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Programming and Data Structures · Programming in C
Official IIT answer key · IISc Bangalore · Audited Aug 2026
GATE CSE 2016 Set 1 Q15 · NAT · 1 mark
#include<stdio.h>
void mystery(int *ptra, int *ptrb) {
int *temp;
temp = ptrb;
ptrb = ptra;
ptra = temp;
}
int main() {
int a=2016, b=0, c=4, d=42;
mystery(&a, &b);
if (a < c)
mystery(&c, &a);
mystery(&a, &d);
printf("%d
", a);
}
The output of the program is _________ .Key concept
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Topic notes
In GATE CS, Programming in C is tested extensively through rigorous code tracing, pointer mechanics, and fundamental semantics rather than high-level syntax trivia. Questions emphasize pointer arithmetic and multidimensional array decay, storage classes (especially static local variables), evaluation order, side effects of increment/decrement operators, parameter passing mechanisms (pass-by-value vs pass-by-reference), and recursive program state tracking. The topic features a nearly balanced split between NAT and MCQ items across 1-mark and 2-mark categories, demanding precise, bug-free execution traces without a compiler.
Full Programming in C guide →Consider the following C program. #include void mystery(int *ptra, int *ptrb) int *temp; temp = ptrb; ptrb = ptra; ptra = temp; int main() int a=2016, b=0, c=4, d=42; mystery(&a, &b); if (a The output of the program is …
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Independent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.