I am looking for an easy way to extract a raster's extent in python.

Currently, I am using gdalinfo and then parsing out the corner coordinates. The problem with this approach is that gdalinfo is not consistent in how it reports the corner coordinates. I am working with a variety of file types (hdf, tif, img, asc, etc). I need the extent to be in decimal degrees (or DMS - that I can convert to decimal degrees).

This is being used with a PostgreSQL database so I have access to any PostGIS function, gdal, or ArcGIS, although I would prefer a function that does not involve ArcGIS unless it is fast (I am trying to index a large number of files, frequently). It can be run on either Windows or Unix.

Thank you,
Kevin