What programming languages should I learn to understand how computer system working?

[flaymond]

How computer programmes run, how can the computer understand codes we typed in? I'm new in programming...and also...i need to learn a lot (need to fix my grammar). I heard that C++ is a powerful language to start of...and why Python is called scripting language? (Is it not a programming? I don't really understand though). All help is really appreciated!

[ofnuts]

A "scripting language" is a programming language which is used to string together actions that are done by other programs. It's a different mindset from other programming because you have to find how to express your ideas in terms of existing tools. It is the programming equivalent of fitting your kitchen from standard cabinets instead of building it from scratch after a trip to the lumber yard.

Python is quite versatile and can be used for scripting but it can also be used for more general-purpose programming.

If you really want to understand how computer work I would learn in that order(*):

1. Python because it gives you the foundations of programming without having to worry about gory details.
2. C because its lets you get pretty close to the metal. It is also the language of choice for programs that are very close to the operating system (the OS itself defines its interfaces in terms of C function calls).
3. Assembler when you want to really understand what goes on in the processor.

(*) which is exactly the opposite order of my own IT training. But when wrote my first lines of code, C wasn't generally available yet