code: def _to_list(item, name, expect_type=str, deploy_mode=False):
      if isinstance(item, list):
          return item
      if item is None:
          return []
      if not deploy_mode:
          _check_type(item, name, expect_type)
      return [item]
  
label_desc: Use image node_id 1 for calling a global function with example usage: _to_list(item, name, expect_type, deploy_mode) and returns: list, item, list