I think you're split pretty evenly between Java and C++ given your requirements. Although it would tend more towards C++ if you could find a decent introduction

I think you're split pretty evenly between Java and C++ given your requirements. Although it would tend more towards C++ if you could find a decent introduction that starts out with C++11, which I'm not aware of right now (standard is pretty new). If you're going with "old" C++ and then just add the new bits in the end, you're wasting a lot of time (as would be the case if you're going C -> C with Classes -> Generic Programming -> "Modern C++"). Not that it's that much better in Java, where most tutorials leave you wallowing through outdated or complicated features, especially if you're restricted to an older standard and no non-JDK libraries (like Guice, Apache Commons etc.). The Google C++ class is short and succinct, and could be a good start, although I would recommend reading up on C++11 features as soon as possible after finishing that. http://code.google.com/edu/languages/cpp/basics/ http://code.google.com/edu/languages/cpp/basics/ http://www.stroustrup.com/C++11FAQ.html http://www.stroustrup.com/C++11FAQ.html http://en.cppreference.com/w/ http://en.cppreference.com/w/ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/hh567368.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/hh567368.asp... For Java, the official Sun, erm, Oracle tutorials are decent enough, especially if it isn't your first language: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/ http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/