What's the difference between "include" and "require" in Ruby? Answer: The include and require methods do very different things. The require method does what include does in most other programming languages: run another file. It also tracks what you've required in the past and won't require the same file twice. To run another file without this added functionality, you can use the load method. The include method takes all the methods from another module and includes them into the current module. This is a language-level thing as opposed to a file-level thing as with require. The include method is the primary way to "extend" classes with other modules (usually referred to as mix-ins). For example, if your class defines the method "each", you can include the mixin module Enumerable and it can act as a collection. This can be confusing as the include verb is used very differently in other languages.

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所以如果你只是想使用一个模块，而不是扩展它或做一个混合，那么你会想要使用require。

奇怪的是，Ruby的require类似于C的include，而Ruby的include几乎与C的include完全不同。

来自编程Ruby 1.9

We’ll make a couple of points about the include statement before we go on. First, it has nothing to do with files. C programmers use a preprocessor directive called #include to insert the contents of one file into another during compilation. The Ruby include statement simply makes a reference to a module. If that module is in a separate file, you must use require (or its less commonly used cousin, load) to drag that file in before using include. Second, a Ruby include does not simply copy the module’s instance methods into the class. Instead, it makes a reference from the class to the included module. If multiple classes include that module, they’ll all point to the same thing. If you change the definition of a method within a module, even while your program is running, all classes that include that module will exhibit the new behavior.

在Ruby元编程书中，

require()方法非常类似于load()，但它的目的是 不同的目的。您使用load()来执行代码，并且使用 Require()导入库。

下面是require和include之间的一些基本区别:

要求:

Require从文件系统读取文件，解析它，保存到内存中，并在给定的位置运行它，这意味着如果你在脚本运行时更改了任何内容，那么这些更改将不会反映出来。 我们按名称要求文件，而不是按模块名。 它通常用于库和扩展。

包括:

当你将一个模块包含到你的类中时，它的行为就像你将模块中定义的代码插入到你的类中一样。 我们包含模块名，而不是文件名。 它通常用于干涸代码和删除代码中的重复。

Ruby的require更像其他语言(比如C语言)中的“include”。它告诉Ruby你想引入另一个文件的内容。在其他语言中类似的机制有: 在c#中使用<namespace>指令。 在Java中导入<package>。 Ruby include是用于mixin的面向对象继承机制。

这里有一个很好的解释:

简单的答案是require和include本质上是不相关的。 “require”类似于C中的include，这可能会让新手感到困惑。 (一个显著的区别是所需文件中的局部变量“蒸发”了 当require完成时。) Ruby包含与C包含完全不同。include语句将一个模块“混合”到一个类中。这是有限形式 多重继承。一个被包含的模块字面上赋予了一个“is-a” 对事物的关系包括它。

重点补充道。

'Load'-插入文件内容。(每次调用文件时解析文件)

'Require'-插入一个文件解析的内容。(文件解析一次，存储在内存中)

'Include'-将模块包含到类中，并可以使用模块内的方法作为类的实例方法

'Extend'-将模块包含到类中，并可以使用模块内的方法作为类方法