Why the script of function is always stored in two files ".m" and ".m~"?

I stored my function in my directory as "test_probe.m". However, there's another file also created. It's name is "test_probe.m~". I open the file "test_probe.m~" and find that it's not different from "test_probe.m" except that the code in the file is not highlighted using different color. What is the use of "test_probe.m~"? Can I delete it?

Answer 1

[the cyclist]

It is an auto-saved backup file. See this page for details.