So You Wanna Program a Quantum Computah Just Twist

[jedishrfu]

TL;DR Summary

MIT develops a programming language for quantum computing called Twist.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/quantum-programming-language-twist?share_id=6917385

 

[jedishrfu]

Here's another approach using Cirq with Python:

 

[Melbourne Guy]

Summary:: MIT develops a programming language for quantum computing called Twist.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/quantum-programming-language-twist?share_id=6917385

It's already out of date, @jedishrfu: "The team is now working on another language that builds upon Twist..." 😉

 

[jedishrfu]

Sounds like a Chubby Checker song: Let's Twist Again Like We Did Last Summer

 

[anorlunda]

There is also an O'Reilly Book, Programming Quantum Computers ... It must be in high demand because the price is sky high.

 

[jedishrfu]

Be aware that the Orielly book was written by a physicist/programmer team but not using either Cirq or Twist.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1492039683/?tag=pfamazon01-20

The book covers the problems best suited for QC and the algorithms more than a programming language focusing on the various QC gates used. The Amazon link provides more details on book organization.

 

[jedishrfu]

Found another QC programming tool: Qiskit

Qiskit is an open-source software development kit (SDK) for working with quantum computers at the level of circuits, pulses, and algorithms. It provides tools for creating and manipulating quantum programs and running them on prototype quantum devices on IBM Quantum Experience or on simulators on a local computer. It follows the circuit model for universal quantum computation, and can be used for any quantum hardware (currently supports superconducting qubits and trapped ions[4]) that follows this model.

Qiskit was founded by IBM Research to allow software development for their cloud quantum computing service, IBM Quantum Experience.[5][6] Contributions are also made by external supporters, typically from academic institutions.[7][8]

The primary version of Qiskit uses the Python programming language. Versions for Swift[9] and JavaScript[10] were initially explored, though the development for these versions have halted. Instead, a minimal re-implementation of basic features is available as MicroQiskit,[11] which is made to be easy to port to alternative platforms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiskit

 

[jedishrfu]

Some info on IBM creators of Qiskit and QC development:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Quantum_Experience

 

[Melbourne Guy]

I do not claim to understand the math, @jedishrfu, but the author of this paper contends quantum computers will be less powerful than expected:

As a consequence, the concept of a quantum computer also comes into question, as it relies upon the assumption that a quantum system bears simultaneous information about two mutually exclusive outcomes. As this assumption is no longer tenable, the diversity of the solution of a quantum computer is considerably restricted.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1209/0295-5075/134/10004/pdf

It will be interesting to see whether the apps written in these QC development languages prove the assertion wrong.

 

[jedishrfu]

Yeah, I've seen those remarks before. My take is that the QC will be akin to the math coprocessor chip that came out after the microcomputer became popular.

Everyone saw that doing floating pt math in software on a microcomputer was so slow and thought that a separate chip could do it much better allowing folks to choose whether they needed that extra computing capability.

Now of course, floating pt logic is part of the CPU chip.

I imagine the QC will be like that too. First offered as a service online then miniaturized as an optional piece of hardware maybe as a chip and then who knows.

The curious thing about QC is that the calculations are setup and rerun many times until a common solution appears and that is the one selected. This is so different from current logic where we simply compute the solution once.

The quantum entanglement state can last only so long while doing a calculation and this becomes the limiting factor in what can and can't be computed.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-problem-with-quantum-computers/


The other more general limiting factor is whether a given computation can be formulated into a quantum algorithm. Currently, there are only a few types of problems that can be solved on a QC, everything else must use digital logic.

https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/The_Limits_of_Quantum_Computers.pdf