GATE Computer Science and Information Technology (CS)

Computer Based Test180 minutes100 marks

• General Aptitude17

  • Verbal Aptitude
    • Basic English grammar (tenses, articles, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, verb-noun agreement, parts of speech)
    • Basic vocabulary: words, idioms and phrases in context
    • Reading and comprehension
    • Narrative sequencing
  • Quantitative Aptitude
    • Data interpretation: bar graphs, pie charts, 2-D and 3-D plots, maps, tables
    • Numerical computation and estimation: ratios, percentages, powers, exponents, logarithms, permutations and combinations, series
    • Mensuration and geometry
    • Elementary statistics and probability
  • Analytical Aptitude
    • Logic: deduction and induction
    • Analogy
    • Numerical relations and reasoning
  • Spatial Aptitude
    • Transformation of shapes: translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring, assembling, grouping
    • Paper folding, cutting and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions
• Engineering Mathematics21

  • Discrete Mathematics
    • Propositional and first order logic
    • Sets, relations, functions, partial orders and lattices
    • Monoids, groups
    • Graphs: connectivity, matching, colouring
    • Combinatorics: counting, recurrence relations, generating functions
  • Linear Algebra
    • Matrices, determinants
    • System of linear equations
    • Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
    • LU decomposition
  • Calculus
    • Limits, continuity and differentiability
    • Maxima and minima
    • Mean value theorem
    • Integration
  • Probability and Statistics
    • Random variables
    • Uniform, normal, exponential, Poisson and binomial distributions
    • Mean, median, mode and standard deviation
    • Conditional probability and Bayes theorem
• Digital Logic4

  • Boolean algebra and minimization (algebraic, Karnaugh map, tabular method)
  • Design of combinational circuits
  • Design of sequential circuits
  • Number representation and arithmetic (fixed and floating point)
• Computer Organization and Architecture6

  • Instruction set and addressing modes
  • Design of arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)
  • Design of control unit: hardwired and microprogrammed
  • Memory interfacing and hierarchy: performance, cache memory mapping
  • I/O interface (interrupt and DMA)
  • Instruction pipelining, pipeline hazards
• Programming and Data Structures5

  • Programming in C
  • Recursion
  • Arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists
  • Trees, binary search trees, binary heaps
  • Graphs
• Algorithms4

  • Searching, sorting, hashing
  • Asymptotic worst case time and space complexity
  • Design techniques: greedy, dynamic programming, divide-and-conquer
  • Graph traversals, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths
• Theory of Computation4

  • Regular expressions and finite automata
  • Context-free grammars and push-down automata
  • Regular and context-free languages, pumping lemma
  • Turing machines and undecidability
• Compiler Design6

  • Lexical analysis
  • Parsing
  • Syntax-directed translation
  • Runtime environments
  • Intermediate code generation
  • Local optimisation; data flow analyses: constant propagation, liveness analysis, common subexpression elimination
• Operating System6

  • System calls, processes, threads, inter-process communication
  • Concurrency and synchronization
  • Deadlock
  • CPU and I/O scheduling
  • Memory management and virtual memory
  • File systems
• Databases5

  • ER model
  • Relational model: relational algebra, tuple calculus, SQL
  • Integrity constraints, normal forms
  • File organization, indexing (B and B+ trees)
  • Transactions and concurrency control
• Computer Networks7

  • Principles of layering
  • Switching (circuit, packet, virtual circuit) and performance metrics
  • Data link layer: error detection, medium access control, Ethernet
  • Distance vector and link state routing
  • IPv4: fragmentation, CIDR notation, network address translation
  • TCP: flow control, congestion control; socket API
  • DNS and HTTP