How To Get Into Programming?

writermike asks: "Like many on Slashdot, I practically grew up with computers. I've had one or more since 1978. However, unlike a lot of people here, I simply never learned how to program. Twenty-seven years later, I still know nothing about 'programming.' I'm a fairly successful technology troubleshooter, having been in that role for 15 years, and I find as I delve deeper into why programs fail, my interest in programming rises, and I feel that not knowing the principles is a hole in my knowledge that hampers me a bit. There are so many books and courses out there that seem to focus less on principles and more on specific languages and/or the 'career-track'. I don't really want to code the next great web service. I want to learn principles, then begin to learn a language. Where can I begin the adventure I should have started back in 1978?"

Perfect timing

[MarkGriz]

I've been wondering how to get out of programming.
Do you want my job?

Re:Mod parent DOWN!

[Philip K Dickhead]

"But a programmer learning programming from perl is like a chemisty student learning the definition of "exothermic" with dynamite."

These words deserve to be enshrined in the quotes database.