Dennis, I am going to be starting classes in the fall, so I have been doing research on this subject. I am anti-Microsoft and pro-Linux/open source. The languages I want to learn are listed below in the order I plan on learning them. Latex: a markup language (it is simple to learn and useful) Bash: a common shell (As you know the purpose of a shell is to provide access to the kernel, also Bash is written in C.) C: a general purpose language (the linux kernel is written in C) C#: simple, modern, object-oriented language (it should teach good habits) C++: a middle-level language Perl: a scripting language Python: a high-level language I am not a programmer or a developer (yet), however, I wanted to share my research. Hope this helps. MatthewMPP Dennis Kibbe wrote: > I searched the archive but didn't find a previous discussion about this. > > A friend who graduates from high school next week wants to take a summer course in programming. His goal is to become a business applications programmer. > > He asked me what language he should start with. I'd guess the prgramming landscape is changing with more services going into the cloud. > > Joseph, Hans, Charles I'm sure you have opinoins and I welcome anyone elses. > > My friend, Ian isn't on the list so I'll point him to gmane.org to follow the discussion. > > dennisk > > --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss