&apt-email;
&apt-product;
<!-- The last update date -->
- <date>2012-06-09T00:00:00Z</date>
+ <date>2015-10-27T00:00:00Z</date>
</refentryinfo>
<refmeta>
&synopsis-command-apt-cache;
<refsect1><title>Description</title>
- <para><command>apt-cache</command> performs a variety of operations on APT's package
- cache. <command>apt-cache</command> does not manipulate the state of the system
- but does provide operations to search and generate interesting output
- from the package metadata.</para>
+ <para>
+ <command>apt-cache</command> performs a variety of operations on APT's
+ package cache. <command>apt-cache</command> does not manipulate the
+ state of the system but does provide operations to search and generate
+ interesting output from the package metadata. The metadata is acquired
+ and updated via the 'update' command of e.g. <command>apt-get</command>,
+ so that it can be outdated if the last update is too long ago, but in
+ exchange <command>apt-cache</command> works independently of the
+ availability of the configured sources (e.g. offline).
+ </para>
<para>Unless the <option>-h</option>, or <option>--help</option> option is given, one of the
commands below must be present.</para>