Blackbird Quantum Assembly Language ###################################
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Blackbird is a quantum assembly language for continuous-variable quantum computation, that can be used to program Xanadu's quantum photonics hardware and Strawberry Fields simulator.
The Blackbird repository contains three separate packages:
src: The Blackbird grammar specification in enhanced Brackus-Naur form
blackbird_python: to develop Blackbird parsers for integration with Python programs
blackbird_cpp: libraries and header files needed to develop Blackbird
parsers for integration with C++ programs
All of these packages are independent, and can be installed separately without depending on one-another. However, if the grammar is ever modified, there is a command for updating the autogenerated parts of the Python and C++ parsers.
In addition, this repository contains:
example: Example Blackbird scripts
apps: Example Python/C++ applications using the above parsers
Blackbird is a development library, designed to easily integrate Blackbird code into applications and interfaces.
To get the Blackbird grammar installed and running on your system, begin at the grammar installation guide <https://quantum-blackbird.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installing.html>. Then, familiarize yourself with the Blackbird's syntax and grammar <https://quantum-blackbird.readthedocs.io/en/latest/syntax.html> for specifying photonic quantum circuits. You can even generate Blackbird parsers for any target language supported
by ANTLR, including Java, C#, JavaScript, Go, and Swift.
If you only want to develop an application that makes use of the Python parser <https://quantum-blackbird.readthedocs.io/en/latest/blackbird_python/init.html>_ or the C++ parser <https://quantum-blackbird.readthedocs.io/en/latest/blackbird_cpp/overview.html>_, you can go directly to those sections and their corresponding installation guides.
If you are doing research using Blackbird, please cite
Nathan Killoran, Josh Izaac, Nicolás Quesada, Ville Bergholm, Matthew Amy, and Christian Weedbrook.
*Strawberry Fields: A Software Platform for Photonic Quantum Computing* 2018. `arXiv:1804.03159 <https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.03159>`_If you are having issues, please let us know by posting the issue on our Github issue tracker.
Blackbird is free and open source, released under the Apache License, Version 2.0.