Using the `get` method to fetch values from a Python dictionary

When I first started Python programming and I always used to write my value-fetching-in-a-dictionary code like this:

my_dict = {
    'one' : 1,
    'two' : 2,
    'three' : 3
}

# Method 1: Using `try` and `except`
def get_key(key) -> str:
    try:
        return my_dict[key]
    except:
        return 'Key not defined.'

While this is a completely valid way of fetching values in the given dictionary, there’s a few issues with this:

1. The try and except block, while more explicit with what you want, makes the code less-readable.

2. Usage of a try/except block could potentially mask errors. While the example doesn’t reflect a scenario, it could make debugging more difficult.

3. While it’s small, there’s performance issues with this. The try/except block does require more overhead because it has to catch and raise an exception.

I was told to use the .get() method instead. If we were to keep the same logic from above but change the function:

my_dict = {
    'one' : 1,
    'two' : 2,
    'three' : 3
}

# Method 2: Using `.get()`
def get_key(key) -> str:
    return my_dict.get(key, 'Key not defined.')

Not only does implementing the method eliminate the points I listed above, but it also adds the following value:

1. You’ll have more control over the default value; in this case, Key not defined is the default value if the key does not exist.

2. The code becomes even more explicit as to what you want, whereas the try/except block could imply that you’re catching a special edge case.

For more information about the .get() method, see W3 School's article.

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