Created by researchers at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Twist is a programming language for quantum computing.
Twist was introduced to the public in January 2022, and published in the journal Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages in February 2022. The lead developers are Adam Chlipala and Arjun Guha.
Quantum computers are difficult to program. The language was designed to make it easier for developers to write and debug quantum programs by providing features that track and control the entanglement of data. Entanglement is a programming phenomenon unique to quantum computing that allows two pieces of data to be linked so that actions on one affect the other, even when they are physically separated. This can serve to enable powerful quantum algorithms, but it can also introduce bugs and effects that are difficult to determine.
Twist has a type system that allows developers to specify which expressions and pieces of data are pure, meaning free from entanglement, which can avoid errors and improve the reliability of the code. The language includes purity assertion operators that allow developers to affirm that an expression is not entangled with any other piece of data, verifying the correctness of the program and detecting bugs early. Static analyses and run-time checks enforce its purity assertions, preventing unwanted entanglement.
As of this writing, however, Twist is a relatively new and experimental language that has not yet been widely tested or adopted by the quantum computing community. It may prove to be incompatible or interoperable with other quantum programming languages or frameworks that have different approaches, and, as with several other new programming languages, it may require learning new concepts or syntax not familiar to classical programmers.
Nevertheless, should any of these potential problems present, it is likely that its developers will be able to correct them, although learning new concepts comes with the task of learning any new programming language.
Fred Chong, the Seymour Goodman Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago, says, of the language, "Twist takes a big step towards making quantum programming easier by guaranteeing that the quantum bits in a pure piece of code cannot be altered by bits not in that code."
Recommended Resources
Meet Twist: MIT's Quantum Programming Language
Published by IEEE Spectrum, a technology magazine and the flagship publication of the IEEE, a professional organization devoted to engineering and the applied sciences, the article on the Twist programming language was written by Rina Diane Caballar and published on February 18, 2022, shortly after the language's introduction by MIT. The article discusses the development of the new language, particularly its promised remedies for eliminating entanglements in quantum programming.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/quantum-programming-language-twist
MIT News: A New Language for Quantum Computing
In this news item from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on January 24, 2022, Twist, an MIT-developed programming language that can describe and verify which pieces of data are entangled to prevent bugs in a quantum program, is introduced by Rachel Gordon, one of the developers of the language. In the article, she describes the problems posed by entanglement in quantum programming and discusses how Twist was designed to circumvent this potential problem.
https://news.mit.edu/2022/new-language-quantum-computing-twist-0124
MIT's Quantum Programming Language "Twist" Aims to Redefine Tech
MIT's Quantum Programming Language "Twist" Aims to Redefine Tech Written by Sayantani Sanyal, and published on Analytics Insight, a print and digital publication focused on artificial intelligence, big data, and analytics, on February 25, 2022, shortly after the introduction of the programming language. In the article, MIT's quantum programming language is highlighted, focusing on its type system that allows developers to specify which pieces of code are pure.
https://www.analyticsinsight.net/mits-quantum-programming-language-twist-aims-to-redefine-tech/
Twist: MIT's New Programming Language for Quantum Computing
Developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a new quantum programming language known as "Twist" is the focus of this article by Rachel Gordon (MIT, CSAIL), published on SciTechDaily, a science and technology new site. Written by one of the language's programmers, the article was published on January 26, 2022, introducing the language and the promises that it offers for quantum programming while discussing its development and features.
https://scitechdaily.com/twist-mits-new-programming-language-for-quantum-computing/
