What Are Bitfields? The C programming language is a product of a time where it was important to use as few resoures as possible. Memory was measured in kilobytes rather than gigabytes as we do today. Bitfields offer a handy way to reduce memory usage. However, bitfields aren’t just a relic of yesteryear’s computer programming; they remain frequently used today. Some domains, like embedded hardware, still require programmers to be frugal with memory.