
Quantum Development Kit preview - forrestbrazeal
https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/?p=73792
======
ahelwer
I'm legitimately excited by quantum computing. The field is moving SO much
faster than popular knowledge, which seems to believe a quantum computer will
arrive at the same time as a workable fusion reactor. Real quantum computers
exist RIGHT NOW. You can even write a program and run it on one from IBM![0]
Google and Microsoft are both dumping resources into creating commercially-
available quantum computers. Google says it will demonstrate a quantum
computer in mere months which outperforms a classical computer on some
problem.[1] The real value of quantum computers is not found in breaking RSA.
Simulated molecular dynamics sees an exponential speedup over classical
methods; this has huge ramifications for drug & material design.[2] What a
time to be alive!

I have a BSc in Computer Science, and am teaching myself quantum computing.
I'm really liking the book _Quantum Computer Science: An Introduction_ by
David Mermin. All this stuff is within your grasp! You aren't required to
understand quantum weirdness to use a quantum computer.

[0]
[https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/experience](https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/experience)

[1] [https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609035/google-reveals-
blu...](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609035/google-reveals-blueprint-
for-quantum-supremacy/)

[2] [https://www.chemistryworld.com/feature/quantum-chemistry-
on-...](https://www.chemistryworld.com/feature/quantum-chemistry-on-quantum-
computers/3007680.article)

~~~
dsp1234
"Real quantum computers exist RIGHT NOW. You can even write a program and run
it on one from IBM!"

Let's be a bit realistic. It's a 5 qubit processor. I'm not sure how excited
the general population were when the first 5 bit processor was available.
There is still a ways to go before actually useful quantum computers are
generally available.

"You have access to one now with the Quantum Experience. It is small at the
moment, with a five-qubit processor, but it is a work-in-progress that we are
continually improving."[0]

[0] -
[https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/tutorial?section...](https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qx/tutorial?sectionId=full-
user-guide&page=000-FAQ~2F000-Frequently_Asked_Questions)

~~~
pjmlp
At least they seemed pretty exited with Intel 4004.

~~~
snaky
Did they actually, outside of happy Busicom calculator users? Even 8008
"looked okay, but nobody used it" \- [http://ethw.org/Oral-
History:Masatoshi_Shima](http://ethw.org/Oral-History:Masatoshi_Shima)

~~~
pjmlp
I guess I misread it.

I wanted to convey that there were some groups actually happy about it.

------
pjmlp
Q# looks quite nice.

[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/quantum/quantum-qr-
intro?vi...](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/quantum/quantum-qr-
intro?view=qsharp-preview)

------
vtomole
Nice to see Microsoft's progress in quantum computing. It seems like you can't
use this SDK without Visual Studio. If you don't have Visual Studio, you can
use LIQUi|> [0]; another quantum SDK from Microsoft.

[0]: [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/language-
in...](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/language-integrated-
quantum-operations-liqui/)

~~~
mdturnerphys
Or you can get Visual Studio Community for free:
[https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/](https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/)

~~~
vtomole
I didn't know that you can use Visual Studio on anything that is not Windows.
I'll try to install it.

Edit: Looks like you need Visual Studio Community for this SDK which Microsoft
only has a Windows version.

~~~
mdturnerphys
Looks like it's available for Mac as well:
[https://www.visualstudio.com/thank-you-downloading-visual-
st...](https://www.visualstudio.com/thank-you-downloading-visual-studio-
mac/?sku=communitymac&rel=15)

Edit: The QDK does not have Mac support yet.

~~~
ghostly_s
"Visual Studio for Mac" is just a rebrand of another IDE they purchased this
past year, it's not feature-equivalent with the real VS AFAIK.

------
nneonneo
Possibly dumb question, but what do you actually run Q# code on?

~~~
vtomole
Q# code is run on a quantum virtual machine; which is a program that simulates
a quantum computer on a classical computer.

Quantum computers can be simulated by classical computers up to a certain
point. Like that article says, a 30 qubit quantum computer can be simulated on
a laptop. Microsoft is simulating up to 40 qubits on Azure. Simulating around
50 qubits or so would need one of the world's most powerful supercomputer.

~~~
dsp1234
_Quantum computers can be simulated by classical computers up to a certain
point._

Note that the 'certain point' here is a practical limit of time/efficiency. In
terms of computability, anything that can be computed on a quantum computer
can be computed on a classical computer with exponential slowdown. It's the
exponential slowdown that results in the practical limit.

~~~
kgwgk
And anything that can be computed on a classical computer can be computed with
pebbles, the practical limits matter. ;-)

------
rficcaglia
“toughest challenges, such as world hunger or the dangerous effects of climate
change”

How does quantum computing address world hunger or climate change? Convincing
humans to not use fossil fuels or to eat less beef doesn’t need Shor’s
algorithm.

~~~
vtomole
Shor's algorithm is not the only potential application for quantum computers.
Simulating quantum mechanics and optimization is what quantum computers will
probably be used for in the next couple of years.

Regarding the world hunger and climate change claim. I think they are
referring to the fact that quantum computers can simulate quantum chemistry
more efficiently compared to classical computers. This article [0] talks about
how quantum computers will be used for quantum chemistry; specifically
nitrogen fixation.

[0]: [https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i43/Chemistry-quantum-
comput...](https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i43/Chemistry-quantum-computings-
killer-app.html)

~~~
rficcaglia
I have fond memories of running MM simulations on an SGI workstation so I
totally grok the potential. Not arguing against the utility of QC - just
trying to slow down the hype train. Telling someone that downloading an SDK
will anytime soon solve climate change is distracting from the currently
available non-QC options we have.

My concern is magic tech solutions to easily solved problems allow lazy humans
to keep polluting and point to some phantasmagorical silver bullet in the not
too distant future...which inevitably comes much much later than expected.

In short, at current CO2 emission growth rates, the Antarctic ice sheets will
melt long before QC allows chemists to produce emission free petroleum use or
planet scale carbon capture and sequestration. Let's use those future tools
for Mars colonization in 2150, but for now, for our kids' sakes, let's stop
making throwaway plastic baubles by the tons, relying on petroleum based
fertilizers for Big Mac production, and fix the many very solvable behavioral
problems with today's tech.

EDIT: typo

------
westoncb
Anyone know how this might impact constraint satisfaction algorithms? Is it
possible we'd see something like Prolog being orders of magnitude faster?
(Assuming it were re-written for a quantum computer, maybe using something
like Q#.)

------
xcodevn
A quote from Microsoft's video: "[A] computer that computes in a billion
parallel universes at the same time".

This is a bold statement with no physical evidence to backup and no idea how
quantum computer works.

------
2_listerine_pls
What other languages are there?

~~~
wasx
Hopefully once the technology matures and becomes more widespread we get a
FOSS alternative. I don't trust Microsoft and would not want to work with a
stack that is monopolized by them

~~~
dangirsh
I think this is crucial.

Rigetti Computing (where I work) has open-sourced several packages related to
quantum programming, including pyQuil:
[https://github.com/rigetticomputing/pyquil](https://github.com/rigetticomputing/pyquil)

