Question

Using django, which is the “way” to check if data is present?

I know i can either have a try/catch block on a get, or check the size of a len on a filter

ie

try:
    DemoModel.objects.get(id=8)
catch DoesNotExist:
    catch stuff here

or

if not len(DemoModel.objects.filter(id=8):
    do stuff here

i suppose i’m defining “best” as

a. the standard way
b. the more efficient way

or is there no real difference? Or is there a non-partisan third way?

Answer 1

If you need to use the object, use try/catch.

try:
    object = DemoModel.objects.get(id=8)
    #use object here
catch DoesNotExist:
    #catch stuff here

If you don’t need to, just use exists().

if DemoModel.objects.filter(id=8).exists():
    #do stuff here