[Read template file] Read a text file and return it as a Template object #python

read-template-file.py

# Template objects allows you to add ${FIELD_NAME} tags into the file
# and then values can be substituted with
# template_object.substitute(FIELD_NAME = <field_value>)
def read_template(filename):
    """
    Returns a Template object comprising the contents of the 
    file specified by filename.
    """
    import Template
    with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as template_file:
        template_file_content = template_file.read()
    return Template(template_file_content)