[#483] make PRC version available as tuple

Author: d-w-moore

irods/__init__.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from .version import __version__
+from .version import __version__, version_as_tuple, version_as_string
 
 import logging
 import os

irods/version.py

@@ -1 +1,9 @@
+import os 
+
 __version__ = '1.1.9'
+
+def version_as_string():
+    return os.environ.get('PYTHON_IRODSCLIENT_VERSION', __version__.strip())
+
+def version_as_tuple():
+    return tuple(int(x) for x in version_as_string().split('.'))