GATE CS 2018 Set 1 — Question 12

MCQ+1 / -0.33MediumPointers & Pointer ArithmeticC ProgrammingProgramming & Data StructuresArrays & Strings in C

Programming & Data Structures → C Programming → Arrays & Strings in C

Last updated 5 September 2026

Question

Consider the following C program. The output of this program is:

Correct answer (A) 0, c Solution 1. The structure Ournode contains three char members: x, y, and z . In C, char typically occupies 1 byte, and structure members are laid out contiguously in memory. 2. struct Ournode p = {'1', '0', 'a'+2}; initializes p.x = '1', p.y = '0', and p.z = 'c' (since 'a' + 2 = 'c'). 3. struct Ournode *q = &p; makes q point to the start of the structure p . 4. (char*)q casts the structure pointer to a character pointer. Now, (char*)q points to the first byte of the structure, which is p.x . 5. *((char*)q+1) increments the pointer by 1 byte (the size of a char), so it points to p.y . Dereferencing it gives the character'0' . 6. *((char*)q+2) increments the pointer by 2 bytes, so it points to p.z . Dereferencing it gives the character'c' . 7. printf ("%c, %c", ...) prints these characters separated by a comma and a space: 0, c . Turn this into a strength. Explore AI-powered practice and doubt support with Success Tracker.

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Correct answer (A) 0, c Solution 1. The structure Ournode contains three char members: x, y, and z . In C, char typically occupies 1 byte, and structure members are laid out contiguously in memory. 2. struct Ournode p = {'1', '0', 'a'+2}; initializes p.x = '1', p.y = '0', and p.z = 'c' (since 'a' + 2 = 'c'). 3. struct Ournode *q = &p; makes q point to the start of the structure p . 4. (char*)q casts the structure pointer to a character pointer. Now, (char*)q points to the first byte of the structure, which is p.x . 5. *((char*)q+1) increments the pointer by 1 byte (the size of a char), so it points to p.y . Dereferencing it gives the character'0' . 6. *((char*)q+2) increments the pointer by 2 bytes, so it points to p.z . Dereferencing it gives the character'c' . 7. printf ("%c, %c", ...) prints these characters separated by a comma and a space: 0, c .

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