is php json_encode & AJAX breaking my array? - php

Question

I'm grabbing some database entries, creating a 2D array and then passing them to js with AJAX. But when I loop through the array in javascript, it's an "undefined" mess. The console log for dbArray works fine, so I know the PHP/AJAX is working. Not sure what I am doing wrong with the loop...
PHP ('load-words.php):
$query = mysql_query("
SELECT * FROM words
ORDER BY RAND()
LIMIT 50
") or die(mysql_error());
$dbArray = array();
while ($row = mysql_fetch_assoc($query)) {
$word_phrase = stripslashes($row['word_phrase']);
$description = stripslashes($row['description']);
// construct a 2D array containing each word and description
$dbArray[] = array($word_phrase,$description);
};
echo json_encode($dbArray);
Javascript:
$.ajax({
url: 'func/load-words.php',
success: function(dbArray) {
console.log(dbArray);
var items = "<ul>";
for (var i in dbArray) {
items += "<li><a href='#'><b>" + dbArray[i][0] + ' : ' + dbArray[i][1] + "</a></li>";
}
items += "</ul>";
div = $('#dbArray');
div.html(items);
}
});

Answer 1

I guess this is failing because jQuery is interpreting the AJAX response as a string, since your PHP is not outputting a JSON header and your AJAX is not stipulating JSON. This is easily tested:
$.ajax({
url: 'func/load-words.php',
success: function(dbArray) { alert(typeof dbArray); /* "string"? */ }
});
Try
$.ajax({
url: 'func/load-words.php',
dataType: 'json', //<-- now we explicitly expect JSON
success: function(dbArray) { alert(typeof dbArray); /* "object"? */ }
});