Any self-taught software writers out there?

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I agree on the learn php bit - it uses all the basic programming structures like if/then, loops, fetch and sort data - - but you need to learn html with it for the display type of things...

once you have the basics of php and html sussed just add a bit of javascript and you can build some truly amazing things... AND share them easily if they're web apps...

maybe go for html first (which will teach nesting and open and close tags and is quite simple)
chuck in some css (which gives more control over the html and teaches applying one set of variables to multiple things)
then php (which will teach variables, if/then statements, loops and data manipulation)
then javascript (which will add bonus interactivity and realtime updates)

Once you've played with that lot a bit you're pretty much set to translate what you've learned into any other language...

There are some very basic very random tutorials on my website here for the first 3 languages
http://www.pixieplots.co.nz/forum/viewforum.php?f=4

PM me if you need specific help - i'm used to it from the web forums i help out on

oh yeah and...

the words that you type that make things happen are referred to as source code - in the case of php/html etc, these words are run through an internal interpreter (software) that is installed on the PC or server (hardware) - in the case of something like c++ or java, you must "compile" the source code you've written into something readable by the OS (Operating system - software) or other software installed on the PC or server (hardware)

*Hardware is the physical machine - software is whatever makes electrical impulses work the hardware...
*an OS is software - it is the basics of working the hardware - like turn that pixel there blue by sending power over there, write out a line of 0,s and 1,s and put them on that disk there, convert that line of 0s and 1s to letters etc...
*Programming languages (software) are used to send a message to the OS that says hey i want a blue line starting here and ending there - the OS then sends on the message to the hardware that turns the blue pixels on or off...

and there are always exceptions and different ways to do things too....

Sort of an airy fairy explanation there

Im self-taught.

Started with BASIC. Being programming in Perl now for years.

Thanks so much everyone.......you people are awesome! with your kindness and direction......

I am going to try everyones' suggestions from the beginning and work my way through to see what suits me best......

Your feedback was so good that my partner was fascinated. Now he wants to get into it.

Big cheers everyone,

Mics

I am mostly self taught too. If you have a PC, you might
be interested in Microsoft Express. Its the free version
of Microsoft visual studio the program used for writing
software. They also offer a lot of video's to show you
how to program.. Also youtube is another good site
to find tutorials on different programing languages.

Sorry I cant post links yet, other wise I would of posted some
for you.

Thank you
Sock

Another self-taught hack here, too. Made a darn good living at it, actually. I started as a corporate tech support guy and then drifted into writing code after so many of my "customers" needed things their off-the-shelf software couldn't give them. I did it fulltime for 20+ years and had a lot of fun working on some meaty projects.

I concur with the opinion that programming is programming, whatever language you use. If you can do one language, you can do any language. But over time new languages come into being and old ones fade into the sunset, so you'll want to make sure you don't pick one that's headed for the scrap heap. You can't go wrong with Java or C++, but be aware that becoming truly proficient at either of them is by no means a trivial task.

Also, the programming environment that you use can be just as daunting as the nuts and bolts of the language itself.

Another thing to consider: if you intend to find work as a developer, most companies nowadays will want some kind of formal training on your part, the reason being that corporate software development is long past the "cowboy coding" days. It's a serious discipline.

I don't mean to discourage you. The bottom line, of course, is that if you can write code, you'll find a place somewhere. But more doors will be open to you with some kind of formal training on your resume.

Good luck.

I taught myself reading my dad's book. He's not a programmer, he just bought the books to see what programming is like. He's totally surprised when he first saw me "playing" on his computer.