Code clone detection solved using a quantum computing algorithm.

What is it about?

This paper proposes a new way to approach software engineering problems using quantum annealers, and quantum computers in general, by showcasing a novel algorithm for the graph/ sub-graph isomorphism problem by formulating it as an optimization problem and solving it using a quantum annealer. My hope is that this novel approach provokes the research and utilization of quantum computers for software engineering and programming languages domains.

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Photo by Dan Cristian Pădureț on Unsplash

Photo by Dan Cristian Pădureț on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Quantum computers are becoming a reality. The advantage of quantum computing is that it has the potential to solve computationally complex problems in a fixed amount time, independent of the size of the problem. However, the kinds of problems for which these computers are a good fit, and the ways to express those problems, are substantially different from the kinds of problems and expressions used in classical computing. Quantum annealers, in particular, are currently the most promising and available quantum computing devices in the short term. However, they are also the most foreign compared to classical programs, as they require a different kind of computational thinking. The motivation behind this research goes well beyond code duplicate detection: this novel approach to thinking about software engineering problems paves the way into how to express software engineering problems as optimization problems that can be solved using quantum annealers.