What Python way would you suggest to check whois database records?

Question

I\'m trying to get a webservice up and running that actually requires to check whois databases. What I\'m doing right now is ugly and I\'d like to avoid it as much as I can:

Answer 1

import socket
socket.gethostbyname_ex('url.com')

if it returns a gaierror you know know it's not registered with any DNS