black art
n. A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by
implication) mostly ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular
application or systems area (compare
black magic). VLSI design
and compiler code optimization were (in their beginnings)
considered classic examples of black art; as theory developed they
became
deep magic, and once standard textbooks had been written,
became merely
heavy wizardry. The huge proliferation of formal
and informal channels for spreading around new computer-related
technologies during the last twenty years has made both the term
`black art' and what it describes less common than formerly. See
also
voodoo programming.
