In a compiler, keywords of a language are recognized during (A) parsing of the program (B) the code generation (C) the lexical analysis of the program (D) dataflow analysis
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GATE CSE 2011 · Q1
MCQ1 markEasy
Time
In a compiler, keywords of a language are recognized during (A) parsing of the program (B) the code generation (C) the lexical analysis of the program (D) dataflow analysis
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Solution
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Official answer: C) the lexical analysis of the program
Lexical AnalysisDuring lexical analysis (the scanning phase), the compiler reads the stream of characters composing the source program and groups them into meaningful sequences called lexemes. For each lexeme, the lexical analyzer produces a token (such as keywords, identifiers, constants, and operators).
Lexical Analysis (C): Identifies keywords, identifiers, operators, and constants.
Parsing / Syntax Analysis (A): Checks the grammatical structure against context-free grammar rules.
Code Generation (B): Translates intermediate representation into target machine code.
Dataflow Analysis (D): Collects runtime information about data values for code optimization.
Therefore, the correct option is (C).
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Examiner trap
The misconception this question tests
Recall the first phase of a compiler which breaks the character stream into tokens.
This Lexical Analysis previous year question is Q1 of the GATE CSE 2011 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on Lexical Analysis in Compiler Design, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.
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Lexical Analysis in GATE CSE
Lexical Analysis has 7 GATE CSE PYQs across 6 papers from 2011 to 2026. 5 of them are 1-mark MCQs like this one, and GATE CSE 2011 has 2.
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Independent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.