The purpose of this page is to collect resources to help you learn to program with Qiskit.
- There is a decent open source textbook available online that is pretty good for learning the basics of the software. I haven't found it as helpful with learning about quantum computing, but the PCMI library should have resources on that. The interface can be frustrating since the page can time out while you are reading, which makes the computation cells no longer work.
- In 2020, Qiskit put together a short Introduction to Quantum Computing course (three hours). I haven't looked at it closely so please let me know what you think!
- A great first book on quantum computing is Quantum computing for everyone by Chris Bernhardt. It is available online for very cheap if you Google.
Get started: To begin, make an account with IBM to access the quantum computers and the compilers.
Book recommendations: Here are three books I recommend for learning more about quantum computing, in order of how beginner-friendly they are:
- Quantum computing for everyone by Bernhardt (MIT press)
- Quantum computing: A gentle introduction by Rieffel and Polar (MIT press)
- Quantum computation and quantum information by Nielsen and Chuang (Cambridge)
IBM Quantum Challenges:
- IBM Quantum Challenge 2019: The final challenge is to implement Grover's algorithm to figure out where to build convenience stores in a fictitious city. There are steps to guide you to learn the skills you will need to solve the challenge.
- IBM Quantum Challenge 2020: The final challenge is to implement Grover's algorithm to find the solution to games of Asteroids. There are steps to guide you to learn the skills you will need to solve the challenge.
Algorithms to study:
- Grover's algorithm (covered in both IBM Quantum Challenges above)
- Shor's algorithm: I learned this algorithm from the Shor's algorithm article on Wikipedia, which has a very decent treatment.
If your goal is to use a real quantum computer: You will need to get to Section 3.2 of the Qiskit textbook, and to have an IBM Quantum account. You do not need to read every section though, it's enough to read Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, and 3.1.
Study group: A few students are learning about quantum random walks, which are covered in Chapter 16 of Andrew Childs's Quantum Algorithms book. The goal is to work on quantum random walks on isogeny graphs of supersingular elliptic curves to hash into the supersingular isogeny graph.