GATE CS 2026 Set 2 Q.17: Runtime Environments and Parameter Passing

In C runtime environment, which one of the following is stored in heap?

A static variable declared inside a function

An array of integers declared inside a function

A dynamically allocated array of integers created using malloc() function call

Return address of a function

Official answer and solution

Solution

Distinguish between data segment (static), stack segment (local variables and return addresses), and heap segment (dynamic allocation).

In the C runtime memory layout:

Static variables are stored in the static/data segment.
Local arrays declared inside a function and function return addresses are stored in the activation record on the runtime stack.
Memory allocated dynamically at runtime via malloc(), calloc(), or realloc() is allocated on the heap.

Final answer

Option (C)

The answer is the one in the official GATE answer key. The solution is this site's own explanation.

Paper: GATE 2026 Computer Science and Information Technology - Session 2 (CS2)
Question: 17 of 65
Section: Computer Science and Information Technology

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