is there a way to "uninclude" a file with PHP?

Question

I'm working on a PHP IRC Bot, and I'm currently working on the commands.

At the beginning of main.php, the script that starts the bot, it includes the class_lib.php file and instantiates the object of that class. I want to work on a !reload command, where it would "uninclude" the file and then reinclude it. Would that be possible, or would it be fine if I just included it again when that command was sent?

EDIT: Basically, I want to be able to modify and reload the class without having to restart the bot.

Answer 1

No, you can't. Revisit your design. Don't couple the definition of the class with the instantiation of the object.

Answer 2

Why not just allow the object to reload the default settings, or restart, instead of what you describe? I'm pretty sure you can't do that anyways.

Also, don't try to load the object with the class_lib.php. Include the class file with the object, then where and when you need it, create your object. That way you can stop it, destroy the object, and then re-instantiate another object, which should accomplish what you want.