[PD-dev] strings

[padawan12]

A new and keen developer on the forums has asked - "What about text processing
in Pd?" to which I replied "Pd doesn't do strings". 
I tie myself in knots trying string-like operations sometimes :), so I know
its a can of worms, but what are the fundamental limitations surrounding symbol.
How do we deal with EOL or NULL and so on, and what about encoding? Did I hear 
a rumour that better string handling is chalked in for Pd soon? An alphanumeric
sort, maybe even a [grep] or [sed]? What would be the best way to introduce the
concept of strings to Pd in a consistent and robust way. I see them as lists of
symbols without any need for a new type but right now there are pieces of the
jigsaw missing. Sorry so many questions, but it's bugging me today.
a.