annotate doc/README @ 29509:945b4c14c570

error: make HintException a mix-in class not derived from BaseException (API)

HintException is unrelated to the hierarchy of errors. It is an implementation
detail whether a class inherits from HintException or not, a sort of "private
inheritance" in C++.

New Hint isn't an exception class, which prevents catching error by its type:

    try:
        dosomething()
    except error.Hint:
        pass

Unfortunately, this passes on PyPy 5.3.1, but not on Python 2, and raises more
detailed TypeError on Python 3.

Mercurial's documentation is kept in reStructuredText format, which is
a simple plain text format that's easy to read and edit:

  http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html

It's also convertible to a variety of other formats including standard
UNIX man page format and HTML. You'll need to install Docutils:

  http://docutils.sourceforge.net/

Use the Makefile in this directory to generate the man and HTML pages.