The Difference Between load, autoload, require, and require_relative in Ruby

1. Use load to pick up any changes you made to a file while the program is running.
2. Use autoload to speed up the initialization of your library by lazily loading the modules.
3. Use require when you want to use external gems.
4. Use require_relative for local files relative to the current working directory.

Source: The Difference Between load, autoload, require, and require_relative in Ruby

Huh, I could have sworn that autoload was frowned upon and possibly even deprecated. (Something I recall Matz mentioning long ago.) Anyway, this is a good summary!