Being unable to afford the books and software needed to learn programming was actually why I had started contributing to open-source (after I did finally learn)

Being unable to afford the books and software needed to learn programming was actually why I had started contributing to open-source (after I did finally learn). I had learned just before Linux had started gaining prominence. If it wasn't for a cheap "Learn C++ in 24 hours" book with a free non-commercial copy of Borland C++ 5.02 I'd likely have not been able to really learn programming at all, at least until I later went to college. I'll note that the book itself was essentially useless; it was the .hlp file included with BC++ documenting a subset of the Win32 API that helped me along. Things are much better now for aspiring (but poor) programmers. But they can be better still, and the cost of learning materials are certainly a key part of that.