5.2. Variable Assignment

=

the assignment operator (no space before & after)

Caution

Do not confuse this with = and -eq, which test, rather than assign!

Note that = can be either an assignment or a test operator, depending on context.

Variable assignment using the $(...) mechanism (a newer method than backquotes)

# From /etc/rc.d/rc.local
R=$(cat /etc/redhat-release)
arch=$(uname -m)