Editing Source Mage (section)

==Notable features==
Source Mage is a source-based [[Linux distribution]]. This means that instead of delivering ready-to-use binaries to users, the source code is compiled locally on the users computer.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourcemage.org/Intro|title=New to Source Mage|website=sourcemage.org}}</ref>  This practice enables greater control over the software compared to systems that distribute binaries, such as [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]].  Individual dependencies can be selected or deselected, potentially saving hard drive space and freeing [[RAM]] and CPU cycles, which can improve overall system performance.  For instance, a tool such as [[OpenSSH]] could be compiled without support for [[X11]] sharing.  One can choose to set [[CFLAGS|cflags]], cxxflags, and ldflags specific to the capabilities of their system, which allows the user to generate more efficient binaries for their own hardware. 

Source Mage's terminology also vastly differs compared to more common Linux distributions such as [[Debian]]. Much of this unique nomenclature is primarily based on magic-centric vocabulary. For example, When a Source Mage "spell", or package, is "cast", the latest stable release is downloaded from the developer's site rather than Source Mage's. This allows for a more up-to-date system, rather than [[Gentoo Linux|Gentoo]], another popular source-based distribution, which maintains its own customized cache of packages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourcemage.org/Comparison%20with%20Gentoo|title=Comparison with Gentoo|website=sourcemage.org}}</ref> Source Mage changes as little as possible in packages (only to fit to bare standards such as the [[Filesystem Hierarchy Standard]]), which can reduce risk of errors during source compilation or bugs when using the compiled binary, lacking the potentially necessary patches that projects like Gentoo and [[Debian]] apply.

Similarly, a collection of packages or "spells" is referred to as a "grimoire", and all "spells" together is referred to as the "codex".