I don't know if it is possible in Python but here is what I intend to do
var = 5
array=[]
array.append(var)
array[0] = 1
I want var and array[0] to be updated with 1 and print 1:
print(array[0])
print(var)
Is it possible in Python to send in a pointer and dereference the pointer value to change it?
Python doesn't really have variables*, Python has names. See Facts and myths about Python names and values by Ned Batchelder.
Therefore, C-like concepts of pointers don't translate well to Python. var is just a name that points to the integer object 5; by appending var to array, you created another reference to that object, not a pointer to var.
Whatever you're trying to do might be better serviced by, for example, a dictionary:
vars = {"var": 5}
array = []
array.append("var")
vars[array[0]] = 1
print(vars[array[0]]) # prints "1"
print(vars["var"]) # ditto
*In the abovementioned article, Ned Batchelder writes that "names are Python's variables". In other words, Python does have variables, but they work in a different way than variables in, say, C or Java.
It is not possible in python. (list is mutable but integer is immutable) You can use aliasing of mutable objects to achieve a similar effect.
So you can do like this,
>>> var = [5]
>>> array = []
>>> array.append(var)
>>> var[0] = 3
>>> array
[[3]]
I think this could also work for you:
val=[]
array=val
array.append(5)
# it is all aliased so everything should be equal
print val[0], array[0], val == array
arrayis not a great name for a list because it's the name of the standard Python module that defines actual arrays.