+AC_MSG_CHECKING(version of the package)
+if test -f ${srcdir}/.version; then
+ { read VERSION; } < ${srcdir}/.version
+ AC_MSG_RESULT($VERSION)
+elif test -f ../.version; then
+ { read VERSION; } < ../.version
+ AC_MSG_RESULT($VERSION)
+else
+ VERSION="0.0.0"
+ AC_MSG_RESULT(unknown using 0.0.0)
+fi