From: ara.t.howard@...
Date: 2007-04-21T01:19:15+09:00
Subject: Re: require doesn't load non-rb files

On Sat, 21 Apr 2007, Volkan Civelek wrote:

> well it doesn't have to be so...
> any ext other than rb repreduces the problem...
> krb, xyz, etc...
> but that besides the point, right?

not really

harp:~ > ri Kernel#require
--------------------------------------------------------- Kernel#require
      require(string)    => true or false
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Ruby tries to load the library named _string_, returning +true+ if
      successful. If the filename does not resolve to an absolute path,
      it will be searched for in the directories listed in +$:+. If the
      file has the extension ``.rb'', it is loaded as a source file; if
      the extension is ``.so'', ``.o'', or ``.dll'', or whatever the
      default shared library extension is on the current platform, Ruby
      loads the shared library as a Ruby extension. Otherwise, Ruby tries
      adding ``.rb'', ``.so'', and so on to the name. The name of the
      loaded feature is added to the array in +$"+. A feature will not be
      loaded if it's name already appears in +$"+. However, the file name
      is not converted to an absolute path, so that ``+require
      'a';require './a'+'' will load +a.rb+ twice.

         require "my-library.rb"
         require "db-driver"


you are seeing require behave exactly as it's doccumented to behave.  perhaps
you are after the functionality of 'load'??

harp:~ > ri Kernel#load
------------------------------------------------------------ Kernel#load
      load(filename, wrap=false)   => true
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Loads and executes the Ruby program in the file _filename_. If the
      filename does not resolve to an absolute path, the file is searched
      for in the library directories listed in +$:+. If the optional
      _wrap_ parameter is +true+, the loaded script will be executed
      under an anonymous module, protecting the calling program's global
      namespace. In no circumstance will any local variables in the
      loaded file be propagated to the loading environment.


-a
-- 
be kind whenever possible... it is always possible.
- the dalai lama