Good example of using try/except

exceptions.py

def message_count(request):
    ''' Provides count of unread messages from the message center for given person '''
    person = None
    try:
        if request.user.is_authenticated():
            person = request.user.person
    except AttributeError:
        pass

    if person:
        soa = AnalyteSOA(
            settings.MESSAGE_CENTER_CONFIG,
            settings.MESSAGE_CENTER_PACKAGE_LIST
        )
        all_messages = []
        try:
            all_messages = soa.message_center.get_messages(person)
            return {'unread_count' : len([msg for msg in all_messages if msg['read_datetime'] is None])}

        except (HTTPError, RequestException, AnalyteSOAException):
            logging.getLogger('analyte.backend.libs').exception(
                'Unable to retrieve messages'
            )

    return {'unread_count': 0}