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Towards a Set of Metrics for Quantum Circuits Understandability

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Book cover Quality of Information and Communications Technology (QUATIC 2021)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1439))

Abstract

Quantum computing is the basis of a new revolution. Several quantum computers are already available and, with them, quantum programming languages, quantum software development kits and platforms, quantum error correction and optimization tools are proposed and presented continuously. In connection with this, disciplines such as the Quantum Software Engineering are appearing for applying the knowledge acquired through time in their corresponding classical relatives. Besides, measurement is well known as a key factor for assessing, and improving if needed, the quality of any model in terms of, for instance, its understandability. The easier to understand a model is, the easier to maintain, reuse, etc. In this work, we present the definition of a set of metrics for assessing the understandability of quantum circuits. Some examples of the calculation of the metrics are also presented. This is just the beginning of a more thorough process in which they will be empirically validated by the performance of empirical studies, especially experiments.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://algassert.com/quirk.

  2. 2.

    https://qiskit.org/.

  3. 3.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2019/11/23/quantum-volume-a-yardstick-to-measure-the-power-of-quantum-computers/?sh=1b74bacd5bf4.

  4. 4.

    Other is referred to any other single-qubit gate which is not any of the Pauli nor a Hadamard gate.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the aQuantum members, especially Guido Peterssen and Pepe Hevia, for their help and support. This work was partially funded by the “QHealth: Quantum Pharmacogenomics Applied to Aging” project, part of the 2020 CDTI Missions Program (Center for the Development of Industrial Technology of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain) and the GEMA and TESTIMO projects, funded by “Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes de la Junta de Comunidades de Castilla La Mancha” and “Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional FEDER” under Grants SBPLY/17/180501/000293 (GEMA) and SBPLY/17/180501/000503 (TESTIMO).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Technologies and Information Systems and Escuela Superior de Informática, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain

    José A. Cruz-Lemus, Luis A. Marcelo & Mario Piattini

Authors
  1. José A. Cruz-Lemus
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  2. Luis A. Marcelo
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  3. Mario Piattini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to José A. Cruz-Lemus .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Ana C. R. Paiva

  2. Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Paris, France

    Ana Rosa Cavalli

  3. University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Paula Ventura Martins

  4. University of Castila-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Ricardo Pérez-Castillo

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Cruz-Lemus, J.A., Marcelo, L.A., Piattini, M. (2021). Towards a Set of Metrics for Quantum Circuits Understandability. In: Paiva, A.C.R., Cavalli, A.R., Ventura Martins, P., Pérez-Castillo, R. (eds) Quality of Information and Communications Technology. QUATIC 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1439. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85347-1_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85347-1_18

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85347-1

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