Engaget reports that developers who are looking to learn more about quantum computing can get a head start with Microsoft’s Quantum Development Kit. A free preview of the kit was made available to developers earlier this month.
The kit, Engaget says, “includes the Q# programming language, a quantum computing simulator that can simulate 30 logical qubits of power and a companion collection of documentation, libraries and sample programs that will help developers get a better foothold on the complex science behind quantum computing.” Plus, developers can use the simulator to test programs and debug code on their own computers, since quantum computers are not yet available for testing.
Microsoft is also offering a more powerful simulator, Engaget reports, which will have over 40 logical qubits. Developers don’t need to worry about accessibility and learning a whole new set of skills to use it, though; the kit itself is integrated into Microsoft’s Visual Studio, and the simulator can be used through Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service.
As a result, developers who already use these solutions will be familiar with many of the tool’s features.
“There will be a twist with quantum computing, but it’s our job to make it as easy as possible for the developers who know and love us to be able to use these new tools that could potentially do some things exponentially faster – which means going from a billion years on a classical computer to a couple hours on a quantum computer,” Todd Holmdahl, Microsoft’s VP in charge of its quantum effort, said in a statement.
What this means for decision makers:
According to the above video by Microsoft on Engaget’s article, quantum computing will be able to do things that developers and end users in other industries have only dreamed of. This type of computing will be able to find the solutions to monstrous world problems – global warming, security, machine learning, diseases – in seconds, minutes, even days. These are the problems that end users are fighting to solve on a daily basis in their respective industries; for companies or research firms aiming for these answers more quickly, investing in this type of kit will get end users prepared for what to expect once quantum computers are fired up and ready to go.
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