I've always liked Eric Raymond's advice: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#skills1 http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#skills1 BTW,

I've always liked Eric Raymond's advice: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#skills1 http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#skills1 BTW, it's notable that Eric used to recommend Java as a second programming language, and that he no longer does. The only thing I'd add to his recommendations is a pitch for Ruby. I think it's a really good first language.