Zend certified PHP/Magento developer

How to check if a module needs an update using comands/code?

Is there a way to check if a module needs an update using commands or code ?

Maybe i can compare the current version to the latest version, but how do i check what the latest version for a module is ?

Is there a Magento API where a user can get infos about a module ? (current version, latest version, description, etc…)