Lisp software like QUILC (linked) and Python software like Qiskit.
They have the role of taking general quantum programs (usually called "quantum circuits"), and translating+optimizing them for a particular quantum computer architecture (i.e., one that might only have a small number of supported quantum operations).
It's analogous to a language like C having a compiler (written in Lisp or Python) for ARM and x86.
I hesitate to give quantitative estimates without citations, but to throw a bone, something like: <2 years for Lisp by a small team of 4 relative newcomers. >4 years for Python by a larger team of >10 expert people. The software still does not have feature or performance parity.
They have the role of taking general quantum programs (usually called "quantum circuits"), and translating+optimizing them for a particular quantum computer architecture (i.e., one that might only have a small number of supported quantum operations).
It's analogous to a language like C having a compiler (written in Lisp or Python) for ARM and x86.