diff --git a/scripts/test.sh b/scripts/test.sh
index bbfde42..cc3aeb8 100755
--- a/scripts/test.sh
+++ b/scripts/test.sh
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ echo "Building tests..."
 COMPILE_COMMANDS=(
     "$CXX_WITH_FLAGS src/test/nbt_helpers.cpp -Lbin/lib -l:nbt.so -o bin/test/nbt_helpers"
     "$CXX_WITH_FLAGS src/test/cli_argument_parser.cpp -Lbin/lib -l:cli.so -o bin/test/cli_argument_parser"
+    "$CXX_WITH_FLAGS src/test/javacompat.cpp -Idependencies/tiny-utf8-4.4.3/include -Lbin/lib -l:javacompat.so -o bin/test/javacompat"
 )
 for command in ${!COMPILE_COMMANDS[@]}; do
     echo "${COMPILE_COMMANDS[command]}"
diff --git a/src/lib/java_string.cpp b/src/lib/java_string.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
index 527de7f..0000000
--- a/src/lib/java_string.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-//Copyright 2022, FOSS-VG Developers and Contributers
-//
-//This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
-//under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published
-//by the Free Software Foundation, version 3.
-//
-//This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-//but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
-//warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
-//See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
-//
-//You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
-//version 3 along with this program.
-//If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.en.html
-
-#include <tinyutf8/tinyutf8.h>
-#include "error.h++"
-
-#include "java_string.h++"
-
-namespace JavaCompat {
-    ErrorOr<tiny_utf8::string> importJavaFormatToString(uint8_t data[]) {
-        tiny_utf8::string output;
-        // do magic
-        return ErrorOr(output);
-    }
-    ErrorOr<uint8_t*> exportStringToJavaFormat(tiny_utf8::string data) {
-        return ErrorOr(nullptr);
-    }
-}
diff --git a/src/lib/javacompat.cpp b/src/lib/javacompat.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b60bc88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/javacompat.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+//Copyright 2022, FOSS-VG Developers and Contributers
+//
+//This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+//under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published
+//by the Free Software Foundation, version 3.
+//
+//This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+//but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
+//warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+//See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+//You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+//version 3 along with this program.
+//If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.en.html
+
+#include <tinyutf8/tinyutf8.h>
+#include <string>
+#include "error.h++"
+#include "javacompat.h++"
+#include "../../.endianness"
+
+#ifdef FOSSVG_ENDIAN_BIG_WORD
+    #error "Honeywell-316-style endianness is not supported. If you feel like it should, feel free to participate in the project to maintain it."
+#endif
+#ifdef FOSSVG_ENDIAN_LITTLE_WORD
+    #error "PDP-11-style endianness is not supported. If you feel like it should, feel free to participate in the project to maintain it."
+#endif
+#ifdef FOSSVG_ENDIAN_UNKNOWN
+    #error "The endianness of your system could not be determined. Please set it manually. FOSS-VG is currently implemented using some endian-specific functions."
+#endif
+
+namespace JavaCompat {
+    //FIXME: contrary to what I said, we need to explicitly pass the data
+    // size because files could have been tampered with or corrupted
+    tiny_utf8::string importJavaString(uint8_t data[]) {
+        std::string stdString;
+        uint16_t size = static_cast<uint16_t>(data[0])<<8 | static_cast<uint16_t>(data[1]);
+
+        for(uint8_t i=2; i<size+2; i++){
+            if(i != 0){
+                if(data[i] == 0x80 && data[i-1] == 0xc0){
+                    stdString[stdString.length() - 1] = '\0';
+                    continue;
+                }
+            }
+            stdString.push_back((char) data[i]);
+        }
+        return tiny_utf8::string(stdString);
+    }
+
+    ErrorOr<std::vector<uint8_t>> exportJavaString(tiny_utf8::string data) {
+        uint16_t* size = new uint16_t;
+        uint8_t* sizeBytes = reinterpret_cast<uint8_t*>(size);
+        std::vector<uint8_t> output = std::vector<uint8_t>();
+        std::string stdString = data.cpp_str();
+
+        *size = (uint16_t) stdString.size();
+
+        //placeholder size bytes
+        output.push_back(0x00);
+        output.push_back(0x00);
+        for(int i=0; i<stdString.size(); i++){
+            if((uint8_t) stdString[i] == 0x00){
+                *size += 1;
+                output.push_back(0xc0);
+                output.push_back(0x80);
+                continue;
+            }
+            output.push_back(stdString[i]);
+        }
+
+        #ifdef FOSSVG_BIG_ENDIAN
+            output[0] = *sizeBytes;
+            output[1] = *(sizeBytes+1);
+        #else
+            #ifdef FOSSVG_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+                output[0] = *(sizeBytes+1);
+                output[1] = *sizeBytes;
+            #else
+                #error "NBT::helper::writeInt16: An implementation for your endianness is unavailable."
+            #endif
+        #endif
+
+        
+        return ErrorOr(output);
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/java_string.h++ b/src/lib/javacompat.h++
similarity index 72%
rename from src/lib/java_string.h++
rename to src/lib/javacompat.h++
index a50c37b..c9eba00 100644
--- a/src/lib/java_string.h++
+++ b/src/lib/javacompat.h++
@@ -15,8 +15,11 @@
 
 #include <tinyutf8/tinyutf8.h>
 #include "error.h++"
+#include <vector>
 
 namespace JavaCompat {
-    ErrorOr<tiny_utf8::string> importJavaFormatToString(uint8_t data[]);
-    ErrorOr<uint8_t*> exportStringToJavaFormat(tiny_utf8::string data);
+    //FIXME: contrary to what I said, we need to explicitly pass the data
+    // size because files could have been tampered with or corrupted
+    tiny_utf8::string importJavaString(uint8_t data[]);
+    ErrorOr<std::vector<uint8_t>> exportJavaString(tiny_utf8::string data);
 }
diff --git a/src/test/javacompat.cpp b/src/test/javacompat.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49b1154
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/javacompat.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+// Copyright 2022, FOSS-VG Developers and Contributers
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+// under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published
+// by the Free Software Foundation, version 3.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
+// warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+// See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// version 3 along with this program.
+// If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0.en.html
+
+#include "assert.h++"
+#include "../lib/javacompat.h++"
+#include <iostream>
+#include <tinyutf8/tinyutf8.h>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <vector>
+
+
+int main(){
+
+    // metadata for things in resources/unicode_data/
+    // normal_utf-8: 116 bytes, 85 characters ??
+    // java-style_unicode: 119 bytes, 85 characters ??
+
+    std::cout << "################################################################################" << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "Import String Tests" << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "################################################################################" << std::endl;
+
+    char* nextChar = new char;
+
+    std::streampos javaSize;
+    std::string javaStdString;
+    const char* javaFilePath = "./resources/unicode_data/java-style_unicode";
+    std::ifstream javaFile(javaFilePath, std::ios::in | std::ios::binary | std::ios::ate);
+    if(javaFile.is_open()){
+        javaSize = javaFile.tellg();
+        javaFile.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
+
+        for (int i=0; i<javaSize; i++) {
+            javaFile.read(nextChar, 1);
+            javaStdString.push_back(*nextChar);
+        }
+
+        javaFile.close();
+    } else {
+        std::cerr << "Failed to open file: " << javaFilePath << std::endl;
+        return 2;
+    }
+
+    tiny_utf8::string importedString = JavaCompat::importJavaString(reinterpret_cast<uint8_t*>(javaStdString.data()));
+
+    std::streampos normalSize;
+    std::string normalStdString;
+    const char* normalFilePath = "./resources/unicode_data/normal_utf-8";
+    std::ifstream normalFile(normalFilePath, std::ios::in | std::ios::binary | std::ios::ate);
+    if(normalFile.is_open()){
+        normalSize = normalFile.tellg();
+        normalFile.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
+
+        for (int i=0; i<normalSize; i++) {
+            normalFile.read(nextChar, 1);
+            normalStdString.push_back(*nextChar);
+        }
+
+        normalFile.close();
+    } else {
+        std::cerr << "Failed to open file: " << normalFilePath << std::endl;
+        return 2;
+    }
+
+    tiny_utf8::string normalString = tiny_utf8::string(normalStdString);
+
+    ASSERT(normalString == importedString);
+    std::cout << "Passed Import Java string test." << std::endl;
+
+    std::cout << "################################################################################" << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "Export String Tests" << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "################################################################################" << std::endl;
+
+    //using normalString from when we read the file earlier
+    //there's no need to read the same file twice
+
+    std::vector<uint8_t> data = JavaCompat::exportJavaString(normalString).value;
+    std::string exportedString = std::string();
+    for(int i=0; i<data.size(); i++){
+        exportedString.push_back(data[i]);
+    }
+
+    ASSERT(exportedString == javaStdString);
+    std::cout << "Passed Export Java string test." << std::endl;
+
+return 0;
+}