IntegrityError: distinguish between unique constraint and not null violations

Question

I have this code:

try:
    principal = cls.objects.create(
        user_id=user.id,
        email=user.email,
        path=\'something\'
    )
except Integri         


        

Answer 1

It could be better to use:

try:
    obj, created = cls.objects.get_or_create(user_id=user.id, email=user.email)
except IntegrityError:
    ....

as in https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/models/querysets/#get-or-create

The IntegrityError should be raised only in the case there's a NOT NULL constraint violation. Furthermore you can use created flag to know if the object already existed.