black box (redirected from black boxes)

black box

A custom-made electronic device, such as a protocol converter or encryption system. Yesterday's black boxes often become today's off-the-shelf products. See Black Box Corporation.

The Black Box

A black box does not have to look like a box. It can be any contraption that is custom made for an application.

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black box

1. a self-contained unit in an electronic or computer system whose circuitry need not be known to understand its function

2. an informal name for flight recorder

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(jargon)

black box - An abstraction of a device or system in which only its externally visible behaviour is considered and not its implementation or "inner workings". See also functional testing.