What does ~ before a file name represent

Question

I have a Rails project and I'm using git version control. Currently I have two files, ~edit.html.haml and ~new.html.haml. I'm imagining that the ~ has to do with git in some way. My question is what is the ~ for? Is this a mistake made my a previous developer or does this have to do with git?

Answer 1

It seems like a backup (temporary) file. In my experience, backup files are usually deleted whenever the program that created it is closed: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000527.htm