def split_container_name(name):
    """
    Takes a container name (e.g. samtools:1.7--1) and returns a list (e.g. ['samtools', '1.7', '1'])
    >>> split_container_name('samtools:1.7--1')
    ['samtools', '1.7', '1']
    """
    return name.replace("--", ":").split(":")