docs: def get2(item, key, if_none=None, strict=True):
      ''' similar to dict.get functionality but None value will return then
          if_none value
  
      args:
          item: dictionary to search
          key: the dictionary key
          if_none: the value to return if None is passed in
          strict: if False an empty string is treated as None'''
  
      if not strict and item.get(key) == "":
          return if_none
      elif item.get(key) is None:
          return if_none
      else:
          return item.get(key)