code: public static List<String> splitCommaSeparatedList(String text) {
      if (text == null || text.isEmpty()) {
        return Collections.emptyList();
      }
      Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(text);
      List<String> parts = new ArrayList<String>();
      while(matcher.find()) {
        parts.add(matcher.group().trim());
      }
      return parts;
    }
docs: Splits a comma separated list in to single Strings. The list can
  contain expressions with commas in it.
  
  @param text  the comma separated list
  @return the Strings of the list or an empty List if text is empty or null