Hey,
Disclaimer:Even though this is my first post, I have been on these boards before.

I want to start programming.

I'm not going to "flame" or do anything else other lamers do.  This is my first post, but I have frequent these forums for quite some time.  I was wondering where I can download one language first, then i'll probably get more once my progress level is high enough.
Also:  I am going to learn binary, and hex probably.  I want to learn all I can about computers.  I have been taking my computer for granted way too long.  Someone else set it up for me, so I don't know as much as I should, you know?

Thanks

C# is a very good langauge for beginners. So is Java.

I'm going to have to suggest Python for a beginning language. It's not only supported by all major platforms, but it is very easy to learn, it's interpreted, and it is Object Oriented.

Thanks for the replies so far.  I really do appreciate it. 

[quote author=Yegg link=topic=12448.msg123226#msg123226 date=1123277709]
I'm going to have to suggest Python for a beginning language. It's not only supported by all major platforms, but it is very easy to learn, it's interpreted, and it is Object Oriented.
[/quote]

I just noticed that hyperlink is invalid.  :(

Not in Firefox :)

[quote author=rabbit link=topic=12448.msg123239#msg123239 date=1123280691]
Not in Firefox :)
[/quote]


Yeah, well, I know just as much as you do that FireFox is the best browser out there..but it did give me an annoying problem.

It's open source.  Fix it!  I'm sure it'd be a great learning experience :P

[quote author=Yegg link=topic=12448.msg123226#msg123226 date=1123277709]it's interpreted[/quote]eww

use C++. it's fun. it's fast. and it's not interpreted.
also, it's advanced. but you'll learn it quickly i hope. otherwise, you're not a good programmer.

Learn PHP!

PHP is an excellent compromise.

[quote author=Warrior link=topic=12448.msg123251#msg123251 date=1123288787]
Learn PHP!
[/quote]

Thats a website language.  :P

That's what you label it as I think.  Or web designing.

It's a programming language.

[quote author=BigFoot link=topic=12448.msg123265#msg123265 date=1123298658]
[quote author=Warrior link=topic=12448.msg123251#msg123251 date=1123288787]
Learn PHP!
[/quote]

Thats a website language.  :P

That's what you label it as I think.  Or web designing.
[/quote]If you have the right programs, it's also a runnable language on a computer.

My post has been fixed.

All the suggestions made here are good. 

The problem with Visual Basic is that the software to create it costs $100's (maybe $1000's?) of dollars to buy.  This was done by THE MAN (Bill Gates) to discourage hobby-style coding.  Plus, it sucks and holds you back.  I don't recommend learning it. 

C# and Java are probably the easiest good languages to learn.  They are very powerful and fairly simple. 

Python and Perl are also good languages, although they're a little tricky to learn.  Perl was one of the first languages I learned, and I rather like it. 

Php is good at what it does, and learning it well will give you a good background.  Like any other language, you just need to learn one, then learning others will fall into place. 

Finally, C and C++ are probably the most difficult to learn, but anybody who wants to call himself a "real programmer" has to have strong skills in at least one of them.  Otherwise, you're just a poser.  And once you learn one of these well, every other language (basically) is easy to pick up. 

If you want to impress people, be the first person to master BrainFuck or Whitespace :-)

As far as free languages go:

[list][li]C (and C++) are free with GCC, which has a Windows port[/li]
[li]Java is also gratis, and has a free (libre) implementation as GCJ;  a Windows port of gcj is available from the MinGW project[/li]
[li]Perl is excellent[/li]
[li]Python - never used it, but heard good things about it[/li]
[li]PHP - again, unused[/li][/list]

Non-free languages:
[list][li]C# may be free someday, but it's really not a particularly useful language.  If you really want to get into it, check out the Mono project.[/li]
[li]Microsoft-extended C++ -- various language incompatible extensions, such as try { } catch for SEH.  It's made by Microsoft, so of course it is non-free.[/li]
[li]Visual Basic -- terrible language, would NOT be worth learning even if it was free[/li][/list]

If you're just looking to get into scripting technologies, also check out bash.  It's the de facto standard for quick&dirty scripts on Unix systems.  Perl is preferred for more complex tasks.

[quote author=Kp link=topic=12448.msg123321#msg123321 date=1123344261]
C# may be free someday, but it's really not a particularly useful language.  If you really want to get into it, check out the Mono project.[/quote]

[quote author=microsoft]
The C# command-line compiler is included for free as part of the .NET Framework SDK.
[/quote]

SharpDevelop is an open-source IDE.

[quote author=Shout Sucks link=topic=12448.msg123322#msg123322 date=1123345831][quote author=microsoft]The C# command-line compiler is included for free as part of the .NET Framework SDK.[/quote][/quote]

Libre or simply gratis?

[quote author=Kp link=topic=12448.msg123323#msg123323 date=1123346173]
[quote author=Shout Sucks link=topic=12448.msg123322#msg123322 date=1123345831][quote author=microsoft]The C# command-line compiler is included for free as part of the .NET Framework SDK.[/quote][/quote]

Libre or simply gratis?
[/quote]

Totally 100% free. (The framework SDK is free too)

[quote author=iago link=topic=12448.msg123308#msg123308 date=1123338159]
If you want to impress people, be the first person to master BrainFuck or Whitespace :-)
[/quote]

For my programming languages course, I did a presentation on BrainFuck. Also wrote a simple IDE (in VB.NET) called "Brainicide" to run brainfuck programs. Allowed me to single step through the instructions and view memory since there were very few programs that had debugging features. Very neat language.\

Edit: Originally, I was going to do my presentation on Whirl, another esoteric language.

[quote author=Shout Sucks link=topic=12448.msg123325#msg123325 date=1123346274]
[quote author=Kp link=topic=12448.msg123323#msg123323 date=1123346173]
[quote author=Shout Sucks link=topic=12448.msg123322#msg123322 date=1123345831][quote author=microsoft]The C# command-line compiler is included for free as part of the .NET Framework SDK.[/quote][/quote]

Libre or simply gratis?
[/quote]

Totally 100% free. (The framework SDK is free too)
[/quote]

Free if you bought Windows :-P

I'd kind of like to learn C#, actually, I'll have to install Mono though..

Thanks for references/opinions, etc guys.  I'm probably going to learn python first.

[quote author=Kp link=topic=12448.msg123321#msg123321 date=1123344261]
[li]PHP - again, unused[/li][/list]
[/quote]

WTF!

WhiteSpace seems pretty leet, I might go into it! :-P