Question

I am asking because the way I have it right now seems really strange. Basically, I am saying, “If there is an exception thrown, do something. Else, do nothing.” Here is some sample code:

 try:
        db.get(db.Key(uid))
 except:
        newUser = User(key_name=str(uid)) 
        newUser.first_name = self.request.get("first")
        newUser.last_name = self.request.get("last")
        newUser.email = self.request.get("email") 
        newUser.phone = self.request.get("phone")
        db.put(newUser)

Thanks!

Answer 1

Use User.get_by_key_name(str(uid)) instead. It will return None if the entity doesn’t exist.

See http://code.google.com/appengine/docs/python/datastore/modelclass.html#Model_get_by_key_name for details.

User.get_or_insert(str(uid)) might also be a good fit for what you’re trying to do.