Book Image

Dancing with Qubits

By : Robert S. Sutor
5 (1)
Book Image

Dancing with Qubits

5 (1)
By: Robert S. Sutor

Overview of this book

Quantum computing is making us change the way we think about computers. Quantum bits, a.k.a. qubits, can make it possible to solve problems that would otherwise be intractable with current computing technology. Dancing with Qubits is a quantum computing textbook that starts with an overview of why quantum computing is so different from classical computing and describes several industry use cases where it can have a major impact. From there it moves on to a fuller description of classical computing and the mathematical underpinnings necessary to understand such concepts as superposition, entanglement, and interference. Next up is circuits and algorithms, both basic and more sophisticated. It then nicely moves on to provide a survey of the physics and engineering ideas behind how quantum computing hardware is built. Finally, the book looks to the future and gives you guidance on understanding how further developments will affect you. Really understanding quantum computing requires a lot of math, and this book doesn't shy away from the necessary math concepts you'll need. Each topic is introduced and explained thoroughly, in clear English with helpful examples.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
Preface
13
Afterword

11.7 The software stack and access

One way of accessing a quantum computing system looks like this:

  • You have downloaded and installed software development tools like the Qiskit open source quantum computing framework to your laptop or workstation. [24]
  • You develop your quantum code in a programmer’s editor or a JupyterTM notebook. [23]

tikz JPG figure

  • When run, part of your application connects to a quantum simulator on your computer or remotely to real quantum hardware or a simulator.
  • The remote connection is via the Internet/cloud.
  • Your application invokes one or more processes that runs on the quantum hardware or a simulator.
  • Ultimately, your application makes use of the results of the quantum computation and does something valuable within your use case.

There are at least two other similar scenarios:

  1. Instead of developing locally, you do so via a web browser-based...