GATE 2021 preparation tips for Computer Science Engineering (CSE)

S.No.

Topic

Syllabus

1

Digital Logic

Boolean algebra, Combinational and sequential circuits. Minimization. Number representations and computer arithmetic (fixed and floating point).

2

Computer Organization and Architecture:

Machine instructions and addressing modes. ALU, data‐path and control unit. Instruction pipelining. Memory hierarchy: cache, main memory and secondary storage; I/O interface (interrupt and DMA mode).

3

Programming and Data Structures

Programming in C, Recursion. Arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary search trees, binary heaps, graphs.

4

Algorithms

Searching, sorting, hashing. Asymptotic worst case time and space complexity. Algorithm design techniques: greedy, dynamic programming and divide‐and‐conquer Graph search, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths.

5

Theory of Computation:

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

6

Compiler Design

Lexical analysis, parsing, syntax-directed translation. Runtime environments. Intermediate code generation.

7

Operating System

Processes, threads, inter‐process communication, concurrency and synchronization. Deadlock. CPU scheduling. Memory management and virtual memory. File systems.

8

Databases

ER‐model. Relational model: relational algebra, tuple calculus, SQL. Integrity constraints, normal forms. File organization, indexing (e.g., B and B+ trees). Transactions and concurrency control.

9

Computer Networks

Concept of layering. LAN technologies (Ethernet). Flow and error control techniques, switching. IPv4/IPv6, routers and routing algorithms (distance vector, link state). TCP/UDP and sockets, congestion control. Application layer protocols (DNS, SMTP, POP, FTP, HTTP). Basics of Wi-Fi. Network security: authentication, basics of public key and private key cryptography, digital signatures and certificates, firewalls.

GATE Topic

Books and Author

Engineering Mathematics

Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications by Kenneth Rosen

Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Erwin Kreyszig

Digital Logic

Digital Design by Morris Mano

Digital Electronics by S. Salivahanan & S. Arivazhagan

Computer Organization and Architecture

Computer Architecture – A Quantitative Approach by Hennessy and Patterson

Computer Organization and Embedded systems by Carl Hamacher

Programming and Data Structures

The C Programming language by Dennis Richie

Classic Data Structures by Debasis Samanta

Algorithms

Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen

Data Structures & Algorithms by R.S. Salaria

Theory of Computation

An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata by Peter Linz

NPTEL lectures by Kamala Krithivasan

Compiler Design

Compilers: Principles, Techniques and Tools by Aho & Ullman

Compiler Design in C by Allen I Holub

Operating System

Operating System Concepts by Galvin

Operating Systems by Stallings

Databases

Database System Concepts by Henry. F. Korth

Normalization and indexing by Shamkant B. Navathe

Computer Networks

Data Communications and Networking by Kurose & Ross and Behrouz A. Forouzan

Computer Networks by Peterson & Davie