<literal>InstalledPackageInfo</literal>, the same as the input file
format for <literal>ghc-pkg register</literal>. See <xref
linkend="installed-pkg-info" /> for details.</para>
+
+ <para>If the pattern matches multiple packages, the
+ description for each package is emitted, separated by the
+ string <literal>---</literal> on a line by itself.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
them with commas</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><literal>ghc-pkg dump</literal></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Emit the full description of every package, in the
+ form of an <literal>InstalledPackageInfo</literal>.
+ Multiple package descriptions are separated by the
+ string <literal>---</literal> on a line by itself.</para>
+
+ <para>This is almost the same as <literal>ghc-pkg describe '*'</literal>, except that <literal>ghc-pkg dump</literal>
+ is intended for use by tools that parse the results, so
+ for example where <literal>ghc-pkg describe '*'</literal>
+ will emit an error if it can't find any packages that
+ match the pattern, <literal>ghc-pkg dump</literal> will
+ simply emit nothing.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>