GATE 2026 syllabus for computer science paper has 10 sections; topics covered

Section

Subject

Topics Covered

1

Engineering Mathematics

- Discrete Math: Propositional & first-order logic, sets, relations, functions, partial orders, lattices, monoids, groups, graphs (connectivity, matching, coloring), combinatorics (counting, recurrence relations, generating functions)

- Linear Algebra: Matrices, determinants, systems of linear equations, eigenvalues, eigenvectors, LU decomposition

- Calculus: Limits, continuity, differentiability, maxima & minima, mean value theorem, integration

- Probability & Statistics: Random variables, common distributions (uniform, normal, exponential, Poisson, binomial), mean, median, mode, standard deviation, conditional probability, Bayes theorem

2

Digital Logic

Boolean algebra, combinational & sequential circuits, circuit minimization, number representation, fixed and floating point arithmetic

3

Computer Organization & Architecture

Machine instructions, addressing modes, ALU, datapath, control unit, pipelining & hazards, memory hierarchy (cache, main, secondary), I/O interface (interrupts, DMA)

4

Programming & Data Structures

C programming, recursion, arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, BSTs, heaps, graphs

5

Algorithms

Searching, sorting, hashing, time & space complexity (asymptotic), design techniques (greedy, DP, divide & conquer), graph algorithms (traversal, MSTs, shortest paths)

6

Theory of Computation

Regular expressions, finite automata, CFGs, pushdown automata, regular/context-free languages, pumping lemma, Turing machines, undecidability

7

Compiler Design

Lexical analysis, parsing, syntax-directed translation, runtime environments, intermediate code, optimization, data flow analysis (constant propagation, liveness, CSE)

8

Operating System

System calls, processes, threads, IPC, concurrency, synchronization, deadlock, scheduling, memory management, virtual memory, file systems

9

Databases

ER model, relational algebra, tuple calculus, SQL, integrity constraints, normalization, file organization, indexing (B/B+ trees), transactions, concurrency control

10

Computer Networks

OSI & TCP/IP models, switching techniques, data link layer (framing, error detection, MAC), Ethernet, routing (shortest path, flooding, distance vector, link state), IP addressing (IPv4, CIDR), support protocols (ARP, DHCP, ICMP), NAT, transport layer (UDP, TCP, sockets), application layer (DNS, SMTP, HTTP, FTP, email)