Re: Summary and next steps for (package-initialize)

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: Radon Rosborough <radon.neon@gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2017 09:43:31 -0700
> Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org
> 
> > AFAIU, packages need to be loaded before we run this fragment:
> >
> >   ;; Re-evaluate predefined variables whose initial value depends on
> >   ;; the runtime context.
> >   (mapc 'custom-reevaluate-setting
> >         ;; Initialize them in the same order they were loaded, in case there
> >         ;; are dependencies between them.
> >         (prog1 (nreverse custom-delayed-init-variables)
> >           (setq custom-delayed-init-variables nil)))
> >
> > This is so the defcustom's in the loaded packages are known to Emacs
> > when the init file is loaded.  So my proposal is to call some
> > package.el function that would do that before that.
> 
> AFAICT, customizing `package-load-list' and `package-user-dir' is no
> longer possible with that approach. If such customization is put in
> the init-file, it's too late; packages have already been loaded at the
> point in startup.el that you mentioned.
> 
> How are you proposing to deal with that problem?

You are unfairly challenging me with stuff I know very little about,
and therefore might make suggestions that are laughable.  I asked
people who are familiar with package.el and its various use cases to
try looking for a solution along these lines; if I myself had such a
solution handy, I'd describe it, or maybe even implement it.

That being said, one possibility is to have a function in package.el
scan the user init file for the definition of package-load-list, and
process that line before loading the packages.  Or something similar.