Want to learn programming but don't know where to start?

Get a book on python

Qbasic, then php

I generally recommend that people start with Python but if you want to learn Java you can look at these tutorials:

https://www.udemy.com/blog/learn-java/
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/
http://www.learnjavaonline.org/
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Java_Programming
http://docs.oracle.com/.../tutorial/
http://c4learn.com/javaprogramming/
http://chortle.ccsu.edu/java5/index.html#01

Note: You do NOT need to start early, however, if you feel you are ready there's no reason to wait.

The "concepts" for programming are the same for all languages. The "syntax" (how you work the commands) is different for each language. Whatever language you begin with, the things you learn (how to create loops, how to set variables, how to store data, etc.) will work for any language. So the language you start with is unimportant. (The one major exception to this is HTML for web page programming.)

The most used language in the word is "C". Since it is not copyrighted, there are people who have expanded the C languages with versions like C++ and C#. They are the same language just with some added libraries for more features.

JAVA was developed by the same people who created "C", so most of the concepts and much of the syntax is the same. If you know one, you can program the other.

There are probably more free resources for learning "C" then any other language, so it can be a good language to start with. However it is also a very powerful language, so it includes some complex and difficult advanced features. (But if you want to be a programmer, those are the features you will need to knw. Anyone can do the basics.)

The major difference between "C" and "JAVA" is that once a program is written in "C" it goes through a conversion process called "compiling" that turns it into an "exe" or other type of program file that you can run directly from your computer. JAVA, however is not compiled. It is left as a series of commands, and for someone to use a JAVA script they have to have the JAVA program installed on their computer. That program then does the "converting" (actually called interpreting) at the time the program is run.

Because JAVA is not compiled, a JAVA program will work on any computer. This is what makes it popular for phone apps and for apps run from the Internet. It will run on anything. While a "C" program will only run on the type of computer for which it is compiled. However it also makes JAVA slower and less secure. So for "big programs" it is not popular. C is instead.

Whether you are looking to write the next phone app or the next major computer program is also a factor in whether you want to start with C or JAVA.

There's a course specifically designed to teach programming will modding Minecraft…

http://www.learntomod.com

Try GreenFoot for a general introduction to Java programming…

http://www.greenfoot.org/overview