Re: bug#30854: 27.0.50; Speeding up package.el startup

[Stefan Monnier]

>> (On a related note, I'm not sure that making `package-activate-all'
>> disappear is TRT.  I think it is useful to keep that function.)
> When you say "to keep that function" you mean to run it at startup, even
> when quickstart is activated or you mean to keep it at all as
> functionality in package.el?

`package-activate-all` is not an internal function (e.g. it's
documented in `etc/NEWS.27`) so we have to preserve it.

It can be very useful also for users who want to have more control about
which packages are activated when (e.g. activating packages before the
end of `early-init.el` or from within `init.el`).

> This does not do any functional change other but avoiding to load
> package.el when quickstart is active.  If a user would really like to
> have package.el loaded from the start time, than it is just to call
> (package-initialize) in user init file?

`package-initialize` is a thing of the past.  Nowadays users should
never need to call it (that doesn't mean it's never useful: it's used
internally in various `package.el` functions and there may still be
cases where it's needed outside of `package.el` but these should be
considered as bugs, IMO).

>> Does your patch avoid loading package.el?
> Yes. When package-quickstart.el exists in user-emacs-directory.
> If that file does not exists then everything is loaded just as before,
> and (package-activate-all) will be run as normally.

Oh, indeed, that's another option I had not considered.

I was thinking of arranging for `package.el` not to be loaded regardless
of the use of `package-quickstart` (i.e. preload all of
`package-activate-all`), but maybe you're right and the only case where
it's worthwhile avoiding to load `package.el` is when we use
`package-quickstart`.


        Stefan