He said zero coding experience. Python is for programmers with experience. In his case I would not even recommend Easylanguage.
This is good suggestion but I think that more than two days can take care of frictions. Most automated traders were destroyed by algos during the last decade and are now passive stock market investors.
If you trade manually with success then you can find a programmer who will automate your strategy. As was said already.
I think that Slacker's advice is right on the money. Python is a language built to be friendly to people who are completely new to programming, it is used in many introductory CS courses for this reason (like the ones found in Coursera). By using quantopian, he could focus on the trading strategy without having to reinvent the wheel and build a whole infrastructure from scratch.
Basic is friendlier. I don't think this is the issue. The issue is how much time one can sepnd programming in low level language. If your job is to trade then a higher revel language with low level support is the best. Easylanguage, AFL, etc. If you work for an operation that hires programmers then python may be a better choice. I think the right advice depends on what someone must focus.
Computer programming itself takes about more than two year to be reasonably proficient. If you have passion, go for it, as it might be a good learning experience.