#note that any space is not allowed before nor after = #you can use or not use $ before a variable inside $(()) and $[] a=1 a=$((a+1)) a=$((a + 1)) a=$(( a + 1 )) a=$(( $a + 1 )) a=$[a+1] a=$[a + 1] a=$[ a + 1 ] a=$[ $a + 1 ] #note that a space is required before and after + a=`expr $a + 1` let a++ let a+=1 #the result will be 12 echo $a