One Stop GATE Forum: GATE(FAQ With Answer)

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   1. Everybody talks about the "conducting institute", what
      does this mean?

Every year one of the the IITs or IISc conduct GATE, this
      institute takes care about all GATE related functions from setting up
      the paper to renting examination halls, this institute is called the
      "conducting institute" for that year.
Table 3. Conducting Institutes
2003 IIT, Madras
2002 IISc, Bangalore
2001 Anyone knows who conducted...
2000 IIT, Kharagpur
1999 IIT, Bombay
2. Where can I get the GATE brochure?

This information is published in most popular newspapers
3. What books do I refer for GATE CSE?

Wrong question, nobody will give you an answer, we can only
      recommend a list of books, well the choosing part is left to you.
4. Apart from the books do I need to refer the articles published in
      the Internet?

No harm to extend your knowledge, but do keep an eye on time. Most
      successful GATE'ians tell textbooks were more than sufficient, if
      used properly.
5. Is there any official document that I can refer to, w.r.t GATE?

Nothing as such, but I would advise you ppl to read the last
      year's GATE brochure in detail. You will get a lot of information in
      that.
6. Do I require to buy the GATE material from Brilliants, Elite, etc,
      If I do, then which is the best?

Well this is a very sensitive issue, it is generally a recommended
      option to get these materials, because it helps cover any new additions
      or information required for GATE. We people made up a group and shared
      the materials. Hope those tuition fellas don't read this part of the
      document.
7. I need the syllabus for GATE Computer Science 2004

GATE CSE 2004 syllabus is not yet released, usually there are no
      changes in content, so I it a good idea to stick on to the previous
      year's GATE Syllabus.
GATE 2003 - CS - COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
BASIC MATHEMATICS
Mathematical Logic
Propositional Logic, First-order Logic
Probability
Random variables and expectation, Conditional
                  probability, Independent random variables, Distributions
                  (Uniform, Normal, Exponential, Poisson, Binomial)
Discrete Mathematics
Sets, Relations, Functions, Groups, Lattice, Boolean
                  algebra, Induction, Recurrence relations
Combinatorics
Permutations, Combinations, Counting, Summation
Elementary graph theory
Basic properties, Connectivity, Covering and matching,
                  Planarity
Elementary concepts of Linear and Matrix Algebra
Numerical methods
Classical algorithms for interpolation and root
                  finding
THEORY OF COMPUTATION
Formal Languages and Automata Theory
Regular languages and finite automata, Context free
                  languages and Push-down automata, Recursively enumerable
                  sets and Turing machines, Un-decidability
Analysis of Algorithms and Computational Complexity
Asymptotic analysis (best, worst, average case) of
                  time and space, Upper and lower bounds on the complexity of
                  specific problems, NP-completeness
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Digital Logic
Logic functions, Minimization, Design and synthesis of
                  Combinational and Sequential circuits
Number representation and Computer Arithmetic (fixed and
              floating point)
Computer Organization
Machine instructions and addressing modes, ALU and
                  Data-path, hardwired and micro-programmed control, Memory
                  interface, I/O interface (Interrupt and DMA mode), Serial
                  communication interface, Instruction pipelining, Cache, main
                  and secondary storage
SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
Data structures
Notion of abstract data types, Stack, Queue, List,
                  Set, String, Tree, Binary search tree, Heap, Graph
Programming Methodology
C programming, Program control (iteration, recursion,
                  Functions), Scope, Binding, Parameter passing, Elementary
                  concepts of Object oriented, Functional and Logic
                  Programming
Algorithms for problem solving
Tree and graph traversals, Connected components,
                  Spanning trees, Shortest paths
Hashing, Sorting, Searching
Design techniques (Greedy, Dynamic Programming,
              Divide-and-conquer)
Compiler Design
Lexical analysis, Parsing, Syntax directed
                  translation, Runtime environment, Code generation, Linking
                  (static and dynamic)
Operating Systems
Classical concepts (concurrency, synchronization,
                  deadlock), Processes, threads and Inter-process
                  communication, CPU scheduling, Memory management, File
                  systems, I/O systems, Protection and security
Databases
Relational model (ER-model, relational algebra, tuple
                  calculus), Database design (integrity constraints, normal
                  forms), Query languages (SQL), File structures (sequential
                  files, indexing, B+ trees), Transactions and concurrency
                  control
Computer Networks
ISO/OSI stack, sliding window protocol, LAN
                  Technologies (Ethernet, Token ring), TCP/UDP, IP, Basic
                  concepts of switches, gateways, and routers
8. I don't have any idea about the relation between marks,
      percentile, and rank

See the table of GATE-2003 statics
Table 4. GATE-2003 Results (Extract form results)
Department Rank (R) Out of (N) Percentile (P) Absolute Score
CS 1 37797 99.99 867/867
CS 2 37797 99.99 851/867
CS 3 37797 99.99 789/867
CS 4 37797 99.99 786/867
CS 5 37797 99.99 782/867
CS 10 37797 99.97 724/867
CS 26 37797 99.93 678/867
CS 50 37797 99.87 660/867
CS 100 37797 99.73 637/867
CS 506 37797 98.60 582/867
CS 1018 37797 97.12 557/867
CS 1523 37797 95.73 545/867
CS 2008 37797 94.55 537/867
CS 3051 37797 91.68 522/867
CS 3960 37797 89.25 514/867
Percentile (P) = (No. of Students below you) / (No. of Students)
P = ( N - R ) / N
e.g. 100th rank, P = ( 37797 - 100 ) / ( 37797 ) = 99.73
9. Could someone tell the list of gate-specific books

Thanks to sunny narola for contributing this valuable piece of
      information...
sunny: "I suggest u take one book at a time and get to the
      next after you are through with the previous."
Gate Complete Reference - J. V. N. Ramesh
Multiple Choice Questions CSE - Williams
Question Bank Bible CSE - S. Jaiswal
Question Bank CSE - S. K. Basandara
Computer Science (Guide for GATE) - G. K. Publishers
Computer Science Engineering GATE (Objective) - A. Handa
CSE (GATE) - Bhanu Pratap
CSE Papers - G. K. Publishers
CSE (Confirming To The Syllabus Of Gate) - G. K. Publishers
ELITE Academy Study Material + Question Bank
10. List of books for Computer Hardware

Computer Hardware includes Digital Logic, Number representation
      and Computer Arithmetic, and Computer Organization. It is hard to
      classify the books for each one of the above mentioned three subjects,
      instead I will try to list the books which are most commonly used
M. M. Mano. Computer System Architecture , 3rd Edition,
          Prentice Hall of India, 1993.
J. P. Hayes, Computer Architecture and Organization, McGraw
          Hill, 1979.
V. C. Hamacher, Z.G. Vranesic and S.G. Zaky, computer
          Organization, 4th Ed., McGraw-Hill, 1996.
David A. Patterson and John L. Henessey, Computer Architecture
          a Quantitative Approach, Morgan Kauffmann, 1990/1996.
A. S. Tanenbaum. Structured Computer Organization , 3rd
          Edition, Prentice Hall of India, 1990.
Digital Computer Design by V. Rajaraman and T. Radhakrishnan
11. List of books for Discrete Mathematics

Sets, Relations, Functions, Groups, Lattice, Boolean algebra,
      Induction, Recurrence relations
C. L. Liu, Elements of Discrete Mathematics, McGraw-Hill
          International Editions, 1985.
Discrete Mathematics by Tremblay & Manohar
12. List of books for Theory of Computation (Formal Languages and
      Automata Theory)

Regular languages and finite Automata, Context free languages and
      Push-down Automata, Recursively enumerable sets and Turing machines,
      Un-decidability
John C. Martin
A. V. Aho, J. E. Hopcroft and J. D. Ullman, Introduction to
          Automata, Languages and Computation, Addison Wesley, 1980.
H.R. Lewis and C.H.Papadimitrou, Elements of the Theory of
          Computation, Prentice Hall Inc., 1981.
Peter Linz, Finite Automata and Formal Languages
Theory of Computations - K L P Mishra & Chandrashekar
13. List of books for Theory of Computation (Analysis of Algorithms
      and Computational Complexity)

Asymptotic analysis (best, worst, average case) of time and space,
      Upper and lower bounds on the complexity of specific problems,
      NP-completeness.
This concept is mostly embedded in the algorithm books.
14. List of books for Data Structures and Programming and Algorithms

Data structures: Notion of abstract data types, Stack, Queue,
      List, Set, String, Tree, Binary search tree, Heap, Graph
Programming Methodology: C programming, Program control
      (iteration, recursion, Functions), Scope, Binding, Parameter passing,
      Elementary concepts of Object oriented, Functional and Logic Programming
Algorithms for problem solving: Tree and graph traversals,
      Connected components, Spanning trees, Shortest paths Hashing, Sorting,
      Searching
Design techniques (Greedy, Dynamic Programming,
      Divide-and-conquer)
Data structure by Horowitz, Sahani. Rigorous preparation for this
      is a must as good amount of questions will be asked on this. If you get
      some time (and if book is available) read algorithms by Rivest, Coreman.
      This is really good (and tough) book. Some other basic book will also
      do. Try to read from different books. You will find something new in
      each of them
Tremblay and Sorenson. An Introduction to Data Structures with
          Applications , 2nd Edition, McGraw Hills, 1985.
E.Horowitz, S.Sahni, Fundamentals of Computer Algorithms,
          Galgotia Publishers, 1984.
T. H. Cormen, C.E. Leiserson and R.L. Rivest, Introduction to
          Algorithms, Tata-Mcgraw Hill Publishers, New Delhi, 1998.
Cormen, Leiserson, and Rivest. Algorithms , MIT Press, 1990.
A. V. Aho, J. E. Hopcroft, and J. D. Ullman, Data Structures
          and Algorithms, Addison-Wesley, USA, 1984.
A. V. Aho, J. E. Hopcroft, and J. D. Ullman, The Design and
          Analysis of Computer Algorithms , Addison Wesley, 1974.
E. Horowitz, S. Sahni, Fundamentals of Data Structures,
          Galgotia Publishers 1983.
Horowitz and Sahni, Fundamentals of Data Structures in C/C++,
          Computer Science Press, 1997.
D. E. Knuth, The Art of Computer Programming, Vols. 1 and 3,
          Addison Wesley, 1968, 1975.
15. List of books for Compiler Design

Lexical analysis, Parsing, Syntax directed translation, Runtime
      environment, Code generation, Linking (static and dynamic)
A.V.Aho, Ravi sethi and J.D.Ullman, Compilers, Tools and
          Techniques, Addison - Wesley, 1986.
D.M.Dhamdhere, Compiler Construction - Principles and
          Practice, Macmillan, India, 1997.
16. List of books for Database Systems

Relational model (ER-model, relational algebra, tuple calculus),
      Database design (integrity constraints, normal forms), Query languages
      (SQL), File structures (sequential files, indexing, B+ trees),
      Transactions and concurrency control
R. Elmasri and Shamakant B. Navathe, Fundamentals of Database
          Systems, 3rd Edition, The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing company Inc.,
          1999.
H. F. Korth and A. Silberschatz. Database Concepts , 2nd
          Edition, Mcgraw Hill, 1991.
Abraham Silberschatz, Henry F. Korth and S. Sudarshan,
          Database System Concepts 3rd Ed, McGraw Hill, 1997.
C.J. Date, Database Systems, Sixth Edition, Addison Wesley,
          1997.
18. List of books for Computer Networks

ISO/OSI stack, sliding window protocol, LAN Technologies
      (Ethernet, Token ring), TCP/UDP, IP, Basic concepts of switches,
      gateways, and routers.
Andrew S. Tannenbaum, Computer Networks, Prentice Hall, Third
          Edition, 1997.
William Stallings, Hand Book of Data Communication, Volumes I,
          II and III, JW, 1990.
D. Bertsekas and R. Gallagher, Data Networks, Prentice Hall,
          Second Edition, 1987.
Douglas Comer, Inter-networking with TCP/IP
19. List of books for Operating Systems

Classical concepts (concurrency, synchronization, deadlock),
      Processes, threads and Inter-process communication, CPU scheduling,
      Memory management, File systems, I/O systems, Protection and security.
Silberschatz & Galvin, coupled with OS concepts by Dhamdere
      should be more than enough
I suggest OS by Galvin. Don't read Unix as it is not needed.
      But if you read, it may be helpful in future (e.g. in interviews)
A. Silberschatz, J.L. Peterson and P.B. Galvin, Operating
          System Concepts, 3rd Edition, Addison-Wesley, 1991.
Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Modern Operating Systems, Prentice Hall,
          1992.
D.M.Dhamdhere, Systems Programming and Operating Systems,
          1997.
20. Which is the best IIT? What do I choose first?

I would recommend you to talk to at least 3 people to get a more
      accurate answer, a first year MTech student, a second year MTech
      student, and lastly a person who just finished his MTech. (Please let me
      know, I will add the information here...)
Table 5. Extract form website of V. Shreeniwas (Student at IIT Kanpur)
Sl. No. Subject of MTech Department Institution Possible ranks (*)
1 Comp. & Automation Comp. & Automation IISc, Bangalore 50
2 Internet Science Comp. & Automation IISc, Bangalore 75
3 CSE CSE IIT Kanpur 200
4 CSE CSE IIT Bombay 200
5 CSE CSE IIT Delhi 225-250
6 CSE, various specializations CSE IIT Kharagpur 300
7 CSE CSE IIT Madras 300
8 CSE Electronics IIT Roorkee 400
9 CSE CSE IIT Guwahati 500
10 Comp. Tech EE IIT Delhi 600
11 IT KReSIT IIT Bombay 1500 – 1800
12 Comp. Appl. Maths IIT Delhi 750
13 Various Specializations --- IIITs 1500-2000
14 CSE CSE DCE/NSIT 1500
(*) - Possible ranks till where it may go down. The ranks provided
      here are pure guess work and have been kept on the higher side, that is
      the actual admissions are expected to close at a higher rank than stated
      here. But its reasonable to apply if you have this kind of rank.
Some tips regarding GATE Applying
The MTech IT course is run by Kanwal Rekhi School of IT
          (KReSIT) at IITB. The course is as good as the CS MTech with
          slightly more impetus on CS applications. However, their selection
          process is different. They call everybody till a low rank and have
          some tests/interview for them. That's precisely the rank is low,
          not because the course is bad or anything. A similar posture was
          adopted by IITK 2 years ago. So, some things are unpredictable.
          That's precisely why I said that the cut offs there in was just
          a humble estimations from my side. You accept it at your own risk.
The MTech IT at IITR is pretty bad. It is not even run at
          Roorkee. They run at the ERDC campus at NOIDA. Now, the MTech course
          is a total experience starting from the hostel life through to
          placements. A major part of it is lost in this course. So, Do that
          at your own peril.
IIITs are placed higher than RECs because they are good. They
          are having good faculty. They are developing well into research and
          getting good response from the Industry. The RECs are lacking the
          impetus to perform well in research. I have classmates here from two
          RECs - Calicut & Jaipur, and they verify the fact. So, I will
          maintain my rating for IIITs.
BARC etc are not taking you for education. They are taking you
          for placement as Scientist. Though, joining them has its own
          benefits:
You can do your PhD later under the QIP program.
You can join MTech side by side and join BARC and get your
              MTech converted into sponsored one. I have a classmate who does
              so. You get a higher fellowship during your MTech.
Of course, you sign a bond and that's a problem.
The Govt. sector is research is good, but I have heard
              that BARC is beset with problems.
Your GATE score is your percentile. Period. If they ask you
          for rank, you may provide that. But GATE score, nationwide, is
          regarded as your percentile.
21. Any information about BITS pilani

(Please double check this content..., Someone had posted this on
      one of the groups long back)
BITS Pilani take both semester admissions and they are not of much
      difference.
There is no compulsion that you should be BITS graduate to appear
      in second sem/first sem.
Any one having bachelor's can apply, there is a written test
      conducted for that in which Questions from your graduation discipline
      are asked.
M.E (CS): You have to be Bachelor's in computer science
M.E (SS Software Systems): People who don't have
      Bachelor's in computer science can go for this.
There are difference of course structure but for job wise I
      don't find very much of a difference.
For more about information, see BITS brochure.
Website: http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in
22. I need to know who contributed to this document

The list is small but, I'm sure it will grow...
Table 6. Contributors
Venkat from Bangalore (Author)
Maga from Bangalore (Author's friend)
Pavan from Bangalore (contrib: conducting institutes)
Sunny (contrib: list of gate-specific books)


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