For that reason, I'd recommend using MS Windows, with whatever version of MS Visual Studio (VS) you can get hold of. That will give you options of using C/C++/
VB/C-Sharp etc. More importantly, in the non-free versions, you get the best integrated editing/debugging/integrated help system on the market.
Already suggested
The Express Editions are perfect for him. Why go spending a significant amount of money on the full blown suite of Visual Studio which for him as a newbie really gives him nothing extra that he would need to put that first toe in the water... He is hardly going to have a MSDN license is he..
Get Visual Studio (the free version is rather limited)
No it is not. It is perfect for his first foray into programming.