Document Object Model

What Does Document Object Model Mean?

Document Object Model (DOM) is a language and platform-independent convention that represents the interaction of objects written in markup languages, i.e., Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) and Extensible Markup Language (XML).

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Techopedia Explains Document Object Model

A web standard defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), DOM is supported by most browsers. The DOM allows a web developer to access the document through a common set of objects, properties, methods and events and allows webpage’s content to be altered dynamically with a scripting language.

Scripting languages have several variations in syntax, as well as vendor-added variations, which are common issues in web application implementations. The W3C has provided the DOM standard as a generic set of objects, properties and methods that are available to all scripting languages. However, no browser is 100% DOM-compliant. Thus, there is no assurance that W3C’s DOM standard is available in every browser.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…