Well there's a few things to keep in mind. For one, `sizeof(char)`is guarenteed to be `1` - the standard simply says so. That doesn't mean that a `char` is 8-bi

Well there's a few things to keep in mind. For one, `sizeof(char)`is guarenteed to be `1` - the standard simply says so. That doesn't mean that a `char` is 8-bits long, however. On certain systems, like TI DSP's, `char` is 16-bits long, and thus `sizeof(short)` is also 1. `sizeof(int)` may be either 1 or 2, I can't recall (both are standards compliant). All that said, POSIX requires `CHAR_BIT == 8`, which then basically ensures what you wrote to be true. So if you're willing to target POSIX (or POSIX-supporting systems) then such a thing is perfectly fine. The `stdint.h` types are still better though, IMO, because they make your intentions a lot more clear.