Because dispatch.py cares about --encoding the web:encoding encoding has to be
set before. Either dispatch.py is (heavily) modified so the --encoding is set
later or dispatch.py does somehow know that "hg serve" has not default behavior.

if cmd == "serve":
  if foo.config("web", "encoding"):
    util._encoding = foo.config("web", "encoding")
if options["encoding"]:
  util._encoding = options["encoding"]

But hey guys i think you know 100 times better than me where a fix would be
appropriate. Or do you play snakes and ladders with me - ding ding - wrong path,
go back to start and try once more :)

Hmm, it probably isn't.

I've tried to implement djc idea. But the downside of this fix is that the
"--encoding" parameter is overriden by web:encoding. Don't know if this is a
good thing.

Maybe hgweb() should just set util._encoding to whatever it wants?

I have 4 ideas (3 fancy ones)

- tolocal has an encoding parameter. Usability=0 as it has to be passed from web
down to util.
- tolocal does something like a stack inspection. Called from web it switches to
web:encoding.
- tolocal internally uses util._encoding. util needs to know somehow if used for
web or not. While util is initialized it can try to modify the encoding.

(probably the best idea)

If anyone uses the "--encoding=xyz" parameter the util._encoding is changed
inside dispatch.py

util._encoding = options["encoding"]

if "hg serve" is the only command that is related to the web category then
dispatch should modify util._encoding (maybe before the line before).

What -should- happen is that setting web:encoding should change util's idea of
what the encoding is in the same way that --encoding does.

Situation: Windows default installation. Default encoding is cp1252. I modify
the web section in Mercurial.ini and add encoding=utf-8. "hg serve" without any
parameter. hg sends to client the encoding is utf-8 as intendet - but - the
content is still encoded in cp1252 and therefore does not make sense.

example

hgweb_mod.py calls changectx from a context
context.py calls from read from changelog
changelog.py calls tolocal from util
util.py does not care about the web encoding

The cp1252 encoded string therfore goes back up to hgweb_mod.py and is never
modified again.

A simple bugfix would be to remove the web encoding at all. An "--encoding
utf-8" in the defaults section for "hg serve" does work well.