Re: Friendly discussion about (package-initialize)

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: Radon Rosborough <radon.neon@gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2017 21:39:44 -0700
> Cc: Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>, emacs-devel@gnu.org
> 
> Currently, Emacs has the opinion that you should call
> `package-initialize' in your init-file, and it enforces this opinion
> by automatically inserting such a call directly into your init-file at
> startup, or whenever you initialize the package management system.
> 
> I view this behavior as wrong. Other people feel that it is the best
> solution to the problem of users putting package configuration in
> their init-file, which runs before `package-initialize' is called in
> startup.el.
> 
> That is why we are having this discussion.
> 
> > startup.el already calls that function (as IMO it should)
> 
> I disagree, but won't speak further unless you think it will be
> relevant to the discussion.

This sounds like a contradiction.  If we call package-initialize from
startup.el, why does it have to also be called from the init files?
And since you are opposed to Emacs putting tyhis call to init files,
why do you disagree that calling package-initialize in startup.el is
wrong?  After all, that's where Emacs performs all the initialization
for the upcoming session, and that should include initializing the
packages which need initialization.

> > where did we make the wrong turn with package.el.
> 
> When Emacs started modifying the init-file specifically for package.el.

So having the call in startup.el is correct after all?  Now I'm
utterly confused.