I want to learn programming, which language would you recommend?

Python<p>Its easy to learn because it has a simple and clear syntax, yet is a powerful language. It allows you to learn various programming concepts one at a time (while other more complex languages may force a bunch of concepts on you before you can do anything useful) and anything you learn will translate to other languages, should you wish to learn others in the future.<p>Python comes packaged with a large library of pre-written modules and is supported by a lot of third party API's.<p>Python also has a very active and friendly community of users, so help will be easy to find, should you need it.<p>Learning Python: <a href="http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide" rel="nofollow">http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide</a><p>(PS, the same can probably be said for languages like Ruby, but I learned Python first, so have no real experience with Ruby)

You need to pick a few languages, research them and find which one interests you the most. Take into account your and the languages philosophies, your end goal or even something as shallow as how the language looks to you.<p>Note: ruby has tryruby.org and python has trypython.org<p>Both are good candidates for a first language, and have <i>excellent</i> books available online.

Thanks everybody! I'm going to start with Python. Will post my progress on HN after a while :)

This is a little like going to IKEA and saying "I need to furnish my house, what should I buy"? Without knowing more about the intended use of the language, it's hard to give a good answer.<p>However, if pressed, I would say Javascript. It starts simple (but is not a simple language), you can build slick web pages with it, and you can even build native mobile apps for Android and iPhone (e.g. with using PhoneGap).