Checking for interpreter libraries

[Tommy Nordgren]

I want to find out if there is any autoconf macros for checking for  
the presence of various scripting
language interpreters, and the libraries for extending/embedding  
them. I want to check for as
many as possible and reasonable of the scripting languages supported  
by Swig, and compile and
link against those avilable, but in particular Perl and Python.
I also need to find out about compiler and linker options necessary  
for linking against each library,
and validate that they are not mutually exclusive.
I want any useful suggestion on doing this.

PS I'm a newbie with the GNU Autotools

"Home is not where you are born, but where your heart finds peace" -
Tommy Nordgren, "The dying old crone"