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Microsoft Launches Open-Source Quantum Katas Project On GitHub To Teach Q# Programming (betanews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the come-and-get-it dept.

BrianFagioli shares a report from BetaNews: Microsoft seems eager to get programmers on the quantum bandwagon, as today, it launched the open-source Quantum Katas on GitHub. What exactly is it? It is essentially a project deigned to teach Q# programming for free. "For those who want to explore quantum computing and learn the Q# programming language at their own pace, we have created the Quantum Katas -- an open-source project containing a series of programming exercises that provide immediate feedback as you progress," says The Microsoft Quantum Team. "Coding katas are great tools for learning a programming language. They rely on several simple learning principles: active learning, incremental complexity growth, and feedback."

The team further says, "The Microsoft Quantum Katas are a series of self-paced tutorials aimed at teaching elements of quantum computing and Q# programming at the same time. Each kata offers a sequence of tasks on a certain quantum computing topic, progressing from simple to challenging. Each task requires you to fill in some code; the first task might require just one line, and the last one might require a sizable fragment of code. A testing framework validates your solutions, providing real-time feedback." You can view the project on GitHub here.

16 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. Microsoft is poorly managed, in some areas. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    There are many indications of lack of social ability at Microsoft, in my opinion. One example: Don't give a product a name that can't be spelled easily with letters from the alphabet.

    "Q#" is not a sensible name. "Q Sharp" is not a sensible name. When someone hears the name for the 1st time, will they think it is "Cue Sharp"?

    One product should not have 2 names.

    1. Re:Microsoft is poorly managed, in some areas. by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      Exactly. That is why languages like C and C++ and C# never caught on and things like Rust did.

    2. Re:Microsoft is poorly managed, in some areas. by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      "Q#" is not a sensible name. "Q Sharp" is not a sensible name. When someone hears the name for the 1st time, will they think it is "Cue Sharp"?

      . . . and here I read it as "Q hash" . . . as in, "Don't Bogart the bong, Captain Picard!"

      Can you do Q# on Linux . . . ? Or do you need a Windows Phone for it . . . ?

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  2. Is this like a cart, or like a horse? by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    Don't they need a use case for the solution before they know what features they need?

    The reason that:

    Quantum computers will be able to do calculations that we can only dream about today, potentially...

    is that we don't know yet what they can do that is useful. Of course we can only dream about it when we don't know what we want it to do!

    Once somebody builds something powerful enough to do something, then it gets more interesting to ask what people can do with it. What exact features does the system have? Don't know, building them is still too hard to say! Presumably the feature-set that works at scale will be a different one than the one that isn't very useful yet.

  3. Blue Cat Of Death by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    or maybe not

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  4. Re:Trump will die a traitor in Federal Prison by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Well, if you perfect your Q# scripts, then maybe That Orange Guy will merely end up part of somebody else's universe.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  5. sharp objects ahead. by nimbius · · Score: 2, Insightful

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    That. That is the original Q. I, nor anyone else working in AI or machine learning, have the slightest fucking idea what Q# is other than yet another attempt by microsoft to embrace, extend, extinguish a language.

    you'd think after 30 years of this shit they'd learn to quit.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:sharp objects ahead. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      That. That is the original Q. I, nor anyone else working in AI or machine learning, have the slightest fucking idea what Q# is other than yet another attempt by microsoft to embrace, extend, extinguish a language.

      you'd think after 30 years of this shit they'd learn to quit.

      The Q language has nothing to do with quantum computing (other than both their names start with a Q).

    2. Re:sharp objects ahead. by BitterOak · · Score: 1

      The Q language has nothing to do with quantum computing (other than both their names start with a Q).

      And more to the point, Q and Q# have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The similarity in names is purely coincidence: they are unrelated.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
    3. Re:sharp objects ahead. by spongman · · Score: 1

      > I, nor anyone else working in AI or machine learning, have the slightest fucking idea what Q# is

      yeah, if only someone would post a helpful article with links to introductory material, maybe the source code. _something_ at least, jeez!

    4. Re:sharp objects ahead. by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      I got caught up in the idea of "learning a language for free", think about that for a moment. Learning for free, so basically as far as M$ is concerned my time is free, my effort is free, my worth is zero. This stuff is getting annoying, corporations thinking your time, your work, your efforts are worth nothing and to be exploited for free.

      I don't learn for free, it takes real time and real effort. A really funny thing when you think about it, "we ran the first Q# coding contest and the response was tremendous. More than 650 participants from all over the world joined the contest", so with 131,000 employees https://news.microsoft.com/fac... only 650 could be fucked entering the competition, fuck M$'s own staff hate it.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  6. Re:Okay let's issue Microsoft press releases on Sl by Riceballsan · · Score: 1, Troll

    Oh they absolutely are embracing open source. It's just something that should make us more worried. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  7. An interesting opportunity by Camembert · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I had a very quick look at the tutorials overview and contents. Despite the cynism here on the forum, I find this initiative an interesting and laudable way to learn about a fascinating topic. It sure is very different and difficult to grasp, but probably worth spending effort on, even if only for personal enrichment.

    1. Re:An interesting opportunity by spongman · · Score: 1

      wow. someone actually rtfa'd.

  8. Re:Okay let's issue Microsoft press releases on Sl by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

    You, DO you realize that 33% of Azure is running Linux, right?
    * http://www.zdnet.com/article/l...

    And they even support Linux hosting!
    * https://azure.microsoft.com/en...

  9. Re:Whaaat? From EULA... to CLA by barryvoeten · · Score: 1

    This is why I abandoned the Microbit. An IoT device connected to the MS Cloud. They have : you gave granted us the perpetual worldwide license to everything.

    http://microbit.org/terms-of-u...
    >> In addition, in using the micro:bit services to create contributions, you grant the Foundation a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual licence for the Foundation to use, reproduce, modify, communicate to the public, create derivative works, display, perform, sub-license and distribute the contributions in any way that the Foundation requires.

    Note: mis spelled word License in the quote above says it all.