
-}
diff --git a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/JavaRuleViolationTest.java b/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/JavaRuleViolationTest.java
index 52e66d9a93..ae1ff2deeb 100644
--- a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/JavaRuleViolationTest.java
+++ b/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/JavaRuleViolationTest.java
@@ -6,28 +6,24 @@ package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.rule;
 
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleContext;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersionHandler;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ParserOptions;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.JavaLanguageModule;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.JavaParsingHelper;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTClassOrInterfaceDeclaration;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTCompilationUnit;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTFieldDeclaration;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTFormalParameter;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTImportDeclaration;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTMethodDeclaration;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.symboltable.ScopeAndDeclarationFinder;
 
 /**
  * @author Philip Graf
  */
 public class JavaRuleViolationTest {
+
     /**
      * Verifies that {@link JavaRuleViolation} sets the variable name for an
      * {@link ASTFormalParameter} node.
@@ -42,14 +38,7 @@ public class JavaRuleViolationTest {
     }
 
     private ASTCompilationUnit parse(final String code) {
-        final LanguageVersionHandler languageVersionHandler = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(JavaLanguageModule.NAME)
-                .getDefaultVersion().getLanguageVersionHandler();
-        final ParserOptions options = languageVersionHandler.getDefaultParserOptions();
-        final ASTCompilationUnit ast = (ASTCompilationUnit) languageVersionHandler.getParser(options).parse(null,
-                new StringReader(code));
-        // set scope of AST nodes
-        ast.jjtAccept(new ScopeAndDeclarationFinder(), null);
-        return ast;
+        return JavaParsingHelper.WITH_PROCESSING.parse(code);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/XPathRuleTest.java b/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/XPathRuleTest.java
index 4a74a42e91..6716fa8f6b 100644
--- a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/XPathRuleTest.java
+++ b/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/XPathRuleTest.java
@@ -26,10 +26,9 @@ import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleViolation;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.RulesetsFactoryUtils;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersion;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ParserOptions;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.JavaLanguageModule;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.JavaParsingHelper;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTCompilationUnit;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.XPathRule;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.rule.xpath.JaxenXPathRuleQuery;
@@ -122,7 +121,7 @@ public class XPathRuleTest extends RuleTst {
     /**
      * Test for problem reported in bug #1219 PrimarySuffix/@Image does not work
      * in some cases in xpath 2.0
-     * 
+     *
      * @throws Exception
      *             any error
      */
@@ -132,9 +131,7 @@ public class XPathRuleTest extends RuleTst {
                 + "    public static void main(String args[]) {\n" + "        new File(\"subdirectory\").list();\n"
                 + "    }\n" + "}";
         LanguageVersion language = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(JavaLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion();
-        ParserOptions parserOptions = language.getLanguageVersionHandler().getDefaultParserOptions();
-        Parser parser = language.getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        ASTCompilationUnit cu = (ASTCompilationUnit) parser.parse("test", new StringReader(SUFFIX));
+        ASTCompilationUnit cu = JavaParsingHelper.WITH_PROCESSING.parse(SUFFIX);
         RuleContext ruleContext = new RuleContext();
         ruleContext.setLanguageVersion(language);
 
@@ -167,7 +164,7 @@ public class XPathRuleTest extends RuleTst {
 
     /**
      * Following sibling check: See https://sourceforge.net/p/pmd/bugs/1209/
-     * 
+     *
      * @throws Exception
      *             any error
      */
@@ -176,9 +173,7 @@ public class XPathRuleTest extends RuleTst {
         final String SOURCE = "public class dummy {\n" + "  public String toString() {\n"
                 + "    String test = \"bad example\";\n" + "    test = \"a\";\n" + "    return test;\n" + "  }\n" + "}";
         LanguageVersion language = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(JavaLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion();
-        ParserOptions parserOptions = language.getLanguageVersionHandler().getDefaultParserOptions();
-        Parser parser = language.getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        ASTCompilationUnit cu = (ASTCompilationUnit) parser.parse("test", new StringReader(SOURCE));
+        ASTCompilationUnit cu = JavaParsingHelper.WITH_PROCESSING.parse(SOURCE);
         RuleContext ruleContext = new RuleContext();
         ruleContext.setLanguageVersion(language);
 
diff --git a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/design/StdCyclomaticComplexityTest.java b/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/design/StdCyclomaticComplexityTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index a3bbd6602f..0000000000
--- a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/design/StdCyclomaticComplexityTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,44 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * BSD-style license; for more info see http://pmd.sourceforge.net/license.html
- */
-
-package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.rule.design;
-
-import java.io.StringReader;
-import java.util.Arrays;
-
-import org.junit.Assert;
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleContext;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersion;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ParserOptions;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.JavaLanguageModule;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.testframework.PmdRuleTst;
-
-public class StdCyclomaticComplexityTest extends PmdRuleTst {
-    /**
-     * Make sure the entry stack is empty, if show classes complexity is
-     * disabled.
-     *
-     * @see <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/pmd/bugs/1501/">bug #1501</a>
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void entryStackMustBeEmpty() {
-        StdCyclomaticComplexityRule rule = new StdCyclomaticComplexityRule();
-        rule.setProperty(StdCyclomaticComplexityRule.SHOW_CLASSES_COMPLEXITY_DESCRIPTOR, Boolean.FALSE);
-
-        RuleContext ctx = new RuleContext();
-        LanguageVersion javaLanguageVersion = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(JavaLanguageModule.NAME).getVersion("1.8");
-        ParserOptions parserOptions = javaLanguageVersion.getLanguageVersionHandler().getDefaultParserOptions();
-        Parser parser = javaLanguageVersion.getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        Node node = parser.parse("test", new StringReader("public class SampleClass {}"));
-
-        rule.apply(Arrays.asList(node), ctx);
-
-        Assert.assertTrue(rule.entryStack.isEmpty());
-    }
-}
diff --git a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/documentation/AbstractCommentRuleTest.java b/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/documentation/AbstractCommentRuleTest.java
index 19f80eeac1..514a75abef 100644
--- a/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/documentation/AbstractCommentRuleTest.java
+++ b/pmd-java/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/documentation/AbstractCommentRuleTest.java
@@ -6,18 +6,14 @@ package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.rule.documentation;
 
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 
-import java.io.Reader;
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersionHandler;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.impl.javacc.JavaccToken;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.JavaLanguageModule;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.JavaParsingHelper;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTCompilationUnit;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.ASTMethodDeclaration;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.java.ast.FormalComment;
@@ -63,12 +59,9 @@ public class AbstractCommentRuleTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testCommentAssignments() {
-        LanguageVersionHandler handler = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(JavaLanguageModule.NAME).getVersion("1.8")
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler();
-        Reader source = new StringReader("public class Foo {" + "     /** Comment 1 */\n"
-                + "        public void method1() {}\n" + "    \n" + "        /** Comment 2 */\n" + "    \n"
-                + "        /** Comment 3 */\n" + "        public void method2() {}" + "}");
-        Node node = handler.getParser(handler.getDefaultParserOptions()).parse("test", source);
+        Node node = JavaParsingHelper.WITH_PROCESSING.parse("public class Foo {" + "     /** Comment 1 */\n"
+                                                                + "        public void method1() {}\n" + "    \n" + "        /** Comment 2 */\n" + "    \n"
+                                                                + "        /** Comment 3 */\n" + "        public void method2() {}" + "}");
 
         testSubject.assignCommentsToDeclarations((ASTCompilationUnit) node);
         List<ASTMethodDeclaration> methods = node.findDescendantsOfType(ASTMethodDeclaration.class);
diff --git a/pmd-javascript/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptParserTest.java b/pmd-javascript/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptParserTest.java
index a9827b4984..2579564476 100644
--- a/pmd-javascript/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptParserTest.java
+++ b/pmd-javascript/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptParserTest.java
@@ -8,8 +8,6 @@ import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
 
-import java.io.Reader;
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -20,7 +18,6 @@ import org.mozilla.javascript.ast.AstRoot;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.PMD;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleContext;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ecmascript.Ecmascript3Parser;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ecmascript.EcmascriptParserOptions;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ecmascript.rule.AbstractEcmascriptRule;
 
@@ -142,18 +139,13 @@ public class EcmascriptParserTest extends EcmascriptParserTestBase {
      */
     @Test
     public void testSuppressionComment() {
-        Ecmascript3Parser parser = new Ecmascript3Parser(new EcmascriptParserOptions());
-        Reader sourceCode = new StringReader("function(x) {\n" + "x = x; //NOPMD I know what I'm doing\n" + "}\n");
-        ASTAstRoot root = parser.parse("foo", sourceCode);
+        ASTAstRoot root = js.parse("function(x) {\n" + "x = x; //NOPMD I know what I'm doing\n" + "}\n");
         assertEquals(" I know what I'm doing", root.getNoPmdComments().get(2));
         assertEquals(1, root.getNoPmdComments().size());
 
         EcmascriptParserOptions parserOptions = new EcmascriptParserOptions();
         parserOptions.setSuppressMarker("FOOOO");
-        parser = new Ecmascript3Parser(parserOptions);
-        sourceCode = new StringReader(
-                "function(x) {\n" + "y = y; //NOPMD xyz\n" + "x = x; //FOOOO I know what I'm doing\n" + "}\n");
-        root = parser.parse("foo", sourceCode);
+        root = js.withParserOptions(parserOptions).parse("function(x) {\n" + "y = y; //NOPMD xyz\n" + "x = x; //FOOOO I know what I'm doing\n" + "}\n");
         assertEquals(" I know what I'm doing", root.getNoPmdComments().get(3));
         assertEquals(1, root.getNoPmdComments().size());
     }
diff --git a/pmd-jsp/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/JspParserTest.java b/pmd-jsp/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/JspParserTest.java
index 6f4cae6f8b..0a1c3ff5d2 100644
--- a/pmd-jsp/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/JspParserTest.java
+++ b/pmd-jsp/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/JspParserTest.java
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.jsp;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.nio.file.Paths;
 
 import org.junit.Assert;
@@ -14,38 +13,29 @@ import org.junit.Test;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersion;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersionDiscoverer;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersionHandler;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.jsp.ast.AbstractJspNodesTst;
 
 /**
  * Unit test for JSP parsing.
  *
  */
-public class JspParserTest {
+public class JspParserTest extends AbstractJspNodesTst {
 
     /**
      * Verifies bug #939 Jsp parser fails on $
      */
     @Test
     public void testParseDollar() {
-        Node node = parse(
-                "<span class=\"CostUnit\">$</span><span class=\"CostMain\">129</span><span class=\"CostFrac\">.00</span>");
-        Assert.assertNotNull(node);
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testParseELAttribute() {
-        Node node = parse(
-                "<div ${something ? 'class=\"red\"' : ''}> Div content here.</div>");
-        Assert.assertNotNull(node);
+        jsp.parse("<div ${something ? 'class=\"red\"' : ''}> Div content here.</div>");
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testParseELAttributeValue() {
-        Node node = parse(
-                "<div class=\"${something == 0 ? 'zero_something' : something == 1 ? 'one_something' : 'other_something'}\">Div content here.</div>");
-        Assert.assertNotNull(node);
+        jsp.parse("<div class=\"${something == 0 ? 'zero_something' : something == 1 ? 'one_something' : 'other_something'}\">Div content here.</div>");
     }
 
     /**
@@ -53,9 +43,7 @@ public class JspParserTest {
      */
     @Test
     public void testParseBooleanAttribute() {
-        Node node = parse(
-                "<label><input type='checkbox' checked name=cheese disabled=''> Cheese</label>");
-        Assert.assertNotNull(node);
+        jsp.parse("<label><input type='checkbox' checked name=cheese disabled=''> Cheese</label>");
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -81,11 +69,4 @@ public class JspParserTest {
                 LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(JspLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion(), languageVersion);
     }
 
-    private Node parse(String code) {
-        LanguageVersionHandler jspLang = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(JspLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion()
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler();
-        Parser parser = jspLang.getParser(jspLang.getDefaultParserOptions());
-        Node node = parser.parse(null, new StringReader(code));
-        return node;
-    }
 }
diff --git a/pmd-modelica/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/modelica/ast/ModelicaCoordsTest.kt b/pmd-modelica/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/modelica/ast/ModelicaCoordsTest.kt
index 6ad15f5bb4..798e24cec7 100644
--- a/pmd-modelica/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/modelica/ast/ModelicaCoordsTest.kt
+++ b/pmd-modelica/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/modelica/ast/ModelicaCoordsTest.kt
@@ -7,11 +7,10 @@ package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.modelica.ast
 import io.kotlintest.should
 import io.kotlintest.shouldBe
 import io.kotlintest.specs.FunSpec
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.test.matchNode
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.test.shouldBe
-import java.io.StringReader
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.modelica.ModelicaParsingHelper
 
 class ModelicaCoordsTest : FunSpec({
 
@@ -108,12 +107,8 @@ end TestPackage;
     }
 })
 
-fun String.parseModelica(): ASTStoredDefinition {
-    val ver = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage("Modelica").defaultVersion.languageVersionHandler
-    val parser = ver.getParser(ver.defaultParserOptions)
-
-    return parser.parse(":dummy:", StringReader(this)) as ASTStoredDefinition
-}
+fun String.parseModelica(): ASTStoredDefinition =
+        ModelicaParsingHelper.DEFAULT.parse(this)
 
 fun Node.assertBounds(bline: Int, bcol: Int, eline: Int, ecol: Int) {
     this::getBeginLine shouldBe bline
diff --git a/pmd-scala/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/scala/ast/ScalaTreeTests.kt b/pmd-scala/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/scala/ast/ScalaTreeTests.kt
index 21825ff9ea..fba7025046 100644
--- a/pmd-scala/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/scala/ast/ScalaTreeTests.kt
+++ b/pmd-scala/src/test/kotlin/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/scala/ast/ScalaTreeTests.kt
@@ -6,11 +6,9 @@ package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.scala.ast
 
 import io.kotlintest.should
 import io.kotlintest.specs.FunSpec
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.test.matchNode
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.test.shouldBe
-import java.io.StringReader
 
 class ScalaTreeTests : FunSpec({
 
@@ -80,12 +78,7 @@ class Foo {
     }
 })
 
-fun String.parseScala(): ASTSource {
-    val ver = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage("Scala").defaultVersion.languageVersionHandler
-    val parser = ver.getParser(ver.defaultParserOptions)
-
-    return parser.parse(":dummy:", StringReader(this)) as ASTSource
-}
+fun String.parseScala(): ASTSource = ScalaParsingHelper.DEFAULT.parse(this)
 
 fun Node.assertBounds(bline: Int, bcol: Int, eline: Int, ecol: Int) {
     this::getBeginLine shouldBe bline
diff --git a/pmd-vm/pom.xml b/pmd-vm/pom.xml
index f8effb5cf7..820acc3225 100644
--- a/pmd-vm/pom.xml
+++ b/pmd-vm/pom.xml
@@ -106,5 +106,10 @@
             <artifactId>pmd-test</artifactId>
             <scope>test</scope>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>net.sourceforge.pmd</groupId>
+            <artifactId>pmd-lang-test</artifactId>
+            <scope>test</scope>
+        </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/pmd-vm/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/vm/VmParserTest.java b/pmd-vm/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/vm/VmParserTest.java
index 2c5da25ff3..5956adfa63 100644
--- a/pmd-vm/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/vm/VmParserTest.java
+++ b/pmd-vm/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/vm/VmParserTest.java
@@ -4,31 +4,24 @@
 
 package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm;
 
-import java.io.StringReader;
-
-import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersionHandler;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm.ast.VmParsingHelper;
 
 /**
  * Unit test for VM parsing.
- * 
  */
 public class VmParserTest {
 
     private static final String VM_SRC = "<HTML><BODY>Hello $customer.Name <table> "
-            + "#foreach($mud in $mudsOnSpecial)" + "  #if ( $customer.hasPurchased($mud) )" + "     <tr>" + "      <td>"
-            + "       $flogger.getPromo( $mud )" + "    </td>" + "  </tr>" + " #elseif ($customer.broke) do stuff #end"
-            + "\n " + "#end " + "</table>";
+        + "#foreach($mud in $mudsOnSpecial)" + "  #if ( $customer.hasPurchased($mud) )" + "     <tr>" + "      <td>"
+        + "       $flogger.getPromo( $mud )" + "    </td>" + "  </tr>" + " #elseif ($customer.broke) do stuff #end"
+        + "\n " + "#end " + "</table>";
 
     private static final String SRC2 = "#macro(tablerows $color $values ) " + "#foreach( $value in $values ) "
-            + "<tr><td bgcolor=$color>$value</td></tr> " + "#end " + "#end "
-            + "#set( $greatlakes = [\"Superior\",\"Michigan\",\"Huron\",\"Erie\",\"Ontario\"] ) "
-            + "#set( $color = \"blue\" ) " + "<table> " + " #tablerows( $color $greatlakes ) " + "</table>";
+        + "<tr><td bgcolor=$color>$value</td></tr> " + "#end " + "#end "
+        + "#set( $greatlakes = [\"Superior\",\"Michigan\",\"Huron\",\"Erie\",\"Ontario\"] ) "
+        + "#set( $color = \"blue\" ) " + "<table> " + " #tablerows( $color $greatlakes ) " + "</table>";
 
     private static final String SRC3 = "#if ( $c1 ) #if ( $c2)#end #end";
 
@@ -37,27 +30,17 @@ public class VmParserTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testParser() {
-        final Node node = parse(VM_SRC);
-        Assert.assertNotNull(node);
+        VmParsingHelper.DEFAULT.parse(VM_SRC);
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testParser2() {
-        final Node node = parse(SRC2);
-        Assert.assertNotNull(node);
+        VmParsingHelper.DEFAULT.parse(SRC2);
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testParser3() {
-        final Node node = parse(SRC3);
-        Assert.assertNotNull(node);
+        VmParsingHelper.DEFAULT.parse(SRC3);
     }
 
-    private Node parse(final String code) {
-        final LanguageVersionHandler vmLang = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(VmLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion()
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler();
-        final Parser parser = vmLang.getParser(vmLang.getDefaultParserOptions());
-        final Node node = parser.parse(null, new StringReader(code));
-        return node;
-    }
 }
diff --git a/pmd-vm/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/vm/ast/VmParsingHelper.java b/pmd-vm/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/vm/ast/VmParsingHelper.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2753b20fde
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pmd-vm/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/vm/ast/VmParsingHelper.java
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * BSD-style license; for more info see http://pmd.sourceforge.net/license.html
+ */
+
+package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm.ast;
+
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.test.BaseParsingHelper;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.vm.VmLanguageModule;
+
+public final class VmParsingHelper extends BaseParsingHelper<VmParsingHelper, ASTprocess> {
+
+    public static final VmParsingHelper DEFAULT = new VmParsingHelper(Params.getDefaultProcess());
+
+    private VmParsingHelper(Params params) {
+        super(VmLanguageModule.NAME, ASTprocess.class, params);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected VmParsingHelper clone(Params params) {
+        return new VmParsingHelper(params);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/wsdl/rule/AbstractWsdlRuleTest.java b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/wsdl/rule/AbstractWsdlRuleTest.java
index d1a2daee7a..f6ba2361d6 100644
--- a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/wsdl/rule/AbstractWsdlRuleTest.java
+++ b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/wsdl/rule/AbstractWsdlRuleTest.java
@@ -6,18 +6,14 @@ package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.wsdl.rule;
 
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleContext;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.wsdl.WsdlLanguageModule;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlParserOptions;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlParsingHelper;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.ast.XmlNode;
 
 public class AbstractWsdlRuleTest {
@@ -25,10 +21,7 @@ public class AbstractWsdlRuleTest {
     @Test
     public void testVisit() throws Exception {
         String source = "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><foo abc=\"abc\"><bar/></foo>";
-        XmlParserOptions parserOptions = new XmlParserOptions();
-        Parser parser = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(WsdlLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion()
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        XmlNode xmlNode = (XmlNode) parser.parse(null, new StringReader(source));
+        XmlNode xmlNode = XmlParsingHelper.WSDL.parse(source);
         List<XmlNode> nodes = new ArrayList<>();
         nodes.add(xmlNode);
 
diff --git a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/XmlParserTest.java b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/XmlParserTest.java
index eb7875d8b2..01bbe874eb 100644
--- a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/XmlParserTest.java
+++ b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/XmlParserTest.java
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import static net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlParsingHelper.XML;
 
 import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
 import java.io.PrintStream;
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.Locale;
@@ -16,9 +15,6 @@ import java.util.Locale;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageVersionHandler;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.xpath.Attribute;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.ast.XmlNode;
@@ -329,12 +325,9 @@ public class XmlParserTest {
     @Test
     public void testWithProcessingInstructions() {
         String xml = "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><?mypi?><!DOCTYPE testDoc [<!ENTITY myentity \"e\">]><!--Comment--><foo abc=\"abc\"><bar>TEXT</bar><![CDATA[cdata!]]>&gt;&myentity;&lt;</foo>";
-        LanguageVersionHandler xmlVersionHandler = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(XmlLanguageModule.NAME)
-                .getDefaultVersion().getLanguageVersionHandler();
-        XmlParserOptions options = (XmlParserOptions) xmlVersionHandler.getDefaultParserOptions();
+        XmlParserOptions options = new XmlParserOptions();
         options.setExpandEntityReferences(false);
-        Parser parser = xmlVersionHandler.getParser(options);
-        Node document = parser.parse(null, new StringReader(xml));
+        Node document = XmlParsingHelper.XML.withParserOptions(options).parse(xml);
         Assert.assertNotNull(document);
         assertNode(document.getChild(0), "mypi", 0);
         assertLineNumbers(document.getChild(0), 1, 22, 1, 29);
diff --git a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractDomXmlRuleTest.java b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractDomXmlRuleTest.java
index aabe64256b..c1ec90dea2 100644
--- a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractDomXmlRuleTest.java
+++ b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractDomXmlRuleTest.java
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.rule;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
 
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -27,11 +26,9 @@ import org.w3c.dom.ProcessingInstruction;
 import org.w3c.dom.Text;
 
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleContext;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlLanguageModule;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlParserOptions;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlParsingHelper;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.ast.XmlNode;
 
 public class AbstractDomXmlRuleTest {
@@ -41,9 +38,8 @@ public class AbstractDomXmlRuleTest {
         String source = "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><?mypi?><!DOCTYPE testDoc [<!ENTITY entity \"e\">]><!--Comment--><foo abc=\"abc\"><bar>TEXT</bar><![CDATA[cdata!]]>&gt;&entity;&lt;</foo>";
         XmlParserOptions parserOptions = new XmlParserOptions();
         parserOptions.setExpandEntityReferences(false);
-        Parser parser = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(XmlLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion()
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        XmlNode xmlNode = (XmlNode) parser.parse(null, new StringReader(source));
+
+        XmlNode xmlNode = XmlParsingHelper.XML.withParserOptions(parserOptions).parse(source);
         List<XmlNode> nodes = new ArrayList<>();
         nodes.add(xmlNode);
 
@@ -108,9 +104,7 @@ public class AbstractDomXmlRuleTest {
                 + " \"http://jakarta.inexistinghost.org/struts/dtds/struts-config_1_1.dtd\" >" + "<struts-config/>";
         XmlParserOptions parserOptions = new XmlParserOptions();
         parserOptions.setLookupDescriptorDoc(false);
-        Parser parser = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(XmlLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion()
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        XmlNode xmlNode = (XmlNode) parser.parse(null, new StringReader(source));
+        XmlNode xmlNode = XmlParsingHelper.XML.withParserOptions(parserOptions).parse(source);
         // no exception should be thrown
 
         MyRule rule = new MyRule();
@@ -130,10 +124,7 @@ public class AbstractDomXmlRuleTest {
                 + "xmlns:xsi=\"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance\" "
                 + "xsi:schemaLocation=\"http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee http://java.inexisting.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd\" "
                 + "version=\"2.5\">" + "</web-app>";
-        XmlParserOptions parserOptions = new XmlParserOptions();
-        Parser parser = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(XmlLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion()
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        XmlNode xmlNode = (XmlNode) parser.parse(null, new StringReader(source));
+        XmlNode xmlNode = XmlParsingHelper.XML.parse(source);
         // no exception should be thrown
         // first element is still parsed
         MyRule rule = new MyRule();
diff --git a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractXmlRuleTest.java b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractXmlRuleTest.java
index 25b3137d79..cd7058af7d 100644
--- a/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractXmlRuleTest.java
+++ b/pmd-xml/src/test/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/xml/rule/AbstractXmlRuleTest.java
@@ -6,18 +6,14 @@ package net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.rule;
 
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 
-import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.RuleContext;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.LanguageRegistry;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.Parser;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.ast.Node;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlLanguageModule;
-import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlParserOptions;
+import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.XmlParsingHelper;
 import net.sourceforge.pmd.lang.xml.ast.XmlNode;
 
 public class AbstractXmlRuleTest {
@@ -25,10 +21,7 @@ public class AbstractXmlRuleTest {
     @Test
     public void testVisit() throws Exception {
         String source = "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><foo abc=\"abc\"><bar/></foo>";
-        XmlParserOptions parserOptions = new XmlParserOptions();
-        Parser parser = LanguageRegistry.getLanguage(XmlLanguageModule.NAME).getDefaultVersion()
-                .getLanguageVersionHandler().getParser(parserOptions);
-        XmlNode xmlNode = (XmlNode) parser.parse(null, new StringReader(source));
+        XmlNode xmlNode = XmlParsingHelper.XML.parse(source);
         List<XmlNode> nodes = new ArrayList<>();
         nodes.add(xmlNode);