from the binary-is-right-out-the-window dept.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/09/microsoft-quantum-toolkit/
At its Ignite conference today, Microsoft announced its moves to embrace the next big thing in computing: quantum computing. Later this year, Microsoft will release a new quantum computing programming language, with full Visual Studio integration, along with a quantum computing simulator. With these, developers will be able to both develop and debug quantum programs implementing quantum algorithms.
[...] Microsoft's quantum programming language—as yet unnamed—offers a more familiar look to programming quantum computers, borrowing elements from C#, Python, and F#. Developers will still need to use and understand quantum logic gates and their operations, but they'll be able to use them to write functions, with variables and branches and other typical constructs.
[...] It will have quite significant memory requirements. The local version will offer up to 32 qubits, but to do this will require 32GB of RAM. Each additional qubit doubles the amount of memory required. The Azure version will scale up to 40 qubits.
Also at Fossbytes.
Related Stories
IBM Raises the Bar with a 50-Qubit Quantum Computer
IBM established a landmark in computing Friday, announcing a quantum computer that handles 50 quantum bits, or qubits. The company is also making a 20-qubit system available through its cloud computing platform.
IBM, Google, Intel, and a San Francisco startup called Rigetti are all currently racing to build useful quantum systems. These machines process information in a different way from traditional computers, using the counterintuitive nature of quantum physics.
The announcement does not mean quantum computing is ready for common use. The system IBM has developed is still extremely finicky and challenging to use, as are those being built by others. In both the 50- and the 20-qubit systems, the quantum state is preserved for 90 microseconds—a record for the industry, but still an extremely short period of time.
[...] IBM is also announcing an upgrade to its quantum cloud software system today. "We're at world record pace. But we've got to make sure non-physicists can use this," Gil says.
The announcement should perhaps be treated cautiously, though. Andrew Childs, a professor at the University of Maryland, points out that IBM has not published details of its system in a peer-reviewed journal. "IBM's team is fantastic and it's clear they're serious about this, but without looking at the details it's hard to comment," he says. Childs says the larger number of qubits does not necessarily translate to a leap in computational capability. "Those qubits might be noisy, and there could be issues with how well connected they are," he says.
Also at The Mercury News and SiliconANGLE.
Previously: IBM Promises Commercialization of 50 Qubit Quantum Computers
IBM and D-Wave Quantum Computing Announcements
Intel Ships 17-Qubit Quantum Chip to Researchers
Google's Quantum Computing Plans Threatened by IBM Curveball (doesn't this undermine IBM's quantum system as well?)
Related: Microsoft is Developing a Quantum Computing Programming Language
Microsoft's Q# quantum programming language out now in preview
Microsoft today launched a preview version of a new programming language for quantum computing called Q#. The industry giant also launched a quantum simulator that developers can use to test and debug their quantum algorithms.
The language and simulator were announced in September. The then-unnamed language was intended to bring traditional programming concepts—functions, variables, and branches, along with a syntax-highlighted development environment complete with quantum debugger—to quantum computing, a field that has hitherto built algorithms from wiring up logic gates. Microsoft's hope is that this selection of tools, along with the training material and documentation, will open up quantum computing to more than just physicists.
I'll hold out for QuBasic.
Previously: Microsoft is Developing a Quantum Computing Programming Language
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @11:57PM
Once again testing the infinite monkey theorem...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @12:38AM (3 children)
If you're going to chase buzzwords, chase them all.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @12:49AM (2 children)
It has been in the works for very many years, and has been the subject of intense research by the top Universities.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @12:54AM
So has Feminist Studies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @03:55AM
It's not a buzzword, but we certainly haven't achieved it yet.
(Score: 1) by nnet on Wednesday September 27 2017, @02:38AM
If you look directly at it, or think too much about it, it BSODs.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @05:14AM
Lisp simply has to add "cat" to car, cdr, and cons.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday September 27 2017, @06:21AM (2 children)
It's not as if there were not already many quantum programming languages. [quantiki.org] Especially look at the section for imperative quantum programming. The only difference I see is the concrete languages those are based on. I admit that Microsoft's choice of languages is more buzzwordy.
Oh, and of course MS has two "sharp" languages in the list. The motive should be obvious.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday September 27 2017, @07:42AM
Depending on how you look at that motive, you may see it obvious or not obvious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @04:28PM
Anyone taking bets on that language being called Q#?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by digitalaudiorock on Wednesday September 27 2017, @01:56PM
This from the company that can't even un-fuck my "pin to start menu" in Windows 10. Seriously...I use Linux and outside of a few rare things I need to do for work, do almost nothing in Windows, and the few things I need literally never work right.