Computer Programming

Depends on the language.

"Programming and Problem Solving with C++" is nice for C++; it's what we used at my university.

 

What language are you looking to learn? There's scripting languages (Perl, TCL, etc) and then compiled languages (C, C++, ...). I guess the starting point is usually C, and the canonical book for learning C is "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie.

 

'C for dummies' is pretty good
http://www.amazon.com/C-Dummies-One-Two-Bundle/dp/1568849397
the title may be a bit annoying but its really simple, with any code the only real way to learn it is to practise it over and over and over again, reading a book or sitting in a lesson wont magically put the code into your head.

 

Exactly! you can read all the books you want but until you start writing,compiling, and running code you won't really learn much. Also it helps to have a goal - what do you plan to use the knowledge for? Are you thinking of writing a new iPhone app? A new utility?

 

A different option would be to use something like Nodebox or Processing. You would still learn good concepts like declaration, types, functions, algorithm and optimization. But with quick results and potentially better express your creativity... Just my 2 cents.

http://nodebox.net

http://processing.org
http://processing.org/learning/books