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GATE CSE 2026 Session 2 Q60: Output of a C program reassigning through a pointer

Question

Consider the following ANSI-C program.

#include <stdio.h>
int main(){
    int *ptr, a, b, c;
    a=5; b=11; c=20;
    ptr=&a; *ptr=c; ptr=&c;
    a=*(&b); c=*ptr-a;
    printf("%d",c);
    return(0);
}

The output of this program is ____________. (answer in integer)

Note: Assume that the program compiles and runs successfully.

Try it: numerical answer: type the value

Numerical answer. No negative marking.
Show answer and explanation

Answer: 9 (official GATE 2026 final answer key)

Concept used: Writing through *ptr changes whichever variable ptr currently points to.

First step: Trace the variables line by line: after *ptr=c, a is 20; then ptr points to c and a becomes b.

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Source: official GATE 2026 Session 2 CS question paper and final answer key, organised by IIT Guwahati. Question paper · Answer key

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