Is there a way to include file in coffee script?

Question

I\'d like to know if there is a way to include a file in a coffee script. Something like #include in C or require in PHP...

Answer 1

Tl;DR: Browserify, possibly with a build tool like Grunt...

Solutions review

Build tool + import pre-processor

If what you want is a single JS file to be run in the browser, I recommend using a build tool like Grunt (or Gulp, or Cake, or Mimosa, or any other) to pre-process your Coffeescript, along with an include/require/import module that will concatenate included files into your compiled output, like one of these:

• Browserify: probably the rising standard and my personal favourite, lets you to use Node's exports/require API in your code, then extracts and concatenates everything required into a browser includable file. Exists for Grunt, Gulp, Mimosa and probably most others . To this day I reckon it is probably the best solution if you're after compatibility both Node and the browser (and even otherwise)
• Some Rails Sprocket-like solutions like grunt-sprockets-directives or gulp-include will also work in a consistent way with CSS pre-processors (though those generally have their own importing mechanisms)
• Other solutions include grunt-includes or grunt-import

Standalone import pre-processor

If you'd rather avoid the extra-complexity of a build tool, you can use Browserify stand-alone, or alternatives not based on Node's require like coffeescript-concat or Coffee-Stir

[Not recommended] Asynchronous dynamic loading (AJAX + eval)

If you're writing exclusively for the browser and don't mind, or rather really want, your script being spread across several files fetched via AJAX, you can use a myriad of tools like:

• yepnope.js or Modernizr's .load based on yepnope: Please note that yepnope is now deprecated by its maintainer, who recommend using build tools and concatenation instead of remote loading
• RequireJS
• HeadJS
• jQuery's $.getScript
• Vanilla AJAX + eval
• your own implementation of AMD