<?php
// original string
$str = ",a,b,c,,,d,,";
// now clean it
// and see it
PD9waHAKLy8gb3JpZ2luYWwgc3RyaW5nCiRzdHIgPSAiLGEsYixjLCwsZCwsIjsKIAovLyBub3cgY2xlYW4gaXQKJHN0ciA9IHByZWdfcmVwbGFjZSgnLyx7Mix9LycsICcsJywgdHJpbSgkc3RyLCAnLCcpKTsKIAovLyBhbmQgc2VlIGl0CnZhcl9kdW1wKCRzdHIpOw==