[thelist] Java/J++, general programming question

[Tim Salam]

(apologies for cross-posts to those that recieve this twice!)
A friend of mine just sent me the following question:

"Hey! If possible, could you find out for me if I
should be learning visual j++, or something else. My
understanding (I think) is that visual j++ is just a
compiler, but I want to make sure before I invest to
much time in learning one or the other. Thanks, and
I'll talk to you soon."

Here's some background information.  He is extremely intelligent and savvy
with learning new things very quickly.  I've gotten him interested in
programming recently and he's soaking up untold amounts of info from the
Internet.  I told him a week ago that Java would be a good language to learn
since it pays high and is used a great deal.

I know almost NOTHING about this stuff (it's outside my area of expertise)
but want to give him the best info possible.  Please send answers my way (or
to the list if it's not common knowledge) since I have no clue! :)

Thanks much in advance...

tim salam
information architect
essemble.com