Language Programming

At risk of sounding stupid, in which I could care less. What is the difference between a programming language and a scripting language? source

I would start with Python, if only for the fact that you'll grasp actual programming theory and techniques faster with it. PHP will get you off the ground faster as far as adding it bit by bit to your static HTML and web host support, but if I was doing it all over again I would have started with Python. source

If you want low level hacking, go for assembly and learn the raw low level details. IT will go into all the details for how computers do things, and allow manipulations in lower, machine language based languages that much more possible. If you want higher level hacking, like with networks or web programming, I would recommend either ruby or perl. Ruby is more lisp-like, and perl more c like, but both are scripting languages which have quite a lot of 'hacking' potential. Finally, for code hacking in general, make sure you understand everything that is used by what you are working with. Learn all the underlying assumptions code, study it, and watch how other people think about the code they write. source

I'm going to recommend Clojure , as an alternative to Java. It's got many advantages over Java, especially in terms of complexity. source

Back when I actually used Windows, I bought Visual Studio for personal purposes, if that counts. Now that I'm on OS X, I've bought all kinds of licenses for smaller somewhat programming-related applications. Some of that was for personal projects exclusively, some for freelance work that sees double-duty for personal stuff. But I haven't purchased a full development environment in about 7 years, for the simple reason that most of the stuff I work on is open source. source