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