Programming a Gate-based Quantum Computer: a Comparative Analysis of the Software Development Kits for Circuit Design Automation

The rapid development of gate-based Quantum Computers has opened new possibilities for solving complex computational problems. However, programming these quantum systems has to deal with new challenges due to the fundamental differences between classical and Quantum Computing paradigms. This thesis presents a comparative analysis of Software Development Kits (SDKs) conceived for circuit design automation in gate-based quantum computers. The objective of this research is to evaluate and compare the capabilities, features, and usability of existing SDKs focusing on the functionalities such as allowing users to define quantum circuits, apply gate operations, and simulate their behaviour.   Apart from the widely adopted frameworks such as Qiskit, TKET, and Cirq, the analysis also includes the recently developed SDK from the University of Padua: Quantum Matcha Tea. The comparative analysis is conducted through a series of experiments and benchmarks performed on each SDK having as central points the programming interfaces usability, the documentation completeness, and the availability of support provided by the vendor or the related developer community. Another goal of this work is to explore the efficiency and flexibility of the various SDKs in handling common quantum computing tasks, such as quantum circuit design, gate operation, and circuit execution both on simulators and real quantum hardware.   The ambition of this comparative analysis is to give useful insights to researchers, developers, and practitioners in order to identify strengths and weaknesses of different SDKs depending on the specific requirements of the algorithms that need to be implemented. Additionally, the research aims to contribute to the advancement of SDKs by identifying areas of improvement and potential future directions in the development of quantum programming tools.