@item
It does some basic parsing of the command-line arguments.
+@item
+It loads your early init file (@pxref{Early Init File,,, emacs, The
+GNU Emacs Manual}). This is not done if the options @samp{-q},
+@samp{-Q}, or @samp{--batch} were specified. If the @samp{-u} option
+was specified, Emacs looks for the init file in that user's home
+directory instead.
+
+@item
+It calls the function @code{package-activate-all} to activate any
+optional Emacs Lisp package that has been installed. @xref{Packaging
+Basics}. However, Emacs doesn't activate the packages when
+@code{package-enable-at-startup} is @code{nil} or when it's started
+with one of the options @samp{-q}, @samp{-Q}, or @samp{--batch}. To
+activate the packages in the latter case, @code{package-activate-all}
+should be called explicitly (e.g., via the @samp{--funcall} option).
+
@vindex initial-window-system@r{, and startup}
- @vindex window-system-initialization-alist
+ @findex window-system-initialization
@item
If not running in batch mode, it initializes the window system that
the variable @code{initial-window-system} specifies (@pxref{Window