I would start off with the book "Learn to Program" by Chris Pine. It retails for around $20. The book uses the Ruby programming language to teach the basics of programming. If you understand the book and work through some of the examples you could then move on to the bigger books. I would also recommend "Build Your Own Ruby on Rails Web Apllications" if you want to use Ruby for web stuff.

The only thing you need to get started with Ruby is a computer and an internet connection.

I just got into Ruby several months ago and am really enjoying it. I have never programmed before and find it pretty easy to understand. There is a learning curve (just like anything else in life) so be prepared.

I tried learning PHP first but never got too much into it. I like Ruby though.

Hope this helps!

__________________

---