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Toward a Quantum Software Engineering

Mario G. Piattini, Manuel Serrano, Ricardo Pérez‐Castillo, Guido Petersen, José Luis Hevia

Published Jan 1, 2021• 113 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Nowadays, we are at the dawn of a new age, the quantum era. Quantum computing is no longer a dream; it is a reality that needs to be adopted. But this new technology is taking its first steps, so we still do not have models, standards, or methods to help us in the creation of new systems and the migration of current ones. Given the current state of quantum computing, we need to go back to the path software engineering took in the last century to achieve the new golden age for quantum software engineering.

DOI
10.1109/mitp.2020.3019522

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Nowadays, we are at the dawn of a new age, the quantum era. Quantum computing is no longer a dream; it is a reality that needs to be adopted. But this new technology is taking its first steps, so we still do not have models, standards, or methods to help us in the creation of new systems and the migration of current ones. Given the current state of quantum computing, we need to go back to the path software engineering took in the last century to achieve the new golden age for quantum software engineering.
Quantum computing is no longer only a scientific interest but is rapidly becoming an industrially available technology that can potentially overcome the limits of classical computation. Over the last years, all major companies have provided frameworks and programming languages that allow developers to create their quantum applications. This shift has led to the definition of a new discipline called quantum software engineering, which is demanded to define novel methods for engineering large-scale quantum applications. While the research community is successfully embracing this call, we notice a lack of systematic investigations into the state of the practice of quantum programming. Understanding the challenges that quantum developers face is vital to precisely define the aims of quantum software engineering. Hence, in this paper, we first mine all the GitHub repositories that make use of the most used quantum programming frameworks currently on the market and then conduct coding analysis sessions to produce a taxonomy of the purposes for which quantum technologies are used. In the second place, we conduct a survey study that involves the contributors of the considered repositories, which aims to elicit the developers' opinions on the current adoption and challenges of quantum programming. On the one hand, the results highlight that the current adoption of quantum programming is still limited. On the other hand, there are many challenges that the software engineering community should carefully consider: these do not strictly pertain to technical concerns but also socio-technical matters.
Quantum computing is no longer just a scientific curiosity; it is rapidly evolving into a commercially viable technology that has the potential to surpass the limitations of classical computation. As a result of this transition, a new discipline known as quantum software engineering has emerged, which is needed to describe unique methodologies for developing large-scale quantum applications. In the pursue of building this new body of knowledge, we undertake a mining study to elicit the purposes quantum programming is being used for, and steer further research.
Quantum computing is no longer just a scientific curiosity; it is rapidly evolving into a commercially viable technology that has the potential to surpass the limitations of classical computation. As a result of this transition, a new discipline known as quantum software engineering has emerged, which is needed to describe unique methodologies for developing large-scale quantum applications. In the pursue of building this new body of knowledge, we undertake a mining study to elicit the purposes quantum programming is being used for, and steer further research.
Quantum computing, and to an even greater extent quantum technology, is changing the world. Quantum computing is not an evolution of classical computer science; it is actually a revolution that completely changes the computing paradigm. Quantum computers are based on the principles of quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement, and they seek to boost computational power exponentially. Many problems that have until now been impossible to solve, in practical terms, might very well be able to be addressed by means of quantum computing. The fact is that at the present time quantum computing is influencing most business sectors and research fields, due to its various promising applications. To make such applications become reality, quantum algorithms must be specially coded for these extremely different computers. Although some well-known quantum algorithms already exist, the need for quantum software will increase dramatically in the next years. In that context, quantum software has to be produced in a more industrial and controlled way, i.e., aspects such as quality, delivery, project management, or evolution of quantum software must be addressed. We are sure that quantum computing will be the main driver for a new software engineering golden age during the present decade of the 2020s.
Victor Hugo's timeless observation, "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come", resonates today as Quantum Computing, once only a dream of a physicist, stands at the threshold of reality with the potential to revolutionise the world. To comprehend the surge of attention it commands today, one must delve into the motivations that birthed and nurtured Quantum Computing. While the past of Quantum Computing provides insights into the present, the future could unfold through the lens of Quantum Software Engineering. Quantum Software Engineering, guided by its principles and methodologies investigates the most effective ways to interact with Quantum Computers to unlock their true potential and usher in a new era of possibilities. To gain insight into the present landscape and anticipate the trajectory of Quantum Computing and Quantum Software Engineering, this paper embarks on a journey through their evolution and outlines potential directions for future research. By doing so, we aim to equip readers (ideally software engineers and computer scientists not necessarily with quantum expertise) with the insights necessary to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of Quantum Computing and anticipate the trajectories that lie ahead.
Software is a critical factor in the reliability of computer systems. While the development of hardware is assisted by mature science and engineering disciplines, software science is still in its infancy. This situation is likely to worsen in the future with quantum computer systems. Actually, if quantum computing is quickly coming of age, with potential groundbreaking impacts on many different fields, such benefits come at a price: quantum programming is hard and finding new quantum algorithms is far from straightforward. Thus, the need for suitable formal techniques in quantum software development is even bigger than in classical computation. A lack of reliable approaches to quantum computer programming will put at risk the expected quantum advantage of the new hardware. This position paper argues for the need for a proper quantum software engineering discipline benefiting from precise foundations and calculi, capable of supporting algorithm development and analysis.