Python

Python is a go-to programming language when it comes to network automation. All of the popular network automation tools and libraries are written in Python.

Due to its gentle learning curve and immense popularity (second most used language on GitHub after JavaScript as of the time of writing), Python is a great choice to get started with programming.

Python basics are out of the scope of this guide. I've supplied several online resources that can help with learning Python in the References and further reading section.

To effectively use Python to solve basic network automation problems you will need to learn this set of skills:

Setting up Python on your system
Using virtual environments and installing packages with Pip
Understanding of the basic Python concepts such as:
Variables
Data structures
Functions
Imports

As you can see it's not overwhelming and I encourage you to spend some time on it because it'll make your automation journey so much easier.