About that VBA thing, I was actually thinking about automation. Bash, Python, ruby, even JS, are really great for that. But then we have VBA. I guess most things you can do with VBA in Excel, you can do with python as well.
I agree, I need some background building before jumping into programming. I just figured maybe a good programming book will cover the necessary CS parts, too. "Learning Python" is over 1500 pages, and really is intimidating. "Haskell Programming" is also +1000 pages. Do you think picking up huge books like these, will help me build the required background?
Yes, everything you can do in VBA you can do in another language, and probably more easily. But then you have to persuade the users to use your app - if they're already comfortable with spreadsheets, VBA can make it easier to get them using your product.
If you can work your way through an intro book, it'll be super beneficial! Everything in either of those books will probably be useful at some point or another. No way I'd be able to do that in your position though. Personally the only way I can learn new technology is to have a goal that I find motivating (often, 'build a system that can solve some pain point in my life') and then identify the minimum useful step I can take towards that goal, and then mess around with books, forums, documentation, etc until I've achieved that step.
About that VBA thing, I was actually thinking about automation. Bash, Python, ruby, even JS, are really great for that. But then we have VBA. I guess most things you can do with VBA in Excel, you can do with python as well.
I agree, I need some background building before jumping into programming. I just figured maybe a good programming book will cover the necessary CS parts, too. "Learning Python" is over 1500 pages, and really is intimidating. "Haskell Programming" is also +1000 pages. Do you think picking up huge books like these, will help me build the required background?