From the php manual
Include_once may help avoid problems such as function redefinitions, variable value reassignments, etc.
Ok, so include_once solves issues with function redefinitions, variable value reassignments, etc. but why are they an issue in the first place ?
I'm trying to understand what kind of risks are involved in redefining functions or reassigning variable values except for a decline in performance due to additional input/output and processing ?
Is it because php parser gets confused which version of function to load/use or is the original version of the function lost once redefined? What else and what about variable reassignments?
I do understand where to use include
vs include_once
.