If you are just learning how to program I would highly recommend starting with Java. Java handles a lot of issues that are complex to deal with for example: memory management, allowing you to focus on concepts instead of language specific issues. A good place to start is with a book on object oriented design concepts or algorithms and data structures, a reference book on Java is a good idea (though not necessary just go to sun.java.com and use their api documentation if you feel comfortable learning that way), then from there a good book on object oriented software engineering will go a long way. If you have access to a good library you can find a lot of these books for free. Good luck, §Madelyn