What programming language should i learn first?

I have not ever learned one, suggestions? And a website that would help me learn would be nice to, thanks.

What programming language should i learn first?
You should learn a programming language that is both mainstream and high level. I can't stress mainstream enough, actually. People recommend all sorts of languages, but what is the point if you are not going to use it in real life programming?





Anyway, my two choices for mainstream high level languages are Python and Ruby. I use Python personally, but Ruby is extremely impressive as well. Both have commercial support, lots of resources (online tutorials, articles, printed books, etc), and are very high level.





Although computers work in binary (1s and 0s), we humans think in abstract logic and natural languages like English. High level languages have support for more abstract logic while giving up some control over the machine implementation.





You can jump into low level languages as well, but they will be harder to work with and take longer to learn. I jumped into C++ to start with, and it took considerably more time to learn the basics than Python or PHP or other languages I have acquired.





Python: http://python.org/


Ruby: http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/
Reply:This question has haunted many programmers out there including myself. Basically it depends on what you are wanting to do... For example if you want to design websites. You could use PhP - PhP is open source and you can find many free tools that will be very useful - such as MySQL which is also a free database program that many PhP users use. Being a web designer and wanting to make the big $'s I chose ASP.NET - Microsoft has a free tool Called VIsual Web Developer it has its limitations but can get you started until you need to purchase the complete set of tools.





Everyone has thier own idea and actually no answer is the correct one. It all boils down to you and what you feel more comfortable using. I would suggest whatever path you decide to take, join a forum of developers in your language of choice and start asking questions. Please remember to be speciffic and they can help you on your journey.





Good Luck.





http://vbforums.com


http://gotdotnet.com
Reply:To start I would suggest BASIC or HTML and then progress to more advanced languages, such as Visual Basic and then Java and C/C++
Reply:Don't jump into languages like c/c++, java, pearl, etc. start with BASIC or PASCAL since they are recognized as basic entry languages.
Reply:I learned on BASIC with apple 2 e in the 90s then started doing dos and linux shell scripting in high school. College it was QBASIC, then C++ then JAVA, but i found java to be way easier than c++.





However, all of that was way harder than learning C# or Visual Basic... if i had it to do over again i'd start with visual basic, then c# (since you're already familiar with vb at that point it'd be easy) then C++, then assembly
Reply:based on personal experience, i found Visual Basic 6 to be easy. you can try searching for visual basic tutorials on search engines to find sites that provide tutorials.
Reply:If you like web programming, start with HTML, then work up to PHP. PHP is a very simple scripting language for websites that is easy to use and blends in with your HTML.





You'll need to install some server stuff to get going with PHP. EasyPHP bundles PHP with Apache webserver and MySQL database together, making it easy to install and get started.