Editing Sigil (computer programming) (section)

===Shell scripting variables===
In Unix [[shell scripting]] and in utilities such as [[Makefile]]s, the "<code>$</code>" is a unary operator that translates the name of a variable into its contents. While this may seem similar to a sigil, it is properly a [[unary operation|unary operator]] for lexical [[indirection]], similar to the <code>*</code> [[dereference operator]] for pointers in [[C (programming language)|C]], as noticeable from the fact that the dollar sign is omitted when assigning to a variable.