<p>Yes, quantum computation is a generalization of usual computation. To be more specific, we can set the superposition of bits a QC device works on to not be a superposition of bits at all, but regular old bits.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-29T23:24:36.677Z
Thank you for answering and sorry for not asking it in the right place. Clear and good answer. Thanks again.
icedgoal
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-28T01:12:13.563Z
2012-04-28T01:12:13.563Z
Roberto
<p>I believe that we won't see quantum computers until at least a decade from now. I had asked my professor same question once and he said expecting them in a decade in also optimistic. (He works in cryptography, post-quantum cryptography etc).</p>

<p>So the question of porting the software becomes kind of way into the future.</p>

<p>But from a theoretical perspective it is hard to say if the software can be ported as we don't have a proof that the Quantum Computation model is equivalent to Turing Machine model of computation. {As per my knowledge}. 
So the problem remains open!</p>

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2012-04-28T14:02:31.637Z
Yes we do.  See Bernstein and Vazirani.
Jeffε
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-28T00:10:18.533Z
2012-04-28T00:10:18.533Z
Vinay
<p>I'm not sure if this should go here, so my apologies. The fact is that lately I have heard a lot about quantum computers and that they are not that far away. As it is a totally new technology, which changes from the ground, I'm wondering if the actual software could be reused. Could compilers be moved there? Could Linux be run? I'm guessing no, because of the architecture, but one never knows, as it is a relatively new technology.</p>

<p>It may seem a stupid question, but I'm not really informed about it, besides the small and short information released by the media and some scientifics.</p>

<p>It would be awesome if someone could clarify it for me.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-28T01:53:20.827Z
Welcome to CSTheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please see the [FAQ] for more information on what is meant by this and suggestions for sites that might welcome your question. Finally, if your question is closed for being out of scope, and you believe you can edit the question to make it a research-level question, please feel free to do so. Closing is not permanent and questions can be reopened, check the [FAQ] for more information.
Marcos Villagra
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2012-04-28T14:39:32.003Z
QM computers are "turing complete" and theres your answer. the question that research is trying to answer is whether the classical algorithms can be _sped up_ which is a very advanced question with a lot of advanced answers, but not entirely a unified theory yet.
vzn
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-28T22:06:45.667Z
Could we change this question to something more theoretical? Like are there any general methods on a quantum computer that we could use to speed up a classical algorithm?
Joshua Herman
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2012-04-28T22:53:37.483Z
@Joshua Herman: Your question is completely different from the current question.  If you are interested in what you wrote, please ask it as a separate question.
Tsuyoshi Ito
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2012-04-29T18:20:04.017Z
i am guessing the linux kernel will need to be ported :D
Sasho Nikolov
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2012-05-01T01:32:08.080Z
@icedgoal: Your question is not stupid, but I do not think that it is a question in theoretical computer science.  “Can a quantum computer simulate a classical computer?” is a question in theoretical computer science (although it might be too elementary on cstheory.stackexchange.com), but it is not very relevant here.  An operating system made for one classical computer does not necessarily run on another _classical_ computer, even if they can theoretically simulate each other!
Tsuyoshi Ito
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-21T23:55:04.050Z
@TsuyoshiIto Thank you for your response. I'm not really informed about quantum computer nor it does seem to be a webpage with a lot of information about it. I honestly don't know where I could ask this type of questions.
icedgoal
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-22T00:34:19.493Z
You might want to participate in [cs.stackexchange.com](http://cs.stackexchange.com/), whose scope is broader than cstheory.stackexchange.com.  (I cannot guarantee that the question is good on that website.  Please use your own judgment.)
Tsuyoshi Ito
<quantum-computing><software><ar.hardware-architecture>
Will we be able to use the current software in quantum computers?
icedgoal
# Will we be able to use the current software in quantum computers?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-04-27)

I'm not sure if this should go here, so my apologies. The fact is that lately I have heard a lot about quantum computers and that they are not that far away. As it is a totally new technology, which changes from the ground, I'm wondering if the actual software could be reused. Could compilers be moved there? Could Linux be run? I'm guessing no, because of the architecture, but one never knows, as it is a relatively new technology.

It may seem a stupid question, but I'm not really informed about it, besides the small and short information released by the media and some scientifics.

It would be awesome if someone could clarify it for me.

**Tags:** quantum-computing, software, ar.hardware-architecture

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to CSTheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please see the [FAQ] for more information on what is meant by this and suggestions for sites that might welcome your question. Finally, if your question is closed for being out of scope, and you believe you can edit the question to make it a research-level question, please feel free to do so. Closing is not permanent and questions can be reopened, check the [FAQ] for more information.  
> **username_2**: QM computers are "turing complete" and theres your answer. the question that research is trying to answer is whether the classical algorithms can be _sped up_ which is a very advanced question with a lot of advanced answers, but not entirely a unified theory yet.  
> **username_3**: Could we change this question to something more theoretical? Like are there any general methods on a quantum computer that we could use to speed up a classical algorithm?  
> **username_4**: @username_3: Your question is completely different from the current question.  If you are interested in what you wrote, please ask it as a separate question.  
> **username_5**: i am guessing the linux kernel will need to be ported :D  
> **username_4**: @username_0: Your question is not stupid, but I do not think that it is a question in theoretical computer science.  “Can a quantum computer simulate a classical computer?” is a question in theoretical computer science (although it might be too elementary on cstheory.stackexchange.com), but it is not very relevant here.  An operating system made for one classical computer does not necessarily run on another _classical_ computer, even if they can theoretically simulate each other!  
> **username_0**: @TsuyoshiIto Thank you for your response. I'm not really informed about quantum computer nor it does seem to be a webpage with a lot of information about it. I honestly don't know where I could ask this type of questions.  
> **username_4**: You might want to participate in [cs.stackexchange.com](http://cs.stackexchange.com/), whose scope is broader than cstheory.stackexchange.com.  (I cannot guarantee that the question is good on that website.  Please use your own judgment.)  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2012-04-28. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Yes, quantum computation is a generalization of usual computation. To be more specific, we can set the superposition of bits a QC device works on to not be a superposition of bits at all, but regular old bits.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for answering and sorry for not asking it in the right place. Clear and good answer. Thanks again.  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2012-04-28. Score: -3

I believe that we won't see quantum computers until at least a decade from now. I had asked my professor same question once and he said expecting them in a decade in also optimistic. (He works in cryptography, post-quantum cryptography etc).

So the question of porting the software becomes kind of way into the future.

But from a theoretical perspective it is hard to say if the software can be ported as we don't have a proof that the Quantum Computation model is equivalent to Turing Machine model of computation. {As per my knowledge}.
So the problem remains open!

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: Yes we do.  See Bernstein and Vazirani.  

---

