Hacking - Need Help

[Megaryuu]

Hello!

First thing I need to mention is that I'm not a cracker. I've looked through the forums and saw the immense hatred towards crackers and newbies who want to crack. I have to say I completely agree with the hatred.

Next is an introduction. I'm 17 years old and I'm really interested in programming. I've had programming classes in school and I've taught myself quite a bit.

Here is a list of programming languages that I have learned:
Web languages -
HTML
JavaScript
CSS
PHP & MySQL

Computer Programming -
Visual Basic
C#
Turing

I'm using Windows XP Home Edition but I also have LiveCDs for Mandriva and Ubuntu (Linux distributions). I'm using Google Chrome (still just testing it out), I also have FF3 and *gulp* Internet Explorer 7.

Now, let's get to what I need help with. I'm currently looking for two things.
1. A fun programming language to learn. Difficulty isn't too much of a problem since I'm a very quick learner. I would like it if it was something that doesn't need to be installed using Windows Installer because for some reason mine doesn't work...

2. A link to an open source Linux distribution with a LiveCD download that's good for a beginner to learn about programming operating systems. Not for a beginner computer user! There's a difference.

Thank you very much for reading my post (if you didn't just skip through it)!
-Megaryuu

P.S. How's my English?

[BerryTheWest]

Look like we are very similar in skills.

I believe that you already experienced C#, so I think you can probably start on C++. It hold several methods that is probably not too easy to handle. I have similar interest like you about researching Linux, but the operating system itself is not very stable from what I read so far. In philosophy, if more people used Linux, it'll become as bad as Windows.

So any question, you can ask me or fellow people in Hacker.org.

[Megaryuu]

I'll look up C++. Is there a GUI or is it just coding? And do I have to install anything using Windows Installer?

I've tried the two Linux distributions that I mentioned before and it seems fine. But if I shouldn't check Linux (which is the only open source OS I know about), which OS should I check out?

And thanks for helping out! Nice to meet you.

[The_Dark_Avenger]

I'll look up C++. Is there a GUI or is it just coding? And do I have to install anything using Windows Installer?

I've tried the two Linux distributions that I mentioned before and it seems fine. But if I shouldn't check Linux (which is the only open source OS I know about), which OS should I check out?

And thanks for helping out! Nice to meet you.

1. Linux is not the only open source OS so far. Actually, the one I'll recommend you is OpenBSD. It's not hard to learn, it's quite similar to Linux. It's one of the most secure operating systems out there. Recommended.

2. Talking about programming language: what do you want to achieve with programming? C++ is a good programming language, but it's quite low-level and time consuming. If you are interested in developing large projects, and you have a lot of time and eager to learn a lot of stuff - C++ is a good choice.
Otherwise, if you are interested in developing smaller programs for different purposes - i recommend you Perl or Python. From what I see, Python is getting more and more popular, and now it's extremely powerful programming language. For different kinds of scripts it's perfect.

3. If you need Linux, there are three distributions I could recommend you: Slackware, Arch and Gentoo. Those three distributions represent the real linux - not commercial nonsense for BFU users. If you are not experienced linux user, you should choose Slackware. It's quite easy to use and configure (though still requires some reading).
If you think you have certain experience with Linux, you can try Arch (light-weight distribution for i686 and higher architecture). It doesn't provide tools for automatic configuration - you'll ahve to do everything by hands.
If you like to explore and experiment, there's Gentoo. It's not too easy to install. It requires compilation of all software, including kernel.

4. "Is there a GUI or is it just coding? And do I have to install anything using Windows Installer?"
It depends on what IDE you will use in your windows. There is for example Dev-Cpp. As long as I remember, it doesn't use Windows Installer. Should work fine.
GUI? No. C++ doesn't have any built-in GUI. However, there are many libraries out there for GUI programming. For example, Qt or GTK. First learn C++, however.

[mongoose]

...or, alternatively, if you really want to jump in with both feet, forget coding on Windows. Since you presumably just installed Gentoo or Slackware, install gdb on that box. Write code using vi or emacs, compile in gcc and debug using gdb. For additional dev fun, install python and learn that too. Tremendously useful language.

Have fun