Ep 3. Introduction to Quantum Libraries

Quantum computing is an exciting growing field! Hence, a lot of libs are being developed to make it easy for anyone to get into quantum computing.

Quantum Market

In the quantum market, numerous tech giants and startups have developed comprehensive libraries for Quantum Computing. This includes but not limited to Google’s Cirq, Rigetti’s Forest, IBM’s Qiskit, and Xanadu’s Pennylane, each built with their unique advantages and capabilities. Two notable libraries are IBM’s Qiskit and Xanadu’s PennyLane.

IBM’s Qiskit

Qiskit, provided by IBM, offers a robust and user-friendly platform for quantum computing – from writing quantum programs to executing them on simulated or real quantum hardware. It is accessible and feature-rich, making quantum experimentation more feasible.

To install Qiskit, you need a Python environment and you can install it via pip:

!pip install qiskit

Let’s create a simple quantum circuit with Qiskit:

from qiskit import QuantumCircuit

# Initialize a quantum circuit with 2 qubits
qc = QuantumCircuit(2)

# Apply a Hadamard gate to the first qubit
qc.h(0)

# Apply a CNOT gate
qc.cx(0, 1)

# Visualize the circuit
print(qc)

Xanadu’s PennyLane

PennyLane, provided by Xanadu, is another powerful quantum library that promotes quantum machine learning by integrating with existing machine learning libraries. Its hybrid quantum-classical computations capability is a game-changer.

You can install PennyLane via pip:

!pip install pennylane

Let’s create a simple quantum circuit with PennyLane:

import pennylane as qml

# Create a device to execute the circuit
dev = qml.device('default.qubit', wires=2)

@qml.qnode(dev)
def quantum_circuit():
    qml.Hadamard(wires=0)
    qml.CNOT(wires=[0, 1])
    return qml.expval(qml.PauliZ(0) @ qml.PauliZ(1))

result = quantum_circuit()

print(result)

Why Use These Quantum Libraries

There are several reasons why IBM’s Qiskit and Xanadu’s Pennylane stand out among the many quantum libraries:

1. Ease of Use: Both Qiskit and PennyLane are designed with user-friendly interfaces, making them accessible for beginners and experts alike.

2. Interoperability: Particularly with PennyLane’s focus on quantum machine learning, these libraries can smoothly interact with classic machine learning tools, fostering the creation of hybrid algorithms.

3. Versatility: PennyLane distinguishes itself with its versatile capabilities and seamless integration with various quantum service providers. It supports various systems ranging from IonQ, IBMQ, and Rigetti to GPU-based quantum simulators from NVIDIA. On the other hand, Qiskit is deeply integrated with IBM’s ecosystem, providing full support and access to IBM’s advanced quantum computers. This ensures optimized performances and features when operating on IBM’s quantum hardware.

4. Community Support: Both libraries are open-source and have strong community support, offering rich resources and opportunities for collaborative development.

5. Robust Documentation and Tutorials: Both Qiskit and PennyLane have extensive documentation and offer tutorials that ease the learning process for developers venturing into quantum programming.