Steve Yegge gives a simple explanation about string & structured-data
processing with Lisp:

http://steve.yegge.googlepages.com/the-emacs-problem

Is anyone here interested in this? I am very glad I ran across these
views, because I already felt that the string & structured-data
processing that Lisp can do so well (on the borders of AI) is
something that it might be possible to convince stodgy old,
last-century-oriented management farts is worth using to make profits.

I actually need to think a lot deeper about Steve's article.