def find(name):
    '''
        returns a list of tuples (package_name, description) for apt-cache search results
    '''
    cmd = 'apt-cache search %s' % name
    args = shlex.split(cmd)
    try:
        output = subprocess.check_output(args)
    except CalledProcessError:
        return []
    lines = output.splitlines()
    packages = []
    for line in lines:
        package, _, desc = line.partition(' - ')
        packages.append((package, desc)) 
    return packages