|
What sort of apps do you want to build? For web application building, it doesn't get much easier to jump into than PHP.
For scripting purposes, you can learn to write .bat files for Windows or BASH (or other shell) scripts for OSX or Linux. Visual Basic is an okay place to start to write simple desktop apps for Windows, although there are those who say it will damage you for life if you ever want to use a "real" language.
Ruby is a nice introduction to Object Orientation, and it has bindings for the Windows API, so you can write a Windows application in it, and it's still technically a scripting language, so you don't have to worry about compilation.
If you're an engineering student, you're plenty smart to pick this up on your own. Get thee to Barnes and Noble's Computer section and pick out the book published by O'Reilley that seems to best describe the language you're choosing. Don't short-cut it and buy a "cookbook", buy something with "Programming" in its name. I really recommend O'Reilley--they may be a bit stronger in the Linux world than in Windows, but they're still the best tech book publisher out there.
|