2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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black art
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. [common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by implication) mostly
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ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular application or systems area
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(compare black magic ). VLSI design and compiler code optimization were (in
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their beginnings) considered classic examples of black art; as theory
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developed they became deep magic , and once standard textbooks had been
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written, became merely heavy wizardry. The huge proliferation of formal and
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informal channels for spreading around new computer-related technologies
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during the last twenty years has made both the term black art and what it
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describes less common than formerly. See also voodoo programming.
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