W3C has released the DOM-1 specification as a W3C recommendation. For
those who want more information on what this is all about, the following
references may be useful:
Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture
http://wdvl.com/Authoring/Languages/XML/Overview/
What DOMinates XML?
http://www.webdeveloper.com/xml/xml_082198.html
Understanding the DOM Part 2
http://www.webdeveloper.com/xml/xml_091698.html
Greg
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http://w3c.org/Press/1998/DOM-REC
http://www.w3.org/ -- 1 October, 1998 -- Leading the Web to its full
potential, 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). 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.
Created and developed by the W3C Document Object Model (DOM) Working Group,
this 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. "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," says
Lauren Wood (SoftQuad, Inc.), Chair of the W3C DOM Working Group.
W3C has already began to discuss future levels of the Document Object
Model. These levels will provide additional functionality, such as the
ability to access and manipulate the style of a document. Arnaud Le Hors,
W3C's DOM Activity Lead explains, "The DOM Level 1 Recommendation is a
major milestone for this work, and we look forward to extending the
functionality based on this foundation."
Key industry players brought their expertise to the W3C DOM Working Group:
ArborText, IBM, iMall, INSO, JavaSoft, Microsoft, Netscape, Novell, Object
Management Group, SoftQuad, Inc., Sun, Texcel.
Interoperable Dynamic Web Pages
W3C's HTML 4.0 provides authors 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. Several vendors already offer
powerful mechanisms for doing so, but these mechanisms do not always work
with different software packages. The DOM defines a standard API that
allows authors to write programs that work without changes across tools and
browsers from different vendors.
Enables Interoperable Software for XML Tag-Sets
DOM was not designed for HTML alone. XML's inherent extensibility makes the
DOM even more valuable to XML designers. The standard DOM interface enables
them 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/