"jquery ajax request with json response, how to?" Code Answer

You need to call the

$.parseJSON();

For example:

...
success: function(data){
       var json = $.parseJSON(data); // create an object with the key of the array
       alert(json.html); // where html is the key of array that you want, $response['html'] = "<a>something..</a>";
    },
    error: function(data){
       var json = $.parseJSON(data);
       alert(json.error);
    } ...

see this in http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.parseJSON/

if you still have the problem of slashes: search for security.magicquotes.disabling.php or: function.stripslashes.php

Note:

This answer here is for those who try to use $.ajax with the dataType property set to json and even that got the wrong response type. Defining the header('Content-type: application/json'); in the server may correct the problem, but if you are returning text/html or any other type, the $.ajax method should convert it to json. I make a test with older versions of jQuery and only after version 1.4.4 the $.ajax force to convert any content-type to the dataType passed. So if you have this problem, try to update your jQuery version.