The QPL Book

Learn Quantum Computing and MBQC with the Quantum Process Language

Author

David Coldeira

Published

January 10, 2026

Welcome to The QPL Book

Learn quantum computing and Measurement-Based Quantum Computing (MBQC) using the Quantum Process Language (QPL) - a relations-first approach to quantum programming.

What You’ll Learn

This book teaches quantum computing from first principles, building up to advanced topics in MBQC and photonic quantum computing:

  • Part I: Quantum Foundations - Understand qubits, entanglement, and n-qubit systems
  • Part II: MBQC Theory - Learn cluster states, graph states, and measurement patterns
  • Part III: QPL Programming - Write quantum programs with hands-on tutorials
  • Part IV: Advanced Topics - Explore tensor networks, categorical quantum mechanics, and fault-tolerant QC

Why QPL?

Unlike gate-based quantum languages (Qiskit, Cirq, Q#), QPL treats quantum entanglement as a first-class primitive, making it natural to express:

  • Cluster states for MBQC
  • Measurement patterns for photonic quantum computers
  • Relations-first quantum algorithms
  • Graph state compilation

Prerequisites

  • Mathematics: Linear algebra, complex numbers, basic probability
  • Programming: Python basics (QPL is implemented in Python)
  • Physics: Helpful but not required - we explain quantum mechanics from scratch

How to Use This Book

For Learners

Start with Part I to build quantum foundations, then move through hands-on tutorials in Part III.

For Researchers

Jump to Part II for MBQC theory or Part IV for advanced topics like tensor networks.

For Programmers

Install QPL and dive into Part III tutorials - learn by doing!

Installation

pip install quantum-process-language

See Appendix: Installation for detailed setup instructions.

Code Examples

All code in this book is: - Executable - Run examples directly in your Python environment - Open source - Available at github.com/dcoldeira/quantum-process-language - Tested - Every example is verified to work with the latest QPL release

About the Author

David Coldeira is a scientific software engineer with a BSc in Physics, specializing in quantum programming languages and MBQC. He developed QPL to explore relations-first approaches to quantum computing.

Contributing

Found a typo? Have a suggestion? Contributions are welcome!

License

  • Text: Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0
  • Code: MIT License (same as QPL)

Let’s begin! Jump straight to hands-on tutorials: - Chapter 7: Your First Bell State - Chapter 8: Understanding GHZ States

(Foundational chapters 1-6 coming soon!)