The command apt-cache is used to query information about the available packages on a Debian system. This command can perform various operations on the package cache, such as searching for packages that match a given pattern, showing detailed information about a specific package, displaying the dependencies of a package, and more. The apt-cache command does not require root privileges and does not modify the system state12.
The other commands are either invalid or do not perform the same function as the correct answer. For example:
apt-get is used to install, update, upgrade, remove, or purge packages on a Debian system. It requires root privileges and modifies the system state13.
apt-search is not a valid command. The correct syntax to search for packages using the apt command is apt search1 .
dpkg is a low-level tool that can install, remove, configure, or query information about Debian packages. It operates on individual packages and does not handle dependencies. It requires root privileges to install or remove packages1 .
dpkg-search is not a valid command. The correct syntax to search for packages using the dpkg command is dpkg -l or dpkg-query -l1 .
References:
LPI Linux Essentials, Chapter 6: Managing Software, Section 6.2: Debian Package Management
apt-cache - query the APT cache | Linux Docs
apt-get - APT package handling utility | Linux Docs
[apt - command-line interface | Linux Docs]
[dpkg - Debian package management system | Linux Docs]
