Ok.. I know you're going to say; "Depends on what you want to do...." I have been using Bat files to do some things that might be better done in another language. As well, I'd just like to broaden my horizons. So here are some things I want to do: 1) Learn basic concepts of programming, do's and don'ts in writing code, thinking and planning through a project, etc. I'm not sure I know enough to even explain what I mean by this. I've gotten into a little proprietary programming using "If Then/End IF" and "Dim new" statements, but the "training" has left me feeling as if I'm missing something that certainly be covered in a introduction class. 2) Write utilities that examine multiple text files at once and return flags or reports. 3) Integrate utilities and scripts into a program that uses MS Access Database and Crystal Reports engines for reports and bidding - among other things. I have friends who say VB.net would be an easy language to pickup (and would work with our databases). I have other friends who say that it allows things that should be illegal to do in programming. I have some friends who use C+ and others who use Delphi. I have no idea... What are your thoughts? Feel free to question me farther...

>> I have other friends who say that it allows things that should be illegal to do in programming. << Ignore those friends, they are talking crap. Nothing is disallowed if it achieves the desired objective. How it does that is of secondary importance. VB.Net would be a good place to start. If you are only programming for yourself its a good tool. Forget what the purists say, they are just being dogmatic. Stuart

Check out Window's powershell, a command and scripting language: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sc... It's more powerful than batch files. You can use the normal programming constructs, and it processes files as well. As powershell is built on top of the .NET framework, you framework you can access Winforms, COM, etc. Here is an informative article: http://www.ddj.com/database/206900601 It's an advanced topic, but you can also access databases: http://www.pluralsight.com/blogs/da... And best of all is that's it's free.

It doesn't matter what language you learn, because a good programmer should know several languages, preferably of different types (e.g. one procedural, one functional, one logic-based.) Most modern languages support object-oriented programming, so it is important to learn OO concepts well. If you choose a language that doesn't immediately suit your requirements, it doesn't matter, add it to your repertoire (it will come in useful one day) and learn another. Having said that, time is limited so you may want to choose an appropriate first language to begin with, in case you haven't got time for your second one. Since you are talking about Access and Crystal Reports, you probably want to stick with something made by Microsoft for now (otherwise, I would have suggested Java.) Instead of VB.NET, you may want to consider C# (pronounced "C sharp", not to be confused with C++.) It can do anything VB can do, but is a more modern language and designed with the benefit of decades of experience in programming language design.

I like C/C++. With the correct tools it would probably work with databases (not sure though). The syntax is real easy to learn. I've been writing apps in it for over 3 years and still haven't totally mastered its versatility. Since it compiles to native machine code, it executes fast and doesn't require the .NET Framework (unless you use C++ with Visual Studio Express). For what you want to do, VB.net is a good choice, perhaps better than C/C++ IMO since you seem to know a little about it already (going by what you said about the DIM statement) and it's ready to use with databases. If the earth was created by a big bang, how come my car or computer or anything else isn't created the same way?

Python.

Perl :)