*C++ is the standard however it has a very steep learning curb (even worse for me since I'm a beginner)
Nah. It's not steep. It's just long. You can start writing crappy-but-functional C++ code in like 5 minutes, but learning to get the most from the language is a continual process.
*I had Java in the back of my mind for a while but I read (from other forums so don't take this as a solid point) that Java is rather dated
It's highly portable, but when you eventually do start with C++ you'll catch a lot of flak for using Java-esque patterns.
*What exactly is a library and how do I apply it into my programming?
A library is a set of already-written code that you can tie into a program you're writing. For instance, if you want to display graphics you'll probably need a graphics library such as OpenGL or DirectX. C++ comes with several libraries for basic functionality including the 'old C' libraries and the Standard Template Library (STL) which help with things like managing data more easily, printing out text, or even connecting to another machine over the internet.
*What is an engine? (I see on various games that it is powered by so and so's engine example - from what I understand it basically runs the code??)
An engine is sort of a 'super-library'. A game engine would typically include tools for managing graphics, player input (keyboard, mouse, joystick), audio, even networking. A good engine will 'abstract' you away from any system-specific code so that you can write the game code once and the engine code will let it run on a pc or a mac or a playstation, etc, based on how you compile.
