Chances are good that you heard about quantum computing before you started reading this book. The core components of quantum computing are rooted in a mind-boggling scientific discipline called quantum physics. The potential consequences of quantum computing are huge and will have a deep impact on our society, including the areas of security, finance, and science. As a consequence, you can read about quantum computing in specialized scientific papers as well as in popular lifestyle magazines.
But what does quantum computing mean for developers involved in computing today? This book talks about the potential impact of quantum computing on the life of developers.
In part 1, we briefly explain the concepts and consequences of quantum computing so that we can narrow it down to the parts that are relevant to developers. We first introduce the basic ideas; then, in chapter 2, you learn how to create a simple Java application that uses quantum computing. We introduce the Strange library, which allows you to keep programming in Java (or other high-level languages) and still use quantum concepts. Chapter 3 introduces a fundamental unit of quantum computing: the qubit.