Fixed function OpenGL and immediate mode are definitely more newbie friendly than the programmable pipeline, but for learning I'd recommend avoiding low level A

Fixed function OpenGL and immediate mode are definitely more newbie friendly than the programmable pipeline, but for learning I'd recommend avoiding low level APIs entirely at first and use a framework or engine that lets you work with higher level concepts. Fixed function OpenGL feels like a weird deprecated middle ground, if you are a beginner and want glVertex and a matrix stack you'll learn a lot quicker using Processing or Openframeworks than you will with straight fixed function OpenGL.