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A quantum computing startup called Quantum Machines has released a new programming language called QUA. The language runs on the startups proprietary Quantum Orchestration Platform.

Quantum Machines says its goal is to complete the stack that includes quantum computing at the very bottom-most level. Yes, those physical interactions between quantum bits (qubits) are what set quantum computers apart from traditional hardwarebut you still need the rest of the hardware that will turn physical interactions into something that will run software.

And, of course, you need the software, too. Thats where QUA comes in.

The transition from having just specific circuitsphysical circuits for specific algorithmsto the stage at which the system is programmable is the dramatic point, CEO Itavar Siman told Tech Crunch. Basically, you have a software abstraction layer and then, you get to the era of software and everything accelerated.

The language Quantum Machine describes in its materials isnt what you think of when you imagine programming, unless youre a machine language coder. Whats machine language? Thats the lowest possible level of code, where the instructions arent in natural or human language and are instead in tiny bits of direct instruction for the hardware itself.

Coder Ben Eater made a great video that walks you through a sample program written in C, which is a higher and more abstract language, and how that information translates all the way down into machine code. (Essentially, everything gets much messier and much less readable to the human eye.)

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Machine code acts as a reminder that, on a fundamental level, everything inside your computer is passing nano-Morse code back and forth to do everything you see on the screen as well as all the behind the scenes routines and coordination. Since quantum computers have a brand new paradigm for the idea of hardware itself, theres an opening for a new machine code.

Quantum Machines seems to want to build the entire quantum system, from hardware to all the software to control and highlight it. And if that sounds overly proprietary or like some unfair version of how to develop new technology, we have some bad news for you about the home PC wars of the 1980s or the market share Microsoft Windows still holds among operating systems.

By offering a package deal with something for everyone when quantum computing isnt even a twinkle in the eye of the average consumer, Quantum Machines could be making inroads that will keep it ahead for decades. A universal language, indeed.

QUA is what we believe the first candidate to become what we define as the quantum computing software abstraction layer, Sivan told TechCrunch. In 20 years, we might look back on QUA the way todays users view DOS.

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This Is the First Universal Language for Quantum Computers - Popular Mechanics