<documentation title="Including Code">
<standard>
<![CDATA[
Anywhere you are unconditionally including a class file, use <em>require_once</em>. Anywhere you are conditionally including a class file (for example, factory methods), use <em>include_once</em>. Either of these will ensure that class files are included only once. They share the same file list, so you don't need to worry about mixing them - a file included with <em>require_once</em> will not be included again by <em>include_once</em>.
]]>
</standard>
<standard>
<![CDATA[
Note that <em>include_once</em> and <em>require_once</em> are statements, not functions. Parentheses should not surround the subject filename.
]]>
</standard>
<code_comparison>
<code title="Valid: used as statement">
<![CDATA[
require_once 'PHP/CodeSniffer.php';
]]>
</code>
<code title="Invalid: used as function">
<![CDATA[
require_once<em>(</em>'PHP/CodeSniffer.php'<em>)</em>;
]]>
</code>
</code_comparison>
</documentation>