What are basic programs like, recursion, Fibonacci, small trick programs?

Question

This question may seem daft (I'm a new to 'programming' and should probably stop if this is the type of question I'm required to ask)...

What are:

"basic programs like, recursion, fibonacci, factorial, string manipulation, small trick programs"?

I've recently read Coding Horror - the non programmer and followed the links to Kegel and How to get hired.

Then I delved through some similar questions here (hence the block quote) and I realised that as a fully fledged non-programmer I probably wouldn't know if I knew recursion (or any of the others) because I wouldn't know what it looked like, or why it was used, and what the results would look like after it was used.

I suppose I'm trying to get a picture of "the basics". What the principles are and why we learn them - where they'll be used and what result/s your looking for.

If they'll be used as an interview question during my first interview sometime in 2020 I would like to look less ignorant than those 199 out of 200 who just don't know the how, or the why, of programming.

As always...I'll get my coat.

Thanks

Mike

Answer 1

Traveling Salesman Problem

Answer 2

Before you can get into concepts like recursion, you need to learn the basics, as you said. I'm not sure what your education level is or where you're planning to go with it, but my favorite programming text is "How to Think Like a Computer Scientist" (link text).

This will teach you the core fundamentals of programming, and you need to understand these building blocks before you delve deeper.