black art
black art: n. [common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by implication)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.
Courtesy of 'The Jargon File 4.4.7'
