Safe attribute access pattern

Always use safe attribute access patterns to handle potentially null or undefined attributes. Instead of direct attribute access that might raise AttributeError, use `getattr()` with a default value. This pattern prevents null reference errors and makes code more robust.

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Always use safe attribute access patterns to handle potentially null or undefined attributes. Instead of direct attribute access that might raise AttributeError, use getattr() with a default value. This pattern prevents null reference errors and makes code more robust.

Example:

# Unsafe:
version = obj.__version__
value = obj.as_tuple()

# Safe:
version = getattr(obj, '__version__', '')
try:
    value = getattr(obj, 'as_tuple')()
except AttributeError:
    value = None

This approach:

  1. Provides fallback values for missing attributes
  2. Makes null cases explicit and handled
  3. Reduces runtime errors from missing attributes
  4. Makes code more maintainable by centralizing null handling

When using this pattern, choose meaningful default values that make sense in the context rather than always defaulting to None.

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