Hello everyone, I'm sorry if this forum is in the wrong section, but I am very interested in learning basic programming languages. What should I start with? Are there any free online tutorials? Thanks!
... HTML is hardly worth 5 minutes to learn. If you want to do internet design, learn HTML and its respective enhancements, but you're more or less going to need to study CSS and how it applies. PHP and AJAX are also probably worth looking at for internet design.
However, application development requires quite a bit more thought. For beginning, it can be a little daunting, but once you get the basics down it can be quite fun / enjoyable / profitable / whatever. I recommend starting with any language under Microsoft's .Net platform, as these languages are easy and can provide nearly everything you need to develop for a Windows PC. Visual Basic is the most popular I believe (though not the best >_>), so maybe that's a good place to start. Personally I prefer C# when coding in .Net - It's a matter of personal preference.
If you are just starting out, it depends, web or desktop. If you are starting out in web, I recommend HTML/CSS/DHTML, and work your way up to AJAX. If you are starting in desktop, i suggest some basic C++ and visual basic, and work your way up until you feel comfortable with C#, like what Swan said