ruby includethis or that

To include one Ruby file in another, you can use the require or load statement. Both statements serve a similar purpose but have some differences.

require Statement

The require statement is used to load and execute a Ruby file. It ensures that the file is only loaded once, even if require is called multiple times for the same file.

Here's how you can use the require statement:

require 'filename'

In the above code, 'filename' represents the name of the file you want to include. You don't need to specify the file extension (e.g., .rb) when using require.

The require statement searches for the file in the load path, which includes directories specified by the RUBYLIB environment variable, any directories specified with the -I option when running the Ruby interpreter, and standard system directories.

If the file is found, it is loaded and executed. If the file has already been loaded, it won't be loaded again.

load Statement

The load statement is used to load and execute a Ruby file, just like require. However, unlike require, load doesn't keep track of which files have been loaded before. This means that if you call load multiple times for the same file, it will be loaded and executed each time.

Here's how you can use the load statement:

load 'filename'

Similar to require, 'filename' represents the name of the file you want to include. Again, you don't need to specify the file extension.

The load statement searches for the file in the current directory unless an absolute or relative path is provided. If the file is found, it is loaded and executed.

Conclusion

In summary, the require statement is used to load and execute a Ruby file, ensuring that it is only loaded once. On the other hand, the load statement also loads and executes a Ruby file but doesn't keep track of whether the file has already been loaded.