I noticed that the TMS320F2809 examples accessed GPIOs by bits rather than as 32-bit ints. For example, it's possible to set a GPIO like this on the TMS320F280x:

    GpioDataRegs.GPADAT.bit.GPIO12 = 1; // Sets GPIO12 to high.
    

Normally when working with AVRs, I would set bits like this:

    PORTB |= (1<<PB3); // Sets port b, bit 3 to high.
    

After a bit of tinkering, I came up with this (for AVRs):

    portb.bit.b3 = HIGH; // Sets port b, bit 3 to high.
    

I personally think it looks a bit cleaner, so I'll probably be using it in the future. If you're interested in trying it out, you can download a full example here: bitfields.zip.

Side note: It is also possible to access GPIOs as 32-bit ints on the TMS320F280x like this:

    GpioDataRegs.GPADAT.all |= (1<<12); // Sets GPIO12 to high.
    

Edit: Looks like I'm not alone.