What I did is just took it one peice at a time. Started with a website that I didn't have enough money to hire a programmer to update. I was forced to learn perl, or close my site... from there I got into PHP, java, actionscript, css, HTML, etc... Just do what interests you and don't give up. It will come.

Patience Daniel-san. It takes a while to wrap your head around programming when you first start out. PHP/MySQL is a great language for beginners, because it's more intuitive than a lot of languages. It's also great because you can go from beginner to expert on free tutorials if your diligent enough.

You'll definitely want to delve into java/javascript, as well. If you want to make yourself marketable to the business world master the J2EE platform.

If you want to be formally educated and don't want to pay a boatload of cash for it you can try WGU. They're a legit online school, and they have a software programming course. Their primary languages are Perl and Javascript though, with other support languages, as well. I loathe Perl with a white-hot passion, but if you can learn it, it's a good foundation to build on.

I would also recommend looking into Ruby on Rails/MySQL combo as well. Ruby has become extremely popular, and deservedly so. Like Php, it's an easy language to wrap your head around, and there are a ton of resources online for it.

I would personally recommend either vb.net or c#.net. The ide's are free from microsoft (express editions) and you can write both forms and net based apps pretty easily.

There is even a version for linux and the mac called 'mono' and a free 'visual studio lite' ide available.

I've programmed in c / c++ / c# / java / j2e / assembly x86 / php and others and would recommend .net as the way to go. They give you hundreds of pr-emade libraries with it so a lot of the work is already done for you.

You must decide which area of programming you want to go into though first 'desktop' based or 'internet based' and learn the basics then move on from there..

books wise I find that wrox press and apress do fantastic books.

Here's what I did back when I first started learning to program. It should work for you.

1. Choose a language. I know several now. Try PHP if you want to do primarily web programming, but others here have made good suggestions as well.

2. Go to HotScripts.com and download free programs written in your target language.

3. Install and run those programs and keep a copy of the source code open so you can see the code while viewing what it does when it's executing.

4. Google your language name and the term tutorial and find tutorials that are at your level of experience and move up from there.

5. Build your first 'Hello World' program so you can get a sense of accomplishment and boost your ego.

6. Go back to HotScripts and find a simple program that does something easy. Maybe a contact form or guest book that doesn't use a database. Completely rewrite that program from scratch and give yourself another high five when it finally runs.

7. There is no such thing as "bugs" in software program. They are "software defects" that result from programmer error. Find and fix your errors and learn from them.

8. Google MySQL tutorials and start the process of learning MySQL. Back to HotScripts for you and now find a simple program that uses MySQL. There are guest books and contact forms that will fit the bill.

9. Expand your horizons by writing a program without modeling anyone else's code.

10. Go from there until you are ready to hang out your sign and sell your programming skills.

Worked for me. Your mileage may vary.

Good luck!

Lisa