How do I get the object if it exists, or None if it does not exist?

Question

When I ask the model manager to get an object, it raises DoesNotExist when there is no matching object.

go = Content.objects.get(name=\"baby\")
         


        

Answer 1

Without exception:

if SomeModel.objects.filter(foo='bar').exists():
    x = SomeModel.objects.get(foo='bar')
else:
    x = None

Using an exception:

try:
   x = SomeModel.objects.get(foo='bar')
except SomeModel.DoesNotExist:
   x = None

There is a bit of an argument about when one should use an exception in python. On the one hand, "it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission". While I agree with this, I believe that an exception should remain, well, the exception, and the "ideal case" should run without hitting one.