I have always been interested in software since I was a kid,

You can start by not asking /g anything. Seriously. Just Google shit yourself and read forums and don't ask advice from this.. Imageboard.

>>56027175
Yeah, but I really don't know where to ask.
Googlin' learn programming literally lead me to a child's flash game about moving sprites. I want to start at the basics of writing the shit.

>>56027147
I started learning when I was 13 off the internet, breezed through my cs classes as a freshman because of it.

/g/ is going to make it sound harder for you than it is, it is not easy though. Don't get stuck up on what language to learn first like everyone does, waste of time, you'll learn multiple ones and they all have a lot in common. Java is hated around here because lots of people here have autism and Java is actually used for average programming jobs. Java is actually great for a beginner because it is pretty high level (away from the machine), and has tons of free tutorials and documentation for beginners.

>>56027211
Pick a programming language, then Google e.g. "Learn Javascript".

>>56027147
>I've decided that with all my downtime from work, I would like to learn.
Excellent. Do you know any people with software development experience? Studying topics that they can help you with if you have questions would make things considerably easier. If you know such people, let them suggest topics to study and resources to use. If not:

>So, how would a complete noob begin to learn programming?
Crack open a good textbook, and get studying! Do ALL the exercises in the textbook; exercises is how you learn to program, not studying.

>Any books I should be reading?
http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python/ is the best beginner programming textbook I know. AND it's free.

Good luck :)

>>56027222
Thanks for the tips - I guess this is a start.

>>56027236
Thank you - I really appreciate this.

>>56027236
>>56027241
OP, this linked book doesn't look bad, try that.

>>56027147

Can you even into HTML/CSS?

if you don't know html I'd start there. No, it isn't programming. But it'll get you used to the concept of syntax and give you immediate results.

If you seriously have zero foundation, I'd start at Codecademy.

The answer is Codecademy. Get your toes wet and dive in elsewhere when you're ready.

Source: front end dev, self taught, started with codecademy, got a big boy job now

File: guideTo1stLanguage.png (74KB, 661x716px) Image search: [Google]

74KB, 661x716px

>>56027147
>I don't want to know the "easy" way - I want to know the best way - long term.
1) Use your favorite Internet search engine to find a tutorial you like.

2) Find a relatively simple text editor to use (Gedit, TextWrangler, Notepad++).

3) Open a terminal

4) Start programming

5) When you run into errors, read the error (go to the line number in question).

6) If you still don't understand the error then use your Internet search engine to look up the error and common causes. There is no need to post your question on 4chan or reddit most of the time because the problem you encounter is the exact same problem many others have had.

7) Avoid so called experts. Make mistakes. Waste time. It's ok.

8) There is no best way. So stop looking for it.

Just start. No more posts asking question, just fucking start.

>>56027147
So you want to learn programming?

Pick a starting language. For beginners, there are generally two recommended "programming families" that you can choose to start learning:
-Dynamically typed/interpreted programming languages, such as: Python, Perl, Ruby
-Statically typed/compiled programming languages, such as: C, C++, C#

These are amongst the most popular languages in use worldwide, including 4 from the top 5. Both approaches are perfectly fine, and well-documented.
-Dynamically typed programming may be a bit more flexible, convenient, and forgiving. It is more popular in academia.
-Statically typed programming is a bit more suited for making general applications. It is more popular in industries.

Cannot decide? Flip a coin.

If you choose statically typed/compiled programming, you may want to start with C, then pick up C++. C is very well documented, and teaches many universal programming concepts. C++ is based on C, and adds new concepts. Sources:
For C:
The C Programming Language (K&R)
C Primer Plus (Prata)
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial/c-tutorial.html
http://www.learn-c.org/

For C++:
http://www.learncpp.com/
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial/c++-tutorial.html
http://en.cppreference.com/
https://isocpp.org/faq

If you choose dynamically typed/interpreted programming, you may want to start with Python. It is very easy to pick up. Here are some good sources:
http://www.learnpython.org/
http://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/python

>BUT I WANT MORE SOURCES!
Read: https://wiki.installgentoo.com/index.php/Programming_resources

>BUT I WANNA START WITH [language x] INSTEAD!
Sure, if you like. But the languages above are considered good for beginners.

>BUT I WANNA MAKE A COOL WEBSITE!
Learn HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

>BUT I WANNA MAKE iPHONE GAMES!
Learn Objective C and/or Swift.

>BUT I WANNA MAKE ANDROID GAMES!
Learn Java.

>BUT I WANNA MAKE PC GAMES!
Learn patience.

>>56027431
Image made me laugh.
I got what I wanted from this post - a good online textbook and a link to a great website :)
Thanks for the motivation.

>>56027222
I learned java first but I wish I learned C first instead. It was a bitch going from java to C, the other way around would of been way easier.

If you ever plan on writing C OP, learn C first and then move on to java.

>>56027450
Thanks for the links and advice - I appreciate it.

>>56027147
if you can watch videos at work I'd highly recommend the cs50 course on edX.

>>56027147

Work through The Art of Computer Programming.

>>56030480
Not bad advice. I was going to suggest that OP pick a language, at random if he likes, and implement every algorithm in CLRS.