// code a $cats = isset($this->options['cathidden']) && is_serialized($this->options['cathidden']) ? unserialize($this->options['cathidden']) : array(); // code b if ( isset($this->options['cathidden']) ) { if ( is_serialized($this->options['cathidden']) ) { $cats = unserialize($this->options['cathidden']); } else { $cats = array(); } }