Where should I start?!

[Lalien]

There are so many programming languages and I don't know what most of them even do. But before you say that maybe this isn't the career path for me. Just know that I am willing to put forth the effort to learn and practice my trade. I have a good background when it comes to computers.

Where should I start?
I've already learned HTML / Javascript.

 

[hikaricloud]

I'm in the same boat myself, and knowing Java is a good start. I've been told C++ is good to learn, I've just started picking that up. I'll let the people who actually know programming chime in for any other advice though, lol.

 

[Lalien]

Dude, it's so scary. We have so much to learn in such a short amount of time.

 

[Frosty is a Snowman]

It can be good to learn the basic levels of C++ and Visual Basic.
As they can help teach you about the basic terminology of programming, and they are easy to learn, and there is a lot of information online that can help learn the basics.

But if you want to get into programming as a career then you need to think about what area you want to get involved in, eg. games, applications, mobile apps etc. etc.
Only then can you be given more direction and advice on the language(s) that you would need to learn.

 

[hikaricloud]

Dude, it's so scary. We have so much to learn in such a short amount of time.

Yeah, I hear ya. I've never been a big programming person, I mostly excel with hardware and operating systems...but most of the tech jobs are programming, so gotta get in there somehow, lol.

 

[XGC Forsakend]

It can be good to learn the basic levels of C++ and Visual Basic.
As they can help teach you about the basic terminology of programming, and they are easy to learn, and there is a lot of information online that can help learn the basics.

But if you want to get into programming as a career then you need to think about what area you want to get involved in, eg. games, applications, mobile apps etc. etc.
Only then can you be given more direction and advice on the language(s) that you would need to learn.

I agree with this. I ain't a big programming person, but I know the basics when it comes to C++. I am not too far away from finishing my Bachelors in Game Simulation Programming (game design). While I mostly use the UDK engine and not a whole lot of C++, simply knowing the basics helped out quite a bit when I needed to script something in Unreal.

 

[Reckless]

Lalien,

Is there a specific you want to focus on or the main reason you want to lean programming?
If we could have a little more information it would help point you in the right direction.

 

[carnageX]

IMO, learning C++ or a lower level language is best. Then, it's easy to learn higher-level languages.

Can't remember what book/article it was from, but one of my professors said it best:
"If you know C++, you can learn Java in an afternoon. If you know Java, it'll take you a month to learn C++."

I'm about to graduate with my BS in Computer Science next semester.

 

[Reckless]

If you just want to hit the ground running I would say

C++
(or C)
Java
Perl
.Net
Ajax
C#

Updated with carnagex

 

[carnageX]

I'd put C# on the list as well. A lot of companies use it as well.