Creating a first practical high-level programming language for quantum computers makes it possible to write complete quantum software. The Quipper programming language developed by Canadian scientists can influence the design of futuristic computers and facilitate their subsequent programming.
“It has the functionality of a modern classical programming language adapted for quantum computing. Masterfully done, ”says Bob Kouke of Oxford University, who was not involved in the design.
An important feature of a quantum computer is qubits — quantum bits that can take values of 0 and 1 at the same time. This principle is described as quantum superposition. However, the creation of computer algorithms with the use of quantum parallelism is a difficult task. Therefore, the scope of application of quantum computers in its current form is very limited.
Peter Selinger from Dalhous University (Halifax, Canada) and his colleagues cleared the way for high-performance quantum computers by developing Quipper, the first high-level quantum programming language that is designed to facilitate the integration of several algorithms along a modular basis. Quipper is built on the basis of the classic Haskell programming language, which is better suited for programming physical applications.
They also created the Quipper code library to execute seven existing quantum algorithms, including the algorithm for estimating the energy of the ground state of molecules. Programmers hope that the library will gradually be updated with new algorithms. This will allow developers to create quantum software by combining modules, as in the case of Java.
“A well-thought-out programming language helps to structure thinking and describe a way to solve a problem. It can be a useful tool for developing new quantum algorithms, ”says Selinger.
Thorsten Altenkirch of the University of Nottingham in Britain agrees with this, unrelated to this work:
Quipper is a testbed for new ideas and understanding of the principles of writing quantum software.
Earlier, American scientists proposed a new scheme for quantum computing.
The article is based on materials .
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