Nested try statements in python?

Question

Is there a nicer way of doing the following:

try:
    a.method1()
except AttributeError:
    try:
        a.method2()
    except AttributeError:
        try:         


        

Answer 1

If you are using new-style object:

methods = ('method1','method2','method3')
for method in methods:
    try:
        b = a.__getattribute__(method)
    except AttributeError:
        continue
    else:
        b()
        break
else:
    # re-raise the AttributeError if nothing has worked
    raise AttributeError

Of course, if you aren't using a new-style object, you may try __dict__ instead of __getattribute__.

EDIT: This code might prove to be a screaming mess. If __getattribute__ or __dict__ is not found, take a wild guess what kind of error is raised.