def _parse_field_list(fieldnames, include_parents=False):
    """
    Parse a list of field names, possibly including dot-separated subform
    fields, into an internal ParsedFieldList object representing the base
    fields and subform listed.

    :param fieldnames: a list of field names as strings. dot-separated names
        are interpreted as subform fields.
    :param include_parents: optional boolean, defaults to False. if True,
        subform fields implicitly include their parent fields in the parsed
        list.
    """
    field_parts = (name.split('.') for name in fieldnames)
    return _collect_fields(field_parts, include_parents)