If you want to learn programming from 0 I would suggest the book “Head First Programming” from O’Reilly. All the software you need can be downloaded for free from the net, and its a good book.
First a word of advice, go with Books from O’Reilly. the really are the best out there! (Disclaimer I am writing one for them now, should be out in the spring)
And you should know that you can’t just read the book, you need to work threw all the exercises and really understand them.
Also understand that if you want to do this for a living you need to keep learning. The best way to end up unemployed is to never improve your skills.
Learning to program well takes time, but is really worth it as it can be a lot of fun and a very good way to make a living.
If you have questions feel free to contact me.