GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 1

Algorithms & Data

Structures

Computer Science
&
Information Technology (CS)

20 Rank under AIR 100

Postal Correspondence
 Examination Oriented Theory, Practice Set
 Key concepts, Analysis & Summary

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 2

C O N T E N T: A L G O R I T H M & D ATA S T R U C T U R E
1. C POINTERS ……………………………………………………………… 03-14

2. ARRAY …………………………………………………………………… 15-26

3. HANDLING STRINGS, DYNAMIC MEMORY ALLOCATION 27-36

4. STACK …………………………………………………………………… 37-57

5. QUEUE ………………………………………………………………….. 58-78

6. LINKED LIST ………………………………………………………….. 79-94

7. TREES AND GRAPHS ………………………………………………… 95-109

8. INTRODUCTION TO ALGORITHM ………………………………..110-123

9. RECURRENCE RELATION …………………………………………. 124-127

10.DIVIDE AND CONQUER …………………………………………….. 128-147

11.OTHER SORTING ALGORITHMS ………………………………… 148-159

12.DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING ………………………………………. 160-169

13.GREEDY ALGORITHM …………………………………………….. 170-187

14.HASHING …………………………………………………………….. 188-194

15.AVL TRESS ………………………………………………………….. 195-200

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 3

CHAPTER-1
C POINTERS

INTRODUCTION:

Pointers are frequently used in C, as they offer number of benefit to the programmer. They include

 Pointers are more efficient in handling array and data table.

 Pointer can be used to return multiple values from a function via function argument.

 Pointer permit reference to function and thereby facilitating passing of functions as

argument to other functions.

 The use of pointer array to character string result in saving of data storage space in
memory.

 Pointer allows C to support dynamic memory management.

 Pointer provides an efficient tool for manipulating dynamic data structure such as
structure linked list queue, stacks and trees.

 Pointer reduces length and complexity of program.

 They reduce length and complexity of program.

 They increase the execution speed and thus reduce the program execution time.

Understanding pointers:

Whenever we declare a variable then system allocate somewhere in memory, an appropriate

location to hold the value of variable.

Consider the following statement

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 4

intx = 80;
x  var iable
80  value
5000  address

Representation of variable

 Pointer variable is nothing but a variable that contain an address which is a location of another
variable in memory.
For example:

Variable Value Address

x 80 5000
p 5000 5048

Pointer variable

Value of variable P is the address of variable X

 Address of a variable can be determined by & operator in C

For example: P  &x

Would assign 5000 to variable P

& operator can be used with simple variable or an array element. The following are the illegal
use of address operator

 & 125 pointing constant

 int x [10]

& x (pointing an array name)

 & (x + y) (pointing at expression)

It x is an array then expression such as & x [0] and & x (i+3) are valid and represent the address

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 5

of 0th and (i+3)th element of

 int * P

The declaration causes the compiler to allocate memory location for the pointer variable. Since memory
location has not been assigned any value. These locations may contain some unknown value in them.
Therefore they point to some unknown location.

P ?  ?

Garbage point to unknown

Location

 We can have multiple declaration in same statement


 int p, q, * r ;

 int x, * p, y;

x  10 ;

p  &x

 It is also possible to combine the declaration of data variable and declaration of pointer variable and
Initialization of pointer variable in one step.

int x, * p  & x ;

 We can also define the pointer variable with initial value of null or zero. We can also assign the
constant value to pointer variable.
 Pointer are flexible we can make same pointer to point different data variable in different statement.
 We can also use different pointer to point the same data variable.

 int x, y, * ptr ;

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 6

ptr  & x ;

y * ptr //Assign the value pointed by pointer ptr to y

* ptr  25; // This statement put the value of 25 at the location whose address is the value of

pointer variable; we know the value of pointer variable (ptr) is the address of x.

Therefore old value of x is replaced by 25.

It is equivalent to assigning value 25 to x.

 Illustration of Pointer Assignments:

Stage Value in storage Address

Declaration x y ptr

4104 4108 4106  Address

x  10 10
4104 4108 4106  Address
ptr  & x 10 4104
4104 4108 4106  Address
Y  * ptr 10 10 4104
4104 4108 4106  Address
* ptr  25 25 10 4104
4104 4108 4106  Address

 Chain of pointers:

p2 p1 Variable
address 2  Address1  Value

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 7

Pointer p2 contain the address of pointer p1 which points to the location that contain the desired

value

For example

int * * p2 ;

 Arithmetic operation on pointers

 Multiplication:

y  * ptr  * ptr

Multiplication of * p1 and * p2

 Division:

Z  * p2 / * p1


Space is necessary /* considered as beginning of comment.

 p1  4, p1  5, p2  2, p1  ,  p2 all the operation are allowed

 p2  p1 , p1  p2 and p1 ! p2 are allowed

 p1  p2 is also allowed. If p1 and p2 both points to same array then p1  p2 gives the

number of element between p1 and p2

.

However

p1 / p2 , p1* p2 , p1 / 3, p1* 3 , p1  p2 Are not allowed

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 8

 p1   Will cause the pointer p1 to point to next value of its type. suppose p1 is integer. Pointer

with initial value 2800 then after operation p1   value of p1 will be 2802 not 2801

 A value cannot be assigned to an arbitrary address i.e. & x  10 is illegal

Size of int 2
char 1
float 4
size of po int er  2

p  1000
 & p  2000
* p  10

Then

* & p   1000
* *  & p    10

Pointer representation in Array:

1-D: A[3] can be represented by * A  3

Base or starting address of array


2 D: a i i   * *  a  i   j 

In 1-D array to get value stored we need one asterisk (pointer notation)

In 2-D array to get value stored in array we need two asterisk.

In 3-D array to get value stored in array we need three asterisk.

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 9

P: Pointer to the first row

P+i: pointer to itn row

*  p  i  : Pointer to the first element in its row

*  p  i   j : Pointer to jth element in ith row

* *  p  i   j  : Value stored in cell  i, j  i.e. ith Row jth column

 Pointer to one data type can be used to point another data type. This is possible by type casting

 Pointer to float number can be used as pointer to an integer

 Some conversion are required

P i   int* pf

↑ ↑
Pointer to integer pointer to float no

 Difference between * p 3 and * p  3 . Since precedence of [] is more than * p 3 declare p as an

array of 3 pointer while * p  3 declare p as a pointer of an array having 3 elements.

 When an array is passed to a function as an argument, only the address of first element of an array is
passed but not the actual value of array element.

For example:

int x 10 ;
sort  x 

Address of x [0] is passed to function sort

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 10

 Call by reference OR call by address

main ( )

int x;
x  20;
change  & x 
pr int f "%d \ n, x  ;


* p  * p  10;


Output 30

When function change ( ) is called only the address of x is passed to the pointer P not value.

 Parameters are passed by value in c, i.e. values being passed are copied into the parameter of called
function at the time when function’s invoked.

Pointer notation and their significance:

1. int * p // p is a pointer to an integer quantity.

2. int * p 10

P is a 10 – element array of pointer to integer quantities.

3. int * p  10

P is a pointer to a 10 – element integer array

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 11

4. int * p  void 

P is a function that returns to an integer quantity

5. int p  char * a 

P is a function that accepts an argument which is a pointer to character & return an integer
quantity

6. int * p  char * a 

P is a function that accept an argument which is a pointer to a character return a pointer to an

integer quantity

7. int * p   char * a 

P is a pointer to function that accept an argument which is a pointer to a character return an

integer quantity

8. int  * p  char * a   10

P is a function that accept an argument which is a pointer to a character return a pointer to a 10
– element integer array


9. int p char *a   
P is a function that accepts an argument which is a pointer to a character array returns an
integer quantity.


10. int p char * a   ;
P is a function that accepts an argument which is an array of pointer to characters returns an
integer quantity


11. int * p char a   ;
P is a function that accepts an argument which is a character array returns a pointer to an
integer quantity

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 12


12. int * p char *a    ;

P is a function that accepts an argument which is a pointer to character array return a pointer to
an integer-quantity


13. int * p char * a  

P is a function that accept an argument which is an array of pointer to character return to an

integer quantity


14. int * p char *a    ;

P is a function that accept an argument which is a pointer to a character array return an integer
quantity


15. int * p  char *a   

P is a pointer to a function that accepts an argument which is a pointer to a character array

return a pointer to an integer array.

16. int * * p  char * a  

P is a ptr to fun! That accepts an argument which is an array of pointer to character return a
pointer to an integer quantity.

17. int * p 10  void 

P is a 10 element array of a pointer to function, each function return an integer quantity.

 
18. int * p 10   char a  ;

P is a 10 element array of pointer to functions. Each function accepts an argument which is a

character & returns an integer quantity

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 13

 
19. int * * p 10   char a 

P is a 10 element array of pointer to functions each function accepts an argument which is a

character and return a pointer to an integer quantity

 
20. int * * p 10  char * a 

P is a 10 element array of a pointer to functions; each function accepts an argument which is a

pointer to a character and return a pointer to an integer quantity.

Questions

Question: What is O/P of following C program

int f  int x, int * py, int ** ppz 



 int z , y
* * ppz   1
z  * * ppz
* py   2
y  * py
x  x3
return  x  y  z 


Main ( )



 int c, * b, **a
c  4, b  & c, a  & b
pr int f "%d ", f  c, b, a  


GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 14

Ans:19

Explanation

a b c
2000 1000 4
3000 2000 1000

x p4 ppz
4 1000 2000
6000 5000 4000

** ppz return 4 and ** ppz   1 return 5

So z = 5

* py   2 return 7

So y = 7

As value of x = 4

So x = x+3 return 7

So output is 7+7+5 = 19

Question: What does following program print:

# include <studio. h>

Void f  int* p, int* q 

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com
GATE- 2016-17 Postal Correspondence 15

 pq
* pz


int i  0, j  1;
int main  
 f  &i, & j  ;
pr int f : %d %d \ n ", i, j  ;
return 0;


Ans:0,2

Explanation:

i j p q
0 1 3000 4000
3000 4000 1000 2000

After pq

p q
4000 4000

So * p  2 change value of j and value of i does not effected .

New Edition with GATE 2015 Solutions is available.

To Buy Postal Correspondence Package call at 0-9990657855

GATE Solutions © 2015 ENGINEERS INSTITUTE OF INDIA® . All Rights Reserved

28-B/7, Jia Sarai, Near IIT, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Ph. 011-26514888. www.engineersinstitute.com