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i basically graduated from college with some background on basic programming like VB, C, pascal and stuff. i can honestly say that im not good at it and easily get bored when some boring teachers discuss it. i cant even remember finishing a whole programming project without the help of classmate or without the already-written code i found on my PC. so i just assume that i dont have the talent for that sort of craft afterall i didnt enroll for a computer science degree to start with. but then, graduating from a computer enginering course and doing hardware stuff somehow put me into realization that choosing this field will might as well make you explore new or should i say other IT stuff and basically programming is what IT is all about. that made me decide i guess to go and give it one more try. so maybe with the help of some good gurus' here and some good reading materials i can do this things.
i have here a couple of questions that i hope you guys wouldnt bother to answer:

-my GF recently gave me a FOXPRO installer and i do have no knowledge with regards to this.. where do i start? what foxpro can offer me as far as my profession is concerned? got so many questions in mind.

-any suggestions on whats the best place to start programming?

-im reading a book regarding windows security, and i do think good knowledge on programming is a big factor to apply whats written in there.
anyway, what program did bill gates use to creat windows? ( well watching "pirates of silcon valley movie", hes not the one who started it)..

so hope you guys can deal with my confusion.

thanks a lot!

[Dreamscape]

I would not start FoxPro. If I were you, I would start with Visual Basic (VB). You really do not have to think too much like a programmer to figure it out. And, it is a very verbose language, meaning that the code is written more like English than gibberish. Even a non programmer could read a piece of code and at least tell you what is happening.

There are many open source sites devoted to VB. Find one and view some programs. (vbCity.com)

Many big applications are written with some really hardcore C which is next to impossible to understand even to the author at times.

[Khashayar]

I think I read something like this some where on this forum:
The language is not going to teach you how to program.
Programming is a way of thinking. Coding is just a way of telling your pc what you think it should do. You may start with any language. My suggestion: go for C. Yes it may be a bit harder to start coding in C but you will love the power it gives you after a while (let’s say 6 months).
Just start programming and have fun.