During its Ignite 2017 keynote, Microsoft showcased a number of short-term announcements centered around the likes of Microsoft 365, commercial Windows 10 S machines, and more. However, the company also tipped its hand a bit more on one long-term, industry-wide bet: quantum computing.
Microsoft has been working on aspects of building a quantum computing ecosystem for some time, but today it announced one of the first practical applications for developers, a quantum computing programming language. The language will be "deeply integrated into Visual Studio," Microsoft says, so you won't need to be a quantum computing expert to use it. In the short term, code from the language will run in a quantum simulator. However, in the future, programs built with the programming language will be able to run on actual topological quantum computers. From Microsoft:
The system, which will be available as a free preview by the end of the year, also includes libraries and tutorials so developers can familiarize themselves with quantum computing. It's designed to work at a higher level of abstraction, so that developers without quantum expertise can actually call quantum subroutines, or write sequences of programming instructions, working up to writing a complete quantum program.
Quantum computing is seen as the next big frontier in computing, as it would theoretically enable incredibly fast calculations for things that would take years, centuries, or even, Microsoft says, "the lifetime of the universe" to calculate with even the most advanced examples of our current technology. That could open up doors to solving extremely complex problems involved with healthcare or energy, for example. One immediately tangible impact it could have, Microsoft says, is in drastically speeding up the time it takes to process an AI training algorithm.
We're still far away from quantum computing hitting any mainstream use. However, if you're a developer, you can sign up to participate in Microsoft's quantum language preview now.
Microsoft's 'do more' vision of quantum computing
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Update 4: Trump gives blessing to TikTok sale to Microsoft
TikTok may soon be owned by Microsoft. The company is reportedly in talks to buy out the U.S. portion of TikTok amid a rumored Trump administration order for TikTok owner Bytedance to divest. On Monday, President Trump says he does not oppose the sale so long as it is done by September 15.
Microsoft, it's time to speak up about Project xCloud on iOS
With Project xCloud iOS seemingly on hold due to Apple and its App Store restrictions, it’s time for Microsoft to finally speak out.
Review: Horizon Zero Dawn is on the PC now, and it's amazing
One of the greatest PlayStation games in recent memory has come to Steam, all ready to delight a whole new group of people.
Complete list of Xbox One Dolby Atmos games
Dolby Atmos creates a realistic, immersive soundscape, but is not featured in every game. These are all Xbox One games with baked-in Dolby Atmos support so far.
