Unless otherwise noted, I have integrated your comments, Eli. Let
me know if more changes are needed before merging.
I also noticed that the startup summary was not updated to reflect
the early init file and new timing of `package-initialize'. That's fixed
now.
> Btw, is it only looked up in .emacs.d, or also in the directory where> .emacs is searched (which could be just the home directory)?
No, since .emacs is deprecated in favor of ~/.emacs.d/init.el.
> This is for users, so it should be in the user manual, not in ELisp
> manual.
While re-adding the index entry for `package-initialize', I also partially
re-added the paragraph on `package-initialize' in the user manual. The
user manual now documents `package-initialize' as only something
that is useful to call if you set `package-enable-at-startup' to nil, so this
paragraph is not really needed in the user manual. I think it is still
useful to have it in the Elisp manual, since unlike the user manual, the
Elisp manual actually does document `package-initialize' in some
detail, so users might be misled into thinking that it is a useful function
when in fact they probably should not be using it.
> Why was this hunk necessary?
Because the description was wrong and needed to be removed. It
advised that users call `package-initialize' in their init file, which is
wrong advice if `package-initialize' is called automatically before
loading the init file.
Best,
Radon
0001-Add-early-init-file-stop-package-initialize-insertio.patch