so if I know nothing about programming (pretty much), where does one start? Whether in general, or amiga specific ?
Any books or resources to look for?
Start by taking a trip to your local library. Pick up a book and start reading through the basics and make sure your sat away from a computer. Learning any language is hard from the outset so don't expect to learn how to code overnight it takes weeks, months and even years to 'perfect'. And there is something new to learn everyday.
If you have access to a Mac you could look at Applescript which is a macro like language. Its language set is BASIC like and reads pretty much like 'a book'.
If you have never programmed before, BASIC is a good place to start; if you can't get your head around using BASIC then you might as well stop.
Start somewhere you feel comfortable, having to worry which header files and resources to include just to print 'Hello World' in a new window is probably not the best place to begin learning to code.
All languages share things in common like variable declarations, math operations and if..else..endif like structures, only the formatting differs, but the principles are generally the same.
There are so many ways you could start, foreinstance you could start with javascript and learn basic functionality like declaring variables, working with arrays and basic operation - then again this can be a little daunting so I'd stick within a programming environment where you can code and see the result within seconds and debug it easier rather than alt-tabbing between different applications.