Intel Releases Software Platform for Quantum Computing Developers

Intel on Tuesday released a software platform for developers to build quantum algorithms that can eventually run on a quantum computer that the chip giant is trying to build. From a report: The platform, called Intel Quantum SDK, would for now allow those algorithms to run on a simulated quantum computing system, said Anne Matsuura, Intel Labs' head of quantum applications and architecture. Matsuura said developers can use the long-established programming language C++ to build quantum algorithms, making it more accessible for people without quantum computing expertise. "The Intel Quantum SDK helps programmers get ready for future large-scale commercial quantum computers," Matsuura said in a statement. "It will also advance the industry by creating a community of developers that will accelerate the development of applications."

Could someone please confirm

[sageres]

As far as I know no real quantum computer actually exists yet, right?

Re: Could someone please confirm

[joe_frisch]

Several groups have reported operational small quantum computers that have been used to do calculations. Iâ(TM)m not aware of any practical applications yet - but that is of course a fuzzy definition

Re:Could someone please confirm

[neoRUR]

Not till you look at it.

Re:

[rickb928]

And what happens if I DON'T look at it?

Re:

[sabbede]

It works, but nobody knows what the results are.

Re:

[rickb928]

'works'. Oh, please elaborate. I'm formulating the theory of spontaneous recognition. Some'thing' first saw, measured, perceived, or observed, and all this sprang from that. Truly the only question is what that some'thing' was. But 'works'? Wha?

Re:

[gweihir]

This is actually unclear. It _seems_ very small quantum computers are possible. But the size of the problems (very small, very few steps possible) would still allow some other effects actually being the source of the results. These "computations" are all still within reach for a not very complex analog computer and until we leave that behind, we cannot be sure. At the moment, essentially all universal "QC" hardware actually in existence cannot keep up with a decades old pocket calculator. There are of cours

Re:

[iMadeGhostzilla]

This is a good explanation, thank you, I was wondering the same thing. It seems that "It _seems_ very small quantum computers are possible" should be the common view among anyone remotely interested in the subject, including Intel who is apparently releasing Quantum SDK.

So why isn't it? I can't shake off the feeling that scientific advances have never been hyped to this level before. As someone said regarding the recent fusion breakthrough, this whole civilization desperately needs a reality check.

Re:

[gweihir]

Thanks, you are welcome.

Well, earlier hypes were pretty bad too (just think "flying cars" or "home robots" in the 1950's or so), but today social networking really seems to have put a massive afterburner on the mindless, fact-disconnected hypes.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes

D-Wave has operational quantum computers, that perform quantum annealing computations.
I think google has one of this type too.

Those are quite different to the type of quantum computer Intel is aiming for, which is designed to do topological quantum computations.

Of that type, there are some that exist, all with a very small number of qbits, and as far as I know all still with significant challenges in how long they retain coherence (just a few seconds)
IBM and google both have systems like this.

Re:

[ceoyoyo]

No, there are a bunch of them. D-wave was the first, with a quantum annealer. People questioned whether it was a True Scotsman quantum computer, or just a computing system that uses quantum effects.

IBM, Google, Intel and a bunch of other companies all make "general purpose" (i.e. circuit model) quantum processors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

What's confusing you is that no quantum computer has done anything unquestionably faster than a quantum simulation on a classical computer. They're also all so sma

Re:

[parker9]

Yes. You can create a free account w/ IBM and you are rewarded with being able to use up to a 7 qubit computer using their qiskit python framework. Wait times aren't too bad.

If you already have an AWS account, you can get access to IonQ, Oxford Quantum Circuits, QuEra, Rigetti and Xanadu. Xanadu is interesting since it's using photonics using a Gaussian Boson Sampling protocol. Rest are usually some superconducting qubits. Prices range from about $0.30 per task (think algorithm) and $0.01 per shot. You typi

IBM's Condor

[SethJohnson]

This article is fairly accessible and talks about IBM's upcoming 2023 deployment of a general purpose quantum computer called Condor [ieee.org] that will feature 1000 qubits.

So what is the largest prime number...

[KirbyCombat]

that has been factored so far?

Excerpt from SDK

[cunniff]

The "Hello World" app:

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    printf("Maybe\n");
}

Can we stop promoting broken languages please

[dsanfte]

Nobody should be promoting the use of memory-unsafe languages for anything.

Where to download it from?

[GbrDead]

Download link or it doesn't exist.