I left mathematics 20 years ago (PhD, logic) by way of Prolog (logic programming) and then drifted towards relational databases (with some side trips into sched

I left mathematics 20 years ago (PhD, logic) by way of Prolog (logic programming) and then drifted towards relational databases (with some side trips into scheduling using graph theory). You are in a good position - mathematics is a powerful tool for programmers. I would suggest finding a real problem to solve, and then choose the appropriate language to work on it. Microsoft's .NET languages are a good way to get into programing (VB and SQL Server are my preferred tools).