I heartily recommend learning Python through www.codeacademy.com. I managed to get through the course in about a solid day and a half on the weekend. Python is has very easy syntax to master, since it uses whitespace (stuff like line returns and spaces/tabs) for its structure. It is has a large amount of natural language in it, making it easier to understand (in my opinion).
Many other courses may have start by learning Java or C++. I am merely a hobbyist when it comes to programming, but I work with software engineers so I need to understand how they do their work. I can say that "serious" software is often times done in C or C++. However, everytime I've tried to learn it, I fail miserably. I was fortunate enough to take an AP Computer Science class in high school where I learned the basics of object oriented programming in Java.
With that experience in hand, I must say that for ease and being able to do powerful, cool things right away, Python wins hands down, Java is cool, and C++ for me is like swinging a sledge hammer around in a dark room room with a blindfold on, trying to turn on a lamp.
From there, there are many open courses on Udacity or other places, but from what I've gathered, you are just as good or better off, trying to get your hands dirty by programming stuff yourself or contributing to an open source project. The best projects that have taught me the most were by making solutions to solve various problems at my job. Find a point of friction in your own life or job and see if you can program a solution! It's so fun and exciting when you do, and when you show it to your coworkers/friends, they often will see you as a wizard!
Finally, some other advice is to learn how to use a version control system like Git along with learning how to program. You won't get the opportunity to use it while doing online course content, but once you learn how much they can improve your workflow, you'll be amazed.
Codeacademy is great, but some high schools offer computer science, if you school doesn't then try FLVS.net computer science course, I am currently taking it ^_^ I live in florida so it is free for me, but I don't know where you live so you will have to check that
I generally recommend that a novice programmer should start with learning Python.
It is relatively simple and very powerful.
http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython...
http://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/index....
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/
http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/
Recently i've decided i want to become a computer software engineer, and possibly learn some coding now in my high school years.
The issue is that i am quite new to the idea of programming. I've seen books, interactive websites, video tutorials, and more. The world of programming seems very very large me and i don't know where to start. I would like to know where is the best place to start leaning programming.
Along with the method of learning programming, i would also like to know which programming language is the most basic and which one is the best to start off with.
Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You
