Why Isn’t There a Template Object for String Formatting in Python?

Don't forget about f-strings! They offer a very Pythonic way to embed expressions inside string literals, but I understand you're looking for something specific related to template objects.

It's even more frustrating because calling `str(my_template)` doesn’t yield the expected string output. You have a string object but using `str()` on it doesn’t return the string itself, which makes it feel poorly designed. Templates aren't really meant for that, so if that's what you're after, a template might not be the right fit for your needs.

The main idea behind template strings is that their placeholders are linked directly to the values of expressions, so they're more akin to lambda functions than traditional strings. You can definitely create non-literal template objects, but this requires parsing them manually using the Template constructor from the standard library. It seems like a built-in way to directly convert a string into a template might not be necessary because most code can wrap the string in a simple function instead. For instance, you could write a function that does this without needing extra complexity.

If you want a more generic solution, you could consider a little workaround. For example, you could define a function that evaluates `t` with your template string in a way that respects your variables. Still, this approach involves using `eval`, and I get that this might not feel clean and is generally not a preferred practice.