The require()
function is identical to include()
, except that it handles errors differently. If an error occurs, the include()
function generates a warning, but the script will continue execution. The require()
generates a fatal error, and the script will stop.
My suggestion is to just use require_once
99.9% of the time.
Using require
or include
instead implies that your code is not reusable elsewhere, i.e. that the scripts you’re pulling in actually execute code instead of making available a class or some function libraries.