Quantum Programming and Quantum programming languages: the myth, reality, and possibilities

All the quantum programming languages and software currently publicized by big tech companies and government organizations as quantum are actually pseudo-quantum: there has not been invented yet a complete quantum theory by the theoreticians, nor is there any complete quantum programming language or software on the planet. None! Confused? One would wonder and ask, if there is no complete quantum program or software on the planet, then what is all the buzz and clamoring “quantum” this and quantum “that” on the internet about? Why are companies and governments investing large amount of money in quantum related technology when all that has been developed is pseudo-quantum? What does the word pseudo-quantum even mean, and what are its implications? For the first question please visit the link https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/quantum-technology-coming-introduction-field-theory-contd-wejeyan-umv4c for what it means when we physicist slams the word “quantum” behind any phenomenon or idea. And for the rest questions, stick around let’s find out.

For every technological advancement and breakthrough that hits the consumers market, the theoretical framework is first established, then there is a collaborative effort between the theoretician and the engineer to bring into motion the said advancement/breakthrough. The path this process takes isn’t always a straight line, it is filled with bends and turns, and many complications and compromises as to what is theoretically achievable and what is physically/practically feasible and applicable has to be made; it is a very tortuous path indeed, and this is the process quantum technology is going through at the moment. Forget about the trillions of dollar that these companies and governments are spending on quantum technology; the hard truth is that we are not there yet, not even close enough. What these companies and governments are doing at the moment is just expensive “branding” and buying of branding space to accommodate the eventual arrival of a complete theoretical and physically practical quantum tech.

Just like the theoretical physicist who claims that he “knows” quantum field theory, the engineers (from all nook and cranny) now claims that they can “build” something “quantum” on that which the physicist knows; whereas the mathematicians are in the background shaking their head in derision. Quantum sensors, quantum internet, quantum computers, quantum simulators are a few of the engineering possibilities that is being proposed; and there would be many more to come. Today we would focus our attention on the software engineers who has claimed that they had built a quantum computer/program and an accompanying software, and has branded it as separate and somewhat superior to classical computer programs. The question one should ask oneself is that in reality, what have they actually built?

To understand what they have built and has been branded as “quantum” computer programs and software, we need to first understand and delineate the essential characteristics and qualities of a classical computer/programs and software, and explore a few foundational requirements for classical computer programs and software. This should be easy.

One of the theoretical foundations of programming is its logic and a relational structure, which ultimately gives birth to a machine language that is interactive and consistent. The classical computer was built on a Boolean logic with a consistent relational logic gate, and a corresponding machine language or machine code in 0s and 1s which forms the relational rules of interaction of its circuits and components. Therefore, one would agree that any program and corresponding software that is built on the Boolean logical system and runs on a machine language/code of 0s and 1s should be considered as classical.

Another theoretical foundation of a classical computer is its computational capabilities and possibilities organized into a working mechanism based on a prior consistent logical-relational structure. The theoretical framework for this working mechanism was provided by Allan Turing, and the subsequent invention of the Turing machine: so once again, we should agree that any computer program that executes its computations using the Turing machine’s mechanism is classical. We would at this point limit our assessment of what a quantum computer and a pseudo-quantum computer is on these two theoretical foundations, since it is on this that all contemporary computer and software engineers has been able to organize, design and build the classical computer and its corresponding programing languages.

TO BE CONTINUED …

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