= 0; $i--) { if($list[$i] == "") unset($list[$i]); } function filterArray(&$a) { $sanArray = array(); foreach ($a as $k=>$v) { if (is_array($v)) { $sanArray[htmlspecialchars($k)] = filterArray($v); } else { $sanArray[htmlspecialchars($k)] = htmlspecialchars($v); } } return $sanArray; } // Protect against XSS attacks $list = filterArray($list); echo json_encode(array_values($list));