Second, it was difficult to manipulate individual characters within a word in a portable fashion. This led to a great deal of shifting and masking code using non-standard, vendor-specific, features. The fact that character sets varied between machines also complicated the issue.
Second, it was challenging to manage individual characters within a word in a portable manner. This resulted in extensive repositioning and masking code utilizing non-standard, vendor-specific features. The variation of character sets across machines also complicated the matter.