I have achieved AIR 8 in GATE CS 2024 as well as AIR 17 in GATE DA 2024 in my final year of B Tech. and all this was possible because of my parents' support as well as my friends who helped me throughout my preparation. I am thankful to GateOverflow for providing a platform for quality discussions and GO Classes for providing the best test series for GATE CS with very good conceptual questions which helped me build my problem-solving skills.
As I had not taken any coaching, I dedicated some time in starting of my preparation to find the best resources. Though there were many resources that I have studied from throughout my preparation, I am sharing some of the resources that I found were excellent for building basic concepts.
List of standard books that I followed:
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Subject
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Name and Author
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Algorithm and DS
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- Introduction to Algorithms, by CLRS (3E)
- Algorithm Design, Jon Kleinberg and Éva Tardos
|
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Discrete Mathematics
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- Discrete mathematics and its applications by Kenneth H. Rosen (Indian 7E)
|
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Computer Networks
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- Data Communications and Networking by Behrouz A. Forouzan (5E)
- Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7E)
|
|
Theory of Computation
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- An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata by Peter Linz (6E)
- Introduction To the Theory Of Computation - Michael Sipser
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Compiler Design
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- Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools
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Digital Logic
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- Digital Logic and Computer Design by M. Morris Mano
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Computer Organization
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- Computer Organisation by Carl Hamacher
- Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface by David A Patterson and John L. Hennessy (5E)
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Operating System
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- Operating Systems by Avi Silberschatz, Greg Gagne, and Peter Baer Galvin (International 9E)
|
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Databases
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- Fundamentals of Database Systems by Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe (7E)
- Database System Concepts Book by Abraham Silberschatz, Henry F. Korth, and S. Sudarshan
|
| Probability |
- First Course in Probability, by Sheldon Ross
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List of Courses/Video Lectures I followed:
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Subject
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Course/Resource Links
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Algorithm and DS
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Amazing and intuitive lectures
Can audit the course and find quiz online (quiz questions are very good!)
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Discrete Mathematics
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Very good lectures with proofs and intuition!
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Computer Networks
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Best Videos on Computer Network
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Theory of Computation
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Best lectures for TOC and very intuitive (Must Watch for TOC!)
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Computer Organization
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Will cover basic of OS and COA
Best videos I found for Multilevel Paging and Cache
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Operating System
|
Will cover basic of OS and COA
|
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Digital Logic
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Covers everything
|
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DBMS
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All three courses are very good
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Compilers
|
Very good Course but some topics for GATE are not covered so refer NPTEL/Book
|
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Linear Algebra
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Best lectures for Linear Algebra
Highly recommend these videos for intuition
|
|
Probability
|
Best Lectures on Probability!
https://www.probabilitycourse.com/
|
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Calculus
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Very good videos on Calculus
|
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Group Theory
|
|
(On Coursera, there is an option to audit the course and watch videos for free and can also find the quiz questions online)
Some points about resources:
- Some of the courses have content beyond the GATE syllabus as well some of which I studied because I was enjoying that, but that can be easily be filtered out by looking at the topics in GATE syllabus pdf.
- Multiple books/courses do not necessarily mean I studied from both resources fully, I referred to other books/course when some topic had little content in one resource or I had doubts even after studying from one resource.
- Discussion is very important when learning something since it provides different approaches to the problem. I had discussions on GATE subjects and other related things with my friends in college which made me realize gaps in my knowledge and also helped me see new ways to approach many problems. For this, can also join groups online.
- For doubt solving, I would recommend searching various resources (top university articles/ppts or books) for the specific topics and reading discussions on stackoverflow or gateoverflow. It might take time but you will learn much more about the topic after thinking about it yourself and reading the discussion with different approaches.
- Some subjects require more time than others, so don’t try to rush any subjects.
- PYQs are the most important part of preparation, don’t skip them.
- Can also try out NPTEL assignments or relevant assignments of top universities.
- The only trick I know about solving questions faster is to practice more questions, so I can only recommend the same trick.
- Revision is necessary.
- Try to reduce Silly Mistakes! (Most Important! Mere aise questions glt hai exam me silly mistakes ki vjh se jo bina preparation walo ne bhi shi kiye honge)
- Don’t be restricted to just the resources shared, explore, prepare well and enjoy learning
There are many other things which can be found on many toppers’ interview on youtube but I feel like some of those things are subjective. Some make long notes, some make short notes, some don’t make notes and some even keep a notebook of mistakes. I made long notes of some subjects, short for some and for some did not make any notes (don't recommend this though).
For test series, I fully recommend GO Classes test series since their questions were from very good and standard resources (Some questions I recognized from the assignments of top university/courses in the tests :P) which will help in building concept as well as applying all those concepts (Loved the AIMTs since a lot of aspirants are giving exam at the same time so it feels like real GATE exam). I personally don’t think there is need for multiple test series as I couldn’t even attempt all the tests in GO Classes test series until the end and was able to attempt only 5 test from one other test series.
Most of these resources I had compiled from various blogs(mentioned below) and https://gatecse.in/
Some useful blogs for more resources:
