C is definitely the language to learn first for programming. Don't bother with pascal. It's a little easier to learn than C but not significantly easier and Pascal isn't used in any industry applications. Learn C then move on to C++. I'm not sure who mentioned learning C++ right away, but I don't think that is a good idea. You should really learn structured programming before moving to object oriented. There are lots of classic books on C that are really good, but I like a somewhat newer one called C How To Program by Deitel and Deitel. Its starts out slowly and simply and then builds to more complicated programs. Lots of code examples and it has some more challenging project ideas that you can play around with if you pick it up quickly.