if it's
not portable then it might as well be assembly and get the
benefits that come with that.
Sorry, I don't agree. It _is_ possible to write portable code, but even
ignoring that, the benfits of writing in a higher-level language (good
control structures, complex expressions, etc, etc) are well worth it.
C is like sports cars: A lot of people want them, some can afford them
but very few can actually drive them.