Macro loops to create a large number of variables at pre-processing - c

Question

I want to create a large number of declarations of static arrays, each with a different (static) size. I also want to be able to create an instance of all of them, and access them easily just with their ID. Can this be done with macros in C ?
i.e. I want to shorten this code
int array_1[SIZE_1];
int array_2[SIZE_2];
int array_3[SIZE_3];
int array_4[SIZE_4];
int array_5[SIZE_5];
int array_6[SIZE_6];
.
.
.
int array_40[SIZE_40];
and create this code (where the parts between <> are the ones I hope macros can do for me).
int StoreInArray(int array_id, int position, int value)
{
if(position < SIZE_<array_id>)
{
array_<array_id>[position] = value;
return 0;
}
else
{
return 1;
}
}
Of note : memory imprint is important. I really want to have each array be exactly the size that it must be, and no more - unless a cheap solution is offered.

Answer 1

The correct solution is likely to reconsider your overall program design and instead do something like this:
typedef struct
{
int* data;
size_t size;
} array_t;
const array_t array [40] =
{
{ some_array, 3 },
{ some_other_array, 5 },
...
};
A much worse idea is to implement an evil macro. It might look like this:
// NOT RECOMMENDED
#define StoreInArray(id,pos,val) (pos < SIZE_##id ? (array_##id[pos] = val,1) : 0)
Where the parameter id is an integer constant such as 1. Token concatenation then forms SIZE_1, array_1 etc as the macro is expanded.
This is written as a function-like macro only assigning to the array if pos is smaller than the array size. If so, the macro returns 1 otherwise 0. The comma operator is used inside the conditional operator ?: to achieve this.
Example:
#include <stdio.h>
#define SIZE_1 4
#define SIZE_2 2
#define SIZE_3 5
int array_1[SIZE_1];
int array_2[SIZE_2];
int array_3[SIZE_3];
#define StoreInArray(id,pos,val) (pos < SIZE_##id ? (array_##id[pos] = val,1) : 0)
int main(void)
{
if(StoreInArray(1, 3, 123))
{
printf("%d\n", array_1[3]); // prints 123
}
if(StoreInArray(1, 4, 123))
{
printf("%d\n", array_1[3]); // doesn't get executed
}
if(StoreInArray(3, 4, 456))
{
printf("%d\n", array_3[4]); // prints 456
}
}