The World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) today
released the Document Object Model Level 1 specification as a W3C
Recommendation.
The specification reflects cross-industry agreement on a
standard API (Applications Programming Interface) for manipulating documents
and data through a programming language (such as Java or
ECMAScript/JavsScript).
The specification defines the foundation of a platform- and language-neutral
interface to access and update dynamically a document’s content, structure,
and style. The DOM Level 1 provides a standard set of objects for
representing HTML and XML documents and data, a standard model of how these
objects may be combined, and a standard interface for accessing and
manipulating them.
A W3C Recommendation indicates that a specification is stable, contributes
to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who
favor its adoption by the industry.
“The DOM Level 1 Recommendation not only
provides Web authors with the interoperability they need, it also unifies
how HTML and XML tools for documents and data will be extended,” said Lauren
Wood (SoftQuad, Inc.), Chair of the W3C DOM Working Group.
HTML 4.0 provides authors with a standard way to embed scripts in a
document, but
does not specify how those scripts can manipulate the document’s content,
structure, and style. The DOM defines a standard API that allows authors to
write programs that work without changes across tools and browsers from
different vendors.
The standard DOM interface enables XML designers to write software (similar
to plug-ins) for processing customized tag-sets in a language- and
platform-independent way. A standard API will make it easier to develop
modules that can be re-used in different applications.
Further information on DOM can be found at http://www.w3.org/DOM/