code: @Deprecated
    public static ImmutableList<StreamVariantsRequest> getVariantRequests(final String variantSetId,
        String references, long numberOfBasesPerShard) {
      Iterable<Contig> shards = getSpecifiedShards(references, numberOfBasesPerShard);
      return FluentIterable.from(shards)
          .transform(new Function<Contig, StreamVariantsRequest>() {
            @Override
            public StreamVariantsRequest apply(Contig shard) {
              return shard.getStreamVariantsRequest(variantSetId);
            }
          }).toList();
    }
docs: Constructs sharded StreamVariantsRequests for the specified contiguous region(s) of the genome.
  
  @param variantSetId The variantSetId.
  @param references The specified contiguous region(s) of the genome.
  @param numberOfBasesPerShard The maximum number of bases to include per shard.
  @return The shuffled list of sharded request objects.