Coding... where to start???

[minestrone]

My first job in my first job after Uni was to write hundreds of install shield scripts

It was GOTOtastic.

[TimberWolf]

VB or other BASIC variants would provide a nice gentle introduction to programming, but you'd need a compiler or interpreter to run the BASIC programs. Javascript is another possibility, as code would run straight from any browser and editing can be done in any text editor, right now. There are loads of tutorials on how to get started on the web programming in javascsript (e.g. "hello world" programs). Debugging programs written in Javascript would be a challenge though, as error console messages won't be as friendly as those you'd get from within a proper debugging environment.

[dang65]

Debugging programs written in Javascript would be a challenge though, as error console messages won't be as friendly as those you'd get from within a proper debugging environment.

I dunno, we've got Firebug now. God's gift to web development.

[minestrone]

My 2 cent is that if I were to train someone as a programmer now I would not bother with a specific language but give them a cut of a technology stack to work on. For example picking java randomly I would rather give them a small bit of each of JSPs, servlets, struts, hibernate and SQL in that time than try and get them to appreciate the finer points of Java's OO features.

I think the frameworks and the tools are the most important thing now and the language is simply the sauce to pour over the meat.

[Bunk]

I dunno, we've got Firebug now. God's gift to web development.

WHS

Firebug only came out a couple of years ago and I honestly can't remember how the hell we got any work done without it.

[Jog On]

I’m a bored support monkey who is fed up with the dwindling rates and centralisation of this sector, it used to be fun but I’m little more than an admin boy these days so…

From a complete novice perspective where would be a good place to start learning to ‘code’? VB? My only experience is a little BASIC on a BBC B about 25 years ago and some fiddling with HTML.

If your background is support, then I would have thought a scripting language (VBScript, Perl, who knows) would be the best fit with your current skills.

Maybe VBA (scripting office applications) too.

That's exactly what I'm doing - and some application packaging. VB scripting and Office scripting you can learn in conjunction with your existing skill set to automate much of the MS admin stuff as opposed to going in a completely new direction from scratch.

I'm learning PHP/MySQL for plan B as well which is making VB scripting, javascript and powershell a lot easier to pick up.

have a look at Winautomation who will let you download a free 30 day trial. It's a drag and drop scripting tool and macro recorder that's helped me learn a lot from just messing around with scripts, variables, loops, excel spreadsheets, SQL databases etc.

I'm doing scripting CBTs in this gig and spending a lot of time with the guy who's doing all the AD/Exchange scripting for this domain migration. I'm aiming to confidently have it on my CV by the end of this gig.

[Zippy]

Get started with a scripting language and database (Perl is not the best place to start) and make yourself a semi-useful web app e.g. recipe database, family history site

I agree with the point that its all about frameworks these days and I'd be thinking about swatting up on Agile and associated philosophies/tools.

[SP-Man]

Sm

If you background is in support, why not go in for Service Management using ITIL. This would give you much more clout as you have been on the support side for a while.

[expat]

10 REPEAT
20 PRINT "Hello"
30 UNTIL FALSE

Never use a goto!

Nothing wrong with GOTO except that it doesn't fit some people's structuring systems, and it does offer one more way to write bad code: but that's hard to stop anyway.

Dijkstra proved that you don't need GOTOs, but it is arguable whether he proved that you shouldn't use them. For example, he also said that a procedure must have only one exit point: I say if you know you're done, GOTO that exit point. Any other way is harder to read, not easier.

The real crime is COBOL's ALTER: shot at dawn for using that (but opinions may differ). For those who don't know, that was a command that, when executed, reprogrammed an existing GOTO elsewhere in the code, so that it now goes to somewhere else, not where it says it does.

[JoJoGabor]

ITIL is worthless except in public sector orgs who think its the bees knees, just the excuse they need for creating unnecessary process and paperwork.

I work in infrastructure projects, the most useful programming languages for Microsoft technology are Powershell or VBscript. If you are on the Linux/Unix/VMware side either Perl or linux shell script.