# How to avoid repeatedly calling include()?

**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-avoid-repeatedly-calling-include/54347
**Category:** New to Julia
**Tags:** question
**Created:** [January 31, 2021, 10:28pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-avoid-repeatedly-calling-include/54347 "2021-01-31T22:28:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 16

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### Author: ![greg\_plowman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/greg_plowman/32/8100_2.png) [@greg\_plowman](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/greg_plowman)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-avoid-repeatedly-calling-include/54347/16 "2021-02-01T23:58:09Z")

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> [@mauro3](#):
>
> I remember that I thought as well that `include` just copy-pastes. This misunderstanding does come up repeatedly on this forum. Probably calling it `eval_file` or something alike would have been clearer.

Agreed. I had exactly this thought some time ago …

> [@Include mystery](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/include-mystery/22360/12):
>
> I must confess to being tripped up by misunderstanding exactly what include does. Indeed, I think it is a common misconception. I can’t help but feel that it is partly due to the name include which might be associated with pre-processor directives in other languages. And it is commonly used for the same or similar functionality. For me the name eval\_file would help remind me that it is a normal function executed at run time and which evals the contents of the file (in global scope since it is…

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