diff --git a/src/ast.rs b/src/ast.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9337e96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ast.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,327 @@
+use std::collections::VecDeque;
+
+use super::position::Span;
+
+
+
+/// A unique identifier for a node in the AST. Internally, this is just an index
+/// into the node arrays.
+pub type NodeId = usize;
+
+
+
+/// The possible orders in which an AST may be stored for traversal.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum TraversalOrder
+{
+   /// Depth-first search (pre-order) layout.
+   DFS,
+   /// Breadth-first search layout.
+   BFS
+}
+
+
+
+/// The data associated with a single node in the AST.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct NodeData<T>
+{
+   pub span: Span,
+   pub data: T
+}
+
+/// The mutable AST structure used during parsing. Nodes are created
+/// incrementally and linked via parent relationships. Traversal order is not
+/// guaranteed until `optimize()` is called.
+pub struct Ast<T>
+{
+   nodes: Vec<NodeData<T>>,
+   parents: Vec<Option<NodeId>>
+}
+
+/// An optimized, immutable AST layout produced from `Ast<T>::optimize`.
+/// This structure is ideal for traversal, analysis, and code generation.
+pub struct OptimizedAst<T>
+{
+   /// Node data in a linear layout (DFS or BFS order).
+   pub nodes: Vec<NodeData<T>>,
+   /// Each node’s parent, if any.
+   pub parents: Vec<Option<NodeId>>,
+   /// The traversal order the nodes are stored in.
+   pub order: TraversalOrder
+}
+
+
+
+impl<T> Ast<T>
+{
+   /// Creates a new, empty AST.
+   pub fn new() -> Self
+   {
+      Ast { nodes: Vec::new(),
+            parents: Vec::new() }
+   }
+
+   /// Returns the parent of a node, if any.
+   pub fn get_parent(&self, id: NodeId) -> Option<NodeId>
+   {
+      self.parents.get(id).copied().flatten()
+   }
+
+   /// Returns a reference to the node data at the given ID, if it exists.
+   pub fn get(&self, id: NodeId) -> Option<&NodeData<T>>
+   {
+      self.nodes.get(id)
+   }
+
+   /// Returns a mutable reference to the node data at the given ID, if it
+   /// exists.
+   pub fn get_mut(&mut self, id: NodeId) -> Option<&mut NodeData<T>>
+   {
+      self.nodes.get_mut(id)
+   }
+
+   /// Adds a new node to the AST.
+   ///
+   /// - `data`: The custom payload of the node (usually an enum or struct).
+   /// - `span`: The source span the node represents.
+   /// - `parent`: Optional parent NodeId to attach this node to.
+   ///
+   /// Returns the NodeId of the newly added node.
+   pub fn add_node(&mut self, data: T, span: Span, parent: Option<NodeId>)
+                   -> NodeId
+   {
+      let id = self.nodes.len();
+      self.nodes.push(NodeData { data, span });
+      self.parents.push(parent);
+      id
+   }
+
+   /// Joins another AST into this one, returning a mapping from old node IDs
+   /// in `other` to new node IDs in `self`.
+   ///
+   /// Optionally attaches all root nodes of the other AST to a parent node
+   /// in the current AST.
+   pub fn join(&mut self, other: Ast<T>, attach_to: Option<NodeId>)
+               -> Vec<NodeId>
+   {
+      let base_id = self.nodes.len();
+      let mut id_map = Vec::with_capacity(other.nodes.len());
+
+      for (i, node) in other.nodes.into_iter().enumerate()
+      {
+         self.nodes.push(node);
+         let new_parent = match other.parents[i]
+         {
+            Some(pid) => Some(base_id + pid),
+            None => attach_to // attach root nodes to given parent if provided
+         };
+         self.parents.push(new_parent);
+         id_map.push(base_id + i);
+      }
+
+      id_map
+   }
+
+   /// Prunes the subtree rooted at `root`, compacting the AST in place.
+   /// Node IDs will change after this operation.
+   pub fn prune(&mut self, root: NodeId)
+   {
+      let mut to_remove = Vec::new();
+      collect_descendants(root, &self.parents, &mut to_remove);
+      to_remove.push(root);
+
+      let mut is_removed = vec![false; self.nodes.len()];
+      for &id in &to_remove
+      {
+         is_removed[id] = true;
+      }
+
+      let mut remap = vec![None; self.nodes.len()];
+      let mut next_insert = 0;
+
+      for i in 0..self.nodes.len()
+      {
+         if !is_removed[i]
+         {
+            if i != next_insert
+            {
+               self.nodes.swap(i, next_insert);
+               self.parents.swap(i, next_insert);
+            }
+            remap[i] = Some(next_insert);
+            next_insert += 1;
+         }
+      }
+
+      self.nodes.truncate(next_insert);
+      self.parents.truncate(next_insert);
+
+      for parent in self.parents.iter_mut()
+      {
+         if let Some(pid) = *parent
+         {
+            *parent = remap[pid];
+         }
+      }
+   }
+
+   /// Optimizes the AST layout for a specific traversal order (DFS or BFS).
+   ///
+   /// This consumes the `Ast`, rearranges the internal storage so that
+   /// iterating over the nodes reflects the chosen traversal order, and
+   /// returns a new, immutable `OptimizedAst<T>`.
+   ///
+   /// No need for `T: Clone` anymore, since we will move data instead of
+   /// cloning it.
+   pub fn optimize(self, order: TraversalOrder) -> OptimizedAst<T>
+   {
+      let ordering = match order
+      {
+         TraversalOrder::DFS => dfs_order(&self.parents),
+         TraversalOrder::BFS => bfs_order(&self.parents)
+      };
+
+      let mut remap = vec![0; self.nodes.len()];
+      for (new_id, &old_id) in ordering.iter().enumerate()
+      {
+         remap[old_id] = new_id;
+      }
+
+      // Wrap nodes in Option to allow taking them by value without cloning
+      let mut nodes_opt: Vec<Option<NodeData<T>>> =
+         self.nodes.into_iter().map(Some).collect();
+
+      let mut new_nodes = Vec::with_capacity(nodes_opt.len());
+      let mut new_parents = vec![None; self.parents.len()];
+
+      for &old_id in &ordering
+      {
+         let new_id = remap[old_id];
+         let node = nodes_opt[old_id].take()
+                                     .expect("Node was already moved out");
+
+         let parent = self.parents[old_id].map(|pid| remap[pid]);
+
+         new_nodes.push(node);
+         new_parents[new_id] = parent;
+      }
+
+      OptimizedAst { nodes: new_nodes,
+                     parents: new_parents,
+                     order }
+   }
+}
+
+
+
+/// Helper to recursively collect all descendants of a node.
+fn collect_descendants(root: NodeId, parents: &[Option<NodeId>],
+                       acc: &mut Vec<NodeId>)
+{
+   for (i, &parent) in parents.iter().enumerate()
+   {
+      if parent == Some(root)
+      {
+         collect_descendants(i, parents, acc);
+         acc.push(i);
+      }
+   }
+}
+
+/// Recursively visits nodes in a depth-first (pre-order) manner starting from
+/// `current`, building up the DFS traversal order.
+///
+/// - `current`: The current node ID being visited.
+/// - `parents`: A slice representing the parent relationship for each node
+///   (index = child, value = optional parent).
+/// - `order`: A mutable vector that will accumulate the DFS traversal order.
+/// - `visited`: A mutable slice used to track which nodes have already been
+///   visited.
+fn visit(current: NodeId, parents: &[Option<NodeId>], order: &mut Vec<NodeId>,
+         visited: &mut [bool])
+{
+   // Skip this node if it's already been visited
+   if visited[current]
+   {
+      return;
+   }
+
+   // Mark the node as visited to avoid reprocessing it
+   visited[current] = true;
+
+   // Add this node to the traversal order (pre-order)
+   order.push(current);
+
+   // Recursively visit all child nodes (i.e., nodes that list `current` as
+   // their parent)
+   for (i, &parent) in parents.iter().enumerate()
+   {
+      if parent == Some(current)
+      {
+         visit(i, parents, order, visited);
+      }
+   }
+}
+
+/// Computes the DFS (depth-first, pre-order) ordering of nodes based on the
+/// parent table.
+///
+/// Returns a Vec<NodeId> containing the node IDs in DFS order.
+fn dfs_order(parents: &[Option<NodeId>]) -> Vec<NodeId>
+{
+   let mut order = Vec::new();
+   let mut visited = vec![false; parents.len()];
+
+   // Start DFS from all root nodes (nodes with no parent).
+   for (i, &parent) in parents.iter().enumerate()
+   {
+      if parent.is_none()
+      {
+         visit(i, parents, &mut order, &mut visited);
+      }
+   }
+
+   order
+}
+
+/// Computes the BFS (breadth-first) ordering of nodes based on the parent
+/// table.
+///
+/// Returns a Vec<NodeId> containing the node IDs in BFS order.
+fn bfs_order(parents: &[Option<NodeId>]) -> Vec<NodeId>
+{
+   let mut order = Vec::new();
+   let mut visited = vec![false; parents.len()];
+   let mut queue = VecDeque::new();
+
+   // Start BFS from all root nodes.
+   for (i, &parent) in parents.iter().enumerate()
+   {
+      if parent.is_none()
+      {
+         queue.push_back(i);
+      }
+   }
+
+   while let Some(current) = queue.pop_front()
+   {
+      if visited[current]
+      {
+         continue;
+      }
+
+      visited[current] = true;
+      order.push(current);
+
+      for (i, &parent) in parents.iter().enumerate()
+      {
+         if parent == Some(current)
+         {
+            queue.push_back(i);
+         }
+      }
+   }
+
+   order
+}
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 9313f7a..0532f24 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 pub mod library;
 
+mod ast;
 mod error;
 mod lexer;
 mod position;
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ mod token;
 
 
 
+pub use crate::ast::*;
 pub use crate::error::*;
 pub use crate::lexer::*;
 pub use crate::position::*;