I want to be able to program in a Linux environment but I don't want to take XP off. Are there any free Linux emulators that work well for programming(C,C++,Java)? If not, how can I install the Linux OS while keeping XP on my computer?

You have a few choices. You could use Cygwin to provide a Unix like environment.

Alternatively you can use a Live disc version of Linux. Look into Knoppix which allows you to boot Linux from a CD. Of course the other solution is to install a copy of linux. There's quite a few that work on top of windows, with the filesystem becoming a single file in windows, the obviously the best solution is a dual boot system, with multiple partitions.

James