code: def _parse_arg_list(arglist):
      
      args = []
      for arg in arglist.split(','):
          arg = arg.strip()
          if arg: # string is not empty
              args.append(eval(arg))
      return args
docs: Parses a list of arguments.
  
      Arguments are expected to be split by a comma, surrounded by any amount
      of whitespace. Arguments are then run through Python's eval() method.