BleepingComputer.com: Learning how to program

I have a thirteen year old son who has only ever used commercial software on his PC. I would like him to learn some programming skills to help him understand how a computer operates and how to discover that you can make it do the things that you want it to (sorry, a bit of a mixed up sentence there).

Have any of you got any ideas on what the best language would be for him to start with and what would be the best book or DVD for him to start with? Should he start with operating systems and if so, what is the best way of learning about them?

Thanks for any help you can give. Your thoughts (and experiences) will be appreciated.

I used Alice to teach middle-schoolers programming basics. The actual constructs of the language (which happens to be Java) are hidden behind a drag and drop interface. The benefit is that kids can create animations in a short period of time where they would be otherwise be bored trying to learn the structure and syntax of a particular language to do some trivial task.

All of the software is free, and there are tons of free online tutorials available to get them started.

That sounds great, thanks.

As it says in the tag, "Hail Groovicus!"

And for when your son gets older, I would recommend that he learn the ins and outs of the C# language. I'm learning that right now, and though it has a lot to it, the deeper you go, the more you learn. I have so many ideas that I plan to put into action that it's not even funny. and not to mention, the power of the .net/Mono frameworks is a great knowledge to have.

You should tell him to learn Python, there are many free ebooks and tutorials, it is also easy to learn.

Here is a link for kid:
Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python - Learn how to program with a free ebook programming tutorial
http://inventwithpython.com/

You should also reference the following links:
BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers - PythonInfo Wiki
http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers

Teaching Kids Programming | The Baheyeldin Dynasty
http://baheyeldin.com/technology/teaching-kids-programming.html

This post has been edited by Minh Triet Pham Tran: 07 January 2012 - 04:38 PM

I would suggest to start with html and then php, c# or java. I'm using php and c# but I think java has a better future as the mobile applications like Android is written in java.

There is no best language for him to learn. The trouble with these threads they tend to bring out each users preferred language. The framework is massive and always getting bigger. But then will get users posting c# is better then VB.net, which holds as much water as a bucket with a hole in. Introduce your son to a few languages and see which he prefers. Arguably VB is the easiest. If he chooses VB make sure strict is on by default.

Bottom line is the more languages your son knows. The more desirable he is to employers. Take a look at www.wrox.com for books.

This post has been edited by ident: 07 May 2012 - 05:51 PM