Quantum Programming Languages: An Introductory Overview

The present article gives an introductory overview of the novel field of quantum programming languages (QPLs) from a pragmatic perspective. First, after a short summary of basic notations of quantum mechanics, some of the goals and design issues are surveyed, which motivate the research in this area. Then, several of the approaches are described in more detail. The article concludes with a brief survey of current research activities and a tabular summary of a selection of QPLs, which have been published so far.