If this is the wrong list I apologise but...
I want to write an extension that allows me to detect the current token under the cursor and then either write it to a file or send it down a stream somewhere for any other process to react to the changing values over time e.g. a help utility I am hacking that will show the HyperSpec page for the word currently under the cursor, in real-time, as the user hacks around the current file.
And no, I don't want to write it in Emacs lisp because I don't want the utility to be bound to a specific application.
Thanks Sean Charles.