We Talk Coding

What programming language should I start out with?

I am completely new to all programming (with the exception of HTML), but I'm a fairly advanced computer user and I learn quickly. What language do you suggest I start learning? Also, if you can post any links to good tutorials for your suggested language, that would be great. I don't mean a web language, I mean a language for creating applications.

Public Comments

1. I suggest PHP. HTML & PHP are two of the most important languages in programming. http://www.w3schools.com/ This is a great way to learn HTML and PHP.
2. I'd probably start with java. Easy to learn, is cross platform, and the sdk is free.
3. I only master Java and I must admit I havent tried much with other languages. But I recommend it anyway. :-) Its good for learning Object Oriented programming and its very intuitive I would say. Once you know a bit and get used to the Java API you can learn more complicated stuff easy.
4. Css, and java, they are really good. However to give your website some good pazas, you need to learn flash
5. There is no one size fits all beginner choice. The exact language you choose depends on what you want to accomplish. Each language has its strengths and weaknesses. If someone unequivocally recommends a language (Java, C++, C, C#, whatever), ignore them. Spend some time on Wikipedia and Google. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_language and http://www.google.com There's countless languages but as a beginner, there's a few guidelines on choosing a language. * Pick one that is mainstream. Mainstream languages mean resources are easier to find, there's people who can help you, and that language is worth learning. * Pick a higher level language over a lower level language. High level languages offer more abstraction from the computer. They make it easier to express computer science logic as opposed to writing code that deals with the computer hardware. * Pick a language that is versatile. You'll eventually want to start writing serious programs like socket apps, GUI programs, graphics apps, and so on. For that reason, a good pool to choose from is Python, Ruby, Java, C#, VB .NET, C++, and C. I recommend Python and Ruby first because they are both easy for beginners (very high level) as well as extremely useful for professional programmers.
6. It depends on what you are interested in doing, and what kind of setup you have. If you have access to a web server where you can create PHP files, you could start there. I use the documentation at php.net to learn how to do stuff. What you learn from the web will get your set up with enough background information to be able to accomplish many useful things (if you are trying to do web-stuff). If you are trying to build desktop applications or games with user interfaces and widgets, you might try Java as others have suggested, or even ASP. Microsoft offers a free download of their tool (Microsoft Visual Studio) for home users, which has plenty of stuff built in as well as tutorials to get you going. If you go for Java, why not invest in a book, such as "Practical Java Programming for Game Development", which has step by step tutorials for building applications.
7. Visual Basic
8. Most of the newbies that I've run into ask the same question. The answer is first take math. Understand algebra and the language doesn't matter. For learning purposes the best languages to learn are still the teaching languages, Basic, Pascal et. al. These won't get you much for a job in programming, but they will get you an understanding of the fundamentals. Learning the Object Oriented languages is a must, but not as a first language. Because I understand the "algebra", I can pick up and program professionally in a "new" language in less than a month. Since I am already grounded in process, syntax is easy.