black box
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system where only the inputs and outputs can be viewed, and not its implementation
~18 min read
Encyclopedic overview
In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The term can be used to refer to many inner workings, such as those of a transistor, an engine, an algorithm, the human brain, or an institution or government.
To analyze an open system with a typical "black box approach", only the behavior of the stimulus/response will be accounted for, to infer the (unknown) box. The usual representation of this "black box system" is a data flow diagram centered in the box.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “black box” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.