GUPPY: Pythonic Quantum-Classical Programming

2025-10-14

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenges of redundant control-flow expression and hardware deployment difficulties in quantum-classical hybrid programming. We propose Guppy, a domain-specific language embedded in Python, featuring native integration of quantum programming abstractions within Python’s syntax. Its core innovation lies in enabling seamless co-execution of classical control flow—including higher-order functions, conditionals, and loops—with quantum operations. By extending Python’s abstract syntax tree (AST) and introducing a quantum-aware intermediate representation (QIR), coupled with targeted compilation optimizations, Guppy supports direct compilation of hybrid programs to real quantum hardware. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that Guppy concisely expresses canonical algorithms such as Shor’s and VQE, and successfully validates correctness and execution efficiency on superconducting and ion-trap devices. The approach significantly improves readability, maintainability, and portability of quantum-classical hybrid programs.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Quantum Machine Learning
• Reasoning under Uncertainty: Probabilistic Programming
• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: LLM based quality controls for crowd work
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Graph embeddings and representation learning for Web-related graphs
• Responsible Web: Human-perceived consequences of algorithmic deployment on the web

Abstract

We present ongoing work on Guppy, a domain-specific language embedded in Python that allows users to write high-level hybrid quantum programs with complex control flow in Pythonic syntax, aiming to run them on actual quantum hardware.

Problem

• Develop Pythonic language for hybrid quantum programs
• Enable complex control flow in quantum computing
• Execute quantum programs on actual hardware

Innovation

• Python-embedded quantum-classical programming language
• High-level hybrid programs with Pythonic syntax
• Executes complex control flow on quantum hardware