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Every time I read about the "inline" declaration in C it is mentioned that it is only a hint to the compiler (i.e. it does not have to obey it). Is there any benefit to adding it then, or should I just rely on the compiler knowing better than me?
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Inline functions provide following advantages: 1) Function call overhead doesn't occur. 2) It also saves the overhead of push/pop variables on the stack when function is called. 3) It also saves overhead of a return call from a function.
Inline functions are sometimes more useful than macros, as they are safe to use, but can also reduce function call overhead. The inline keyword is a request to the compiler, certain functions won't be inlined like: large functions. functions having too many conditional arguments.
Inline functions are faster because you don't need to push and pop things on/off the stack like parameters and the return address; however, it does make your binary slightly larger.
There are two reasons to use the inline keyword. One is an optimization hint, and you can safely ignore it; your compiler is like to ignore it too. The other reason is to allow a function to exist in multiple translation units, and that usage is strictly necessary. If you put a function into a .h header file for example, you'd better declare it inline.
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