Programming? Options

[Maccabee]

I want to get into learning other programming languages.
Or atleast the basics.
First I have some questions...
Is there like a language to make like exe files or programs on a computer?
2nd what are some programming languages that arent harder to learn than html css?
3rd...What are some different programming languages and what do they do?
Here are some ive heard of but dont know how to start learning them or what they are or do!
perl, ruby on rails, actonscript and thats about it.
Appreciate the help!

[mipadi]

I'm going to go against the grain and advise you to steer clear of C++. As a language, it really sucks, actually, and it's a pain in the ass to use well. Moreover, it's a pain in the ass to use as a learning language, because it has so many pitfalls. If you want something that's like C++ and basically fulfills the same goals, but is not painful to use, I'd suggest Java.

However, as a starting language, I highly recommend Python. It's easy to learn, and it allows you to ease your way from simple concepts to more advanced concepts at your own pace. It also doesn't require an explicit compilation step, so it's easy to change programs "on the fly" in order to try new things, or just see what difference a simple change makes in a program. It also has a really nice interactive interpreter, which means you can just fire up the interpreter and start entering little programs to see what they do -- and get immediate feedback. Finally, you can write desktop or web applications in Python easily. My own website is, in fact, written in Python.

Ruby is also a pretty decent starting language, for many of the same reasons as Python. I think Ruby has a slightly higher learning curve than Python, but it's still easier to understand than C++.

In the end, though, the biggest reason to choose Java, Python, or Ruby over C++ is because they have more creative, bad-ass names.