black art: n. [common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and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.
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