How do you remove a value that has an empty key from an associative array in PHP?

Question

I have a key that appears to be an empty string, however using unset($array[""]); does not remove the key/value pair. I don't see another function that does what I want, so I'm guessing it's more complicated that just calling a function.

The line for the element on a print_r is [] => 1, which indicates to me that the key is the empty string.

Using var_export, the element is listed as '' => 1.

Using var_dump, the element is listed as [""]=>int(1).

So far, I have tried all of the suggested methods of removal, but none have removed the element. I have tried unset($array[""]);, unset($array['']);, and unset($array[null]); with no luck.

Answer 1

Try unset($array[null]);

If that doesn't work, print the array via var_export or var_dump instead of print_r, since this allows you to see the type of the key. Use var_export to see the data in PHP syntax.

var_export($array);

Note that var_export does not work with recursive structures.

Answer 2

Tried:

$someList = Array('A' => 'Foo', 'B' => 'Bar', '' => 'Bah');
print_r($someList);
echo '<br/>';
unset($someList['A']);
print_r($someList);
echo '<br/>';
unset($someList['']);
print_r($someList);
echo '<br/>';

Got:

Array ( [A] => Foo [B] => Bar [] => Bah )
Array ( [B] => Bar [] => Bah )
Array ( [B] => Bar )

You should analyse where the key come from, too...