diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper.java
index b40acc67c..55fd0f7d7 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper.java
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper.java
@@ -21,26 +21,32 @@ import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.springframework.batch.item.file.transform.LineTokenizer;
 import org.springframework.batch.item.file.transform.PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer;
+import org.springframework.batch.support.PatternMatcher;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 
 /**
  * <p>
  * A {@link LineMapper} implementation that stores a mapping of String prefixes
  * to delegate {@link LineTokenizer}s as well as a mapping of String prefixes
- * to delegate {@link LineTokenizer}s. Each line received will be tokenized and
- * then mapped to a field set.
+ * to delegate {@link FieldSetMapper}s. Each line received will be tokenized
+ * and then mapped to a field set.
  * 
  * <p>
  * Both the tokenizing and the mapping work in a similar way. The line will be
  * checked for its prefix. If the prefix matches a key in the map of delegates,
- * then the corresponding delegate will be used. Otherwise, the default
- * tokenizer or mapper will be used. The default can be configured in the
- * delegate map by setting its corresponding prefix to the empty string.
+ * then the corresponding delegate will be used. Prefixes are sorted starting
+ * with the most specific, and the first match always succeeds.
+ * 
+ * @see PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer
+ * @see PatternMatcher#matchPrefix(String, Map)
  * 
  * @author Dan Garrette
+ * @since 2.0
  */
-public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper<T> extends PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer implements LineMapper<T> {
+public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper<T> implements LineMapper<T>, InitializingBean {
 
+	private PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer tokenizer = new PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer();
 	private Map<String, FieldSetMapper<T>> fieldSetMappers = null;
 
 	/*
@@ -50,7 +56,7 @@ public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper<T> extends PrefixMatchingComposit
 	 *      int)
 	 */
 	public T mapLine(String line, int lineNumber) throws Exception {
-		return this.matchPrefix(line, this.fieldSetMappers).mapFieldSet(this.tokenize(line));
+		return PatternMatcher.matchPrefix(line, this.fieldSetMappers).mapFieldSet(this.tokenizer.tokenize(line));
 	}
 
 	/*
@@ -59,11 +65,15 @@ public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapper<T> extends PrefixMatchingComposit
 	 * @see org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean#afterPropertiesSet()
 	 */
 	public void afterPropertiesSet() throws Exception {
-		super.afterPropertiesSet();
+		this.tokenizer.afterPropertiesSet();
 		Assert.isTrue(this.fieldSetMappers != null && this.fieldSetMappers.size() > 0,
 				"The 'fieldSetMappers' property must be non-empty");
 	}
 
+	public void setTokenizers(Map<String, LineTokenizer> tokenizers) {
+		this.tokenizer.setTokenizers(tokenizers);
+	}
+
 	public void setFieldSetMappers(Map<String, FieldSetMapper<T>> fieldSetMappers) {
 		this.fieldSetMappers = new LinkedHashMap<String, FieldSetMapper<T>>(fieldSetMappers);
 	}
diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer.java
index 597542250..8642c64cf 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer.java
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package org.springframework.batch.item.file.transform;
 import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import org.springframework.batch.support.PatternMatcher;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 
@@ -26,11 +27,13 @@ import org.springframework.util.Assert;
  * A {@link LineTokenizer} implementation that stores a mapping of String
  * prefixes to delegate {@link LineTokenizer}s. Each line tokenizied will be
  * checked for its prefix. If the prefix matches a key in the map of delegates,
- * then the corresponding delegate {@link LineTokenizer} will be used.
- * Otherwise, the default {@link LineTokenizer} will be used. The default
- * {@link LineTokenizer} can be configured in the delegate map by setting its
- * corresponding prefix to the empty string.
+ * then the corresponding delegate {@link LineTokenizer} will be used. Prefixes
+ * are sorted starting with the most specific, and the first match always
+ * succeeds.
  * 
+ * @see PatternMatcher#matchPrefix(String, Map)
+ * 
+ * @author Ben Hale
  * @author Dan Garrette
  */
 public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer implements LineTokenizer, InitializingBean {
@@ -43,45 +46,7 @@ public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizer implements LineTokenizer, Init
 	 * @see org.springframework.batch.item.file.transform.LineTokenizer#tokenize(java.lang.String)
 	 */
 	public FieldSet tokenize(String line) {
-		return this.matchPrefix(line, this.tokenizers).tokenize(line);
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * @param line
-	 * @return the delegate whose prefix matches the given line
-	 */
-	protected <S> S matchPrefix(String line, Map<String, S> delegates) {
-		S delegate = null;
-		S defaultDelegate = null;
-
-		if (line != null) {
-			for (String key : delegates.keySet()) {
-				if (key != null) {
-					if ("".equals(key)) {
-						defaultDelegate = delegates.get(key);
-					}
-					else if (line.startsWith(key)) {
-						delegate = delegates.get(key);
-						break;
-					}
-				}
-			}
-
-			if (delegate == null) {
-				delegate = defaultDelegate;
-			}
-		}
-		else if (delegates.containsKey(null)) {
-			delegate = delegates.get(null);
-		}
-		else {
-			throw new IllegalStateException("Could not handle a null line");
-		}
-
-		if (delegate == null) {
-			throw new IllegalStateException("Could not find a matching prefix for line=[" + line + "]");
-		}
-		return delegate;
+		return PatternMatcher.matchPrefix(line, this.tokenizers).tokenize(line);
 	}
 
 	/*
diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/support/PatternMatcher.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/support/PatternMatcher.java
index 6aaa3573e..36e5f7602 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/support/PatternMatcher.java
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/support/PatternMatcher.java
@@ -15,23 +15,41 @@
  */
 package org.springframework.batch.support;
 
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Comparator;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
 /**
  * @author Dave Syer
- * 
+ * @author Dan Garrette
  */
 public class PatternMatcher {
 
+	/**
+	 * Used for reverse-sorting strings
+	 */
+	private static Comparator<String> STRING_REVERSE_COMPARATOR = new Comparator<String>() {
+		public int compare(String o1, String o2) {
+			return o2.compareTo(o1);
+		}
+	};
+
 	/**
 	 * Lifted from AntPathMatcher in Spring Core. Tests whether or not a string
 	 * matches against a pattern. The pattern may contain two special
 	 * characters:<br>
 	 * '*' means zero or more characters<br>
 	 * '?' means one and only one character
-	 * @param pattern pattern to match against. Must not be <code>null</code>.
-	 * @param str string which must be matched against the pattern. Must not be
-	 * <code>null</code>.
+	 * 
+	 * @param pattern
+	 *            pattern to match against. Must not be <code>null</code>.
+	 * @param str
+	 *            string which must be matched against the pattern. Must not be
+	 *            <code>null</code>.
 	 * @return <code>true</code> if the string matches against the pattern, or
-	 * <code>false</code> otherwise.
+	 *         <code>false</code> otherwise.
 	 */
 	public static boolean match(String pattern, String str) {
 		char[] patArr = pattern.toCharArray();
@@ -159,4 +177,48 @@ public class PatternMatcher {
 		return true;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * <p>
+	 * This method takes a String line and a map from String prefixes to values
+	 * of any type. During processing, the method will identify the most
+	 * specific prefix in the map that matches the beginning of the line. Once
+	 * the correct is identified, its value is returned. Note that if the map
+	 * contains the empty string as a prefix, then it will serve as the
+	 * "default" case, matching every non-null line given.
+	 * 
+	 * <p>
+	 * If no matching prefix is found, a {@link IllegalStateException} will be
+	 * thrown.
+	 * 
+	 * <p>
+	 * Null keys are not allowed in the map.
+	 * 
+	 * @param line
+	 *            An input string
+	 * @param map
+	 *            A map with String prefixes as keys.
+	 * @return the value whose prefix matches the given line
+	 */
+	public static <S> S matchPrefix(String line, Map<String, S> map) {
+		S value = null;
+
+		if (line == null) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("Could not handle a null line");
+		}
+
+		// Sort keys to start with the most specific
+		List<String> sorted = new ArrayList<String>(map.keySet());
+		Collections.sort(sorted, STRING_REVERSE_COMPARATOR);
+		for (String key : sorted) {
+			if (line.startsWith(key)) {
+				value = map.get(key);
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (value == null) {
+			throw new IllegalStateException("Could not find a matching prefix for line=[" + line + "]");
+		}
+		return value;
+	}
 }
diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapperTests.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapperTests.java
index e6882ab8d..d80bee284 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapperTests.java
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/mapping/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapperTests.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import org.springframework.batch.item.file.transform.Name;
 
 /**
  * @author Dan Garrette
+ * @since 2.0
  */
 public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapperTests {
 
@@ -44,38 +45,6 @@ public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineMapperTests {
 		mapper.afterPropertiesSet();
 	}
 
-	@Test
-	public void test_NullLine() throws Exception {
-		Map<String, LineTokenizer> tokenizers = new HashMap<String, LineTokenizer>();
-		tokenizers.put(null, new LineTokenizer() {
-			public FieldSet tokenize(String line) {
-				return new DefaultFieldSet(new String[] { "a", "b" });
-			}
-		});
-		tokenizers.put("bar", new LineTokenizer() {
-			public FieldSet tokenize(String line) {
-				return new DefaultFieldSet(new String[] { "c", "d" });
-			}
-		});
-		mapper.setTokenizers(tokenizers);
-
-		Map<String, FieldSetMapper<Name>> fieldSetMappers = new HashMap<String, FieldSetMapper<Name>>();
-		fieldSetMappers.put(null, new FieldSetMapper<Name>() {
-			public Name mapFieldSet(FieldSet fs) {
-				return new Name(fs.readString(0), fs.readString(1), 0);
-			}
-		});
-		fieldSetMappers.put("bar", new FieldSetMapper<Name>() {
-			public Name mapFieldSet(FieldSet fs) {
-				return new Name(fs.readString(1), fs.readString(0), 0);
-			}
-		});
-		mapper.setFieldSetMappers(fieldSetMappers);
-
-		Name name = mapper.mapLine(null, 1);
-		assertEquals(new Name("a", "b", 0), name);
-	}
-
 	@Test
 	public void test_KeyFound() throws Exception {
 		Map<String, LineTokenizer> tokenizers = new HashMap<String, LineTokenizer>();
diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizerTests.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizerTests.java
index 2536ccc61..a3388b333 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizerTests.java
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/item/file/transform/PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizerTests.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import java.util.Map;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 /**
+ * @author Ben Hale
  * @author Dan Garrette
  */
 public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizerTests {
@@ -38,54 +39,6 @@ public class PrefixMatchingCompositeLineTokenizerTests {
 		tokenizer.tokenize("a line");
 	}
 
-	@Test(expected = IllegalStateException.class)
-	public void testNullLineNoKey() throws Exception {
-		tokenizer.setTokenizers(Collections.singletonMap("foo", (LineTokenizer) new DelimitedLineTokenizer()));
-		tokenizer.afterPropertiesSet();
-		FieldSet fields = tokenizer.tokenize(null);
-		assertEquals(0, fields.getFieldCount());
-	}
-
-	@Test
-	public void testNullLineWithKey() throws Exception {
-		Map<String, LineTokenizer> map = new HashMap<String, LineTokenizer>();
-		map.put(null, new LineTokenizer() {
-			public FieldSet tokenize(String line) {
-				return new DefaultFieldSet(new String[] { "a" });
-			}
-		});
-		map.put("foo", new LineTokenizer() {
-			public FieldSet tokenize(String line) {
-				return new DefaultFieldSet(new String[] { "b" });
-			}
-		});
-		tokenizer.setTokenizers(map);
-		tokenizer.afterPropertiesSet();
-		FieldSet fields = tokenizer.tokenize(null);
-		assertEquals(1, fields.getFieldCount());
-		assertEquals("a", fields.readString(0));
-	}
-
-	@Test
-	public void testNullKey() throws Exception {
-		Map<String, LineTokenizer> map = new HashMap<String, LineTokenizer>();
-		map.put(null, new LineTokenizer() {
-			public FieldSet tokenize(String line) {
-				return new DefaultFieldSet(new String[] { "a" });
-			}
-		});
-		map.put("foo", new LineTokenizer() {
-			public FieldSet tokenize(String line) {
-				return new DefaultFieldSet(new String[] { "b" });
-			}
-		});
-		tokenizer.setTokenizers(map);
-		tokenizer.afterPropertiesSet();
-		FieldSet fields = tokenizer.tokenize("foo");
-		assertEquals(1, fields.getFieldCount());
-		assertEquals("b", fields.readString(0));
-	}
-
 	@Test
 	public void testEmptyKeyMatchesAnyLine() throws Exception {
 		Map<String, LineTokenizer> map = new HashMap<String, LineTokenizer>();
diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/support/PatternMatcherTests.java b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/support/PatternMatcherTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..deab3a72a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/support/PatternMatcherTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2006-2007 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.batch.support;
+
+import static junit.framework.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static junit.framework.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static junit.framework.Assert.assertTrue;
+
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+/**
+ * @author Dan Garrette
+ * @since 2.0
+ */
+public class PatternMatcherTests {
+
+	private static Map<String, Integer> map = new HashMap<String, Integer>();
+	static {
+		map.put("an", 3);
+		map.put("a", 2);
+		map.put("big", 4);
+	}
+
+	private static Map<String, Integer> defaultMap = new HashMap<String, Integer>();
+	static {
+		defaultMap.put("an", 3);
+		defaultMap.put("a", 2);
+		defaultMap.put("big", 4);
+		defaultMap.put("", 1);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatch_noWildcard_yes() {
+		assertTrue(PatternMatcher.match("abc", "abc"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatch_noWildcard_no() {
+		assertFalse(PatternMatcher.match("abc", "ab"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatch_qMark_yes() {
+		assertTrue(PatternMatcher.match("a?c", "abc"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatch_qMark_no() {
+		assertFalse(PatternMatcher.match("a?c", "ab"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatch_star_yes() {
+		assertTrue(PatternMatcher.match("a*c", "abdegc"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatch_star_no() {
+		assertFalse(PatternMatcher.match("a*c", "abdeg"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatchPrefix_subsumed() {
+		assertEquals(2, PatternMatcher.matchPrefix("apple", map).intValue());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatchPrefix_subsuming() {
+		assertEquals(3, PatternMatcher.matchPrefix("animal", map).intValue());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatchPrefix_unrelated() {
+		assertEquals(4, PatternMatcher.matchPrefix("biggest", map).intValue());
+	}
+
+	@Test(expected = IllegalStateException.class)
+	public void testMatchPrefix_noMatch() {
+		PatternMatcher.matchPrefix("bat", map);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatchPrefix_defaultValue_unrelated() {
+		assertEquals(4, PatternMatcher.matchPrefix("biggest", defaultMap).intValue());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatchPrefix_defaultValue_emptyString() {
+		assertEquals(1, PatternMatcher.matchPrefix("", defaultMap).intValue());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMatchPrefix_defaultValue_noMatch() {
+		assertEquals(1, PatternMatcher.matchPrefix("bat", defaultMap).intValue());
+	}
+}