code: def _averageFromList(self, param):
          
          _result = 0.0
          _count = 0
  
          for _param in param.split(','):
              if _param != '' and float(_param) != 0.0:
                  _result = _result + float(_param)
                  _count  += 1
  
          if _count >= 1:
              _result = _result / _count
          return _result
docs: Averages out values passed as a comma-separated
              list, disregarding the zero-valued entries.