[amontes]

Hi.

I think PHP is very easy and straight forward. However, it requires a webserver.

I would recommend a language that has Object Oriented Programming as well as linear programming (plain subroutines)

You might want to try Python 2 or 3 as it is almost plain English. In my opinion is boring and slow, but it is very easy to read.

Another language that has linear and OOP is JavaScript. The gain here is that you can use Firefox Scratchpad to test your HelloWorld.

The last but not least is Perl. This language can be ugly, obfuscated nad awkard if you program it, or it can be a breeze if you plan for it.

The course of action to take IMHO would be:
1. Select a language
2. Execute a HelloWorld
3. Do some other printing around
4. Read about (generic) input/output, processes properties, variables, user defined subroutines and predefined subroutines (or functions)
5. Apply what you've learned creating a bigger script, in small increments.