Finding Debian release number on a running system

[Steven G Bosnick <sbosnick@uoguelph.ca>]

Is there some way of finding the Debian release number on a running 
system (i.e. 0.93R6 or 1.1)? I wanted to retrieve this information in a 
script but the only way I can figure out of doing so is to look for the 
directory /usr/doc/debian-093R6 (or something pretty close to that). Is 
there a better way of doing this that will work on later releases?

P.S. The script is an attempt to simplify the process of generating 
meaningful bug reports for users new to debian but is not yet ready for 
prime time.

                            Steven Bosnick
                         sbosnick@uoguelph.ca
                                                            VP External
Philosophy Department                    Graduate Students' Association
University of Guelph                               University of Guelph