there is an important difference between delete and splice:
ORIGINAL ARRAY:
[<1 empty item>, 'one',<3 empty items>, 'five', <3 empty items>,'nine']
AFTER SPLICE (array.splice(1,1)):
[ <4 empty items>, 'five', <3 empty items>, 'nine' ]
AFTER DELETE (delete array[1]):
[ <5 empty items>, 'five', <3 empty items>, 'nine' ]