I do the same in C++. I use Ragel for blasting through regular strings, where little extraction or semantic analysis is required, and use a full-blown recursive

I do the same in C++. I use Ragel for blasting through regular strings, where little extraction or semantic analysis is required, and use a full-blown recursive descent library for everything else. Parser combinators are elegant but, at the end of the day, I find DSLs like PEGs, Ragels, and good old regex easier to read.