TOOLKITS FROM THE BIG GUYS

To program yourself requires the standard called OpenQASM. This is the basis for all development kits.

Many groups have developed toolkits using this standard. The bestknown ones are from IBM, D-Wave, and Microsoft.

IBM decided to use Python to create Qiskit, and you can download this kit from Github. It also has many sources and demonstration collections available. You can learn all about the current development state from there.

In both Eclipse and Netbeans, all you need to do is import the code into a project and explore. Don’t forget to install Python 3.5 or higher before you try to compile. IBM’s QE has these examples in its Python toolkit. When you have the sources installed, you can only run simulations on your own computer. If you want to run on a real quantum computer, you need to get an account on the IBM Q Experience. The setup is simple: All you need to do is open an account and get your API token from your account. Then copy it into the “Qconfig.py” file of the project you’re working on. There’s a credit system for using the real machines, so simulate until you’re certain that you’ve got it right. If you’re really clever, you may be able to gain expertise level. In that case, you can obtain more units to run experiments.

If you’re using Visual Studio, you can download the Qvis file and add the extension. You still need Python support, though.