Hey guys, I'm somewhat of an experiance programer, but just got into WoW addon creation, it has a really intense(weird) syntax, and requires XML (which I don't have a slightest clue how to set up)

Would appreciate any help, I have many ideas and have okay programming skills, just need some help getting used to the weird syntax and everything.

here's some really basic starting help:

WOW addons are created in the language LUA

http://www.lua.org/
is where you can find the basic language syntax and such.

http://www.wowwiki.com/Portal:Interface_customization
has a LOT of really good info on the basics of interface mods

http://wowui.worldofwar.net/?p=mod&m=2876
BellebloomGD has created this blank example addon to show you how to get started

I'm a software engineer by trade, and I keep getting really close to sitting down and writing my own addons, but I keep running into the "I spent 8 or more hours coding at work today.. do I want to write an addon or just play wow?" issue. (so far, playing is winning the battle)

Well, would you be interested in helping me with a new add-on I'm making? I'm still quite heavily confused, but am starting to build up an awesome addon :P.

Also, I recommend the book World of Warcraft Programming by James Whitehead II and others. He wrote Clique, PerfectRaid, and some other addons, and one of the co-authors is one of the Ace developers, therefore the content is in good hands.

It is a bit dated, however, as the copy I have is current for patch 2.3 but the good news is the authors update content on the related website.

Could anyone help me figuring out which function to use to see if a unit has a specific buff on him?

I have a tip for you.  Prototype everything.  You may think you have a great idea for an addon, and realize only later that you can't actually do what you were planning to do.  Play around with tiny experimental addons to ensure you can actually accomplish the major parts of the addon you've designed in your mind, and if all those check out, then you can try to combine them into a single addon that you can test and later distribute to others.  I've got around 6 or so addons up on curse, and I'd have plenty more if it weren't for the (likely intentional) limitations on addons that I didn't know about until I discovered them for myself.

That doesn't really help me with the function, you kind of ignored the thread and responded to the title.