[ Thanks to M.
Fioretti for this link. ]
“WordPress is quick and easy to install and update, but the
quicker you can make these operations the better, right? If you
have shell access to the server where your WordPress copy is
installed, it is possible to perform all the operations in Step 1
of the Manual WordPress Update Procedure with the shell script
below. It will save you a few minutes, which may seem too little,
but is great if you maintain more than one copy of WordPress. That,
however, is not the main reason to use a script like this. Its
bigger advantage is reducing the possibility of human error by
doing things by hand, at the prompt or with the mouse is the
same.”