Application programming and Web development?

I want to get started on learning Application programming and Web development and i wanted to know what i need to know. I already have some soft history in Web development but i never really got into it. Now i want to make sure i study it good and proper and pick up application programming too. I found that i learned very well using web resources for HTML and CSS but what about the others? Should i go pay off my library debts and pick up some books? Or would i better off using the web? What are the best languages to pick up?

For application programming i want to develop applications for Linux, although i think i should learn something about Windows too. I'm mainly doing it so i can contribute code to projects i like and want to develop more like Firefox and Deluge and Pidgin and stuff like that. What would be the best way to get into this? What would be the best way to make sure i make good quality code and gain flexibility in important languages? What are the best languages to learn?

For anything i haven't covered or missed, I'd like to be filled in on that too. If this is the wrong place to ask and i should ask at some programming forums then please point me in the right direction. I'd also like to know what i should do concerning IDE vs. Separate tools.

 

For web development, learn PHP and/or Perl. PHP is the easiest to get into, and a book would be a good idea. Anything from O'Reilly tends to be good and doesn't have too much fluff (the ones with the woodcut animal prints on the covers). To make sure you have quality code, show it to other people, especially people who're experienced coders like Jalf, Mujtaba or me (that I know of offhand... there are probably more people here who are programmers).

For application programming, learn C and C++. The best way to really learn how to program is to take a class. The second best way is to get a book. When you're first starting, all you'll need is vi or nano and GCC/G++. When you get your first few programs compiling, you might eventually move to an IDE, but you really don't need an IDE until you start juggling more than about 10 source files. Having an IDE helps, but it can also make it hard to debug your programs if you aren't already experienced in the language.

Learn to use a debugger!! That's the best advice I can give you. Learn to print out strings (outputting an endline or cout.flush(); is vital in C/C++ so that your debugging strings get printed before the program crashes )

 

Thank you Pitabred! I'll go pay off my $17.34 fee to the library and pick up a PHP book or two. I'll also look into taking some classes at a school after I'm done wetting my feet in web development.