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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[common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by implication) mostly ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular application or systems area (compare [black magic]).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].