black art

[common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by implication) mostly ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular application or systems area (compare black magic).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

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world
  Synonyms: sorcery, black magic

Black art (art nègre) can refer to:

• Art forms by persons of African descent (related articles: African art, African literature, African film, African American studies, African American art, African American literature, African American film, BLK Art Group Caribbean art, Caribbean literature, Caribbean film etc.)
  • specifically to the American, Australasian or European Black Arts Movement.
• Black magic, necromancy/nigromancy, maleficium
• The black art, an optical effect in stage magic.
• A historical term for typesetting.

See also

• Dark arts (disambiguation)

External links

• Juliet Seignious

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