Is it a good practice to use try-except-else in Python?

Question

From time to time in Python, I see the block:

try:
   try_this(whatever)
except SomeException as exception:
   #Handle exception
else:
   return something
         


        

Answer 1

You should be careful about using the finally block, as it is not the same thing as using an else block in the try, except. The finally block will be run regardless of the outcome of the try except.

In [10]: dict_ = {"a": 1}

In [11]: try:
   ....:     dict_["b"]
   ....: except KeyError:
   ....:     pass
   ....: finally:
   ....:     print "something"
   ....:     
something

As everyone has noted using the else block causes your code to be more readable, and only runs when an exception is not thrown

In [14]: try:
             dict_["b"]
         except KeyError:
             pass
         else:
             print "something"
   ....: