Off-Topic Discussions

recommendations for a 3gl programming language (well, any type of programming language will do I suppose) that would be good for a novice or intermediate-level IT person to mess around with and try to learn how programming works. The caveat is that I have a limited budget so it either is freeware or around $60. It doesn't have to include all the bells and whistles, I'm basically trying to get a better handle on how programming languages function in a general sense. I don't really have a specific task or anything...just want to mess around with it to learn.

So yeah, recommendations anyone??

Probably Java. Given it's versatility and popularity, you cannot go wrong with it and there's plenty of FOSS servers that will run your java stuff. Eclipse is about as standard as you can get in terms of IDE and it is free.

The most important part of getting into programming, in my opinion at least, is to learn the concepts so that you can apply them to other programming languages and pick them up faster. It's like learning foreign languages - once you learn one, it's easier to apply what you learned to learn another easier.
I also support Java. It's the most user-friendly in my opinion. Link - you should really read through this. It's like a class, only you don't have to pay for it!