I was just reading the AES referenced above and I can say now that I'm really happy about some changes to Regexes, and that a grammar may well be what we're looking for. However, even with this great tool, we still have to handle the implementation. Though I can see the benefit of using the grammar, the problem is still which syntax to use, and then having to define the syntax in grammars.
I can definitely see it as an eventuality, possibly a necessity, but it doesn't solve the problem at hand of _which formatting syntax to use_. Then again, this is only a facet of the whole thing. There still is the persistence layer, the architecture, and a myriad of other problems. Maybe this would be a good time to (semi-)formalize some form of recommendations for the project? M.T. P.S. -- MVC, I think, is the way to go.