(also available in Japanese)
http://www.w3.org/ -- 13 November 2000 -- Leading the Web to its full potential, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) today released the Document Object Model Level 2 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 extends the platform- and language-neutral interface to access and update dynamically a document's content, structure, and style first described by the DOM Level 1 Recommendation. The DOM Level 2 provides a standard set of objects for representing Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents and data, including namespace support, a style sheet platform which adds support for CSS 1 and 2, a standard model of how these objects may be combined, and a standard interface for accessing and manipulating them.
"The DOM Level 2 Recommendation builds on the solid work done in DOM Level 1, and gives Web authors the power to move to XML for dynamic content," says Lauren Wood of SoftQuad Software Inc., and Chair of the W3C DOM Working Group. "The DOM also provides developers with the interoperability and integration ability they need. There are now several implementations of the DOM, in different programming languages, which provide the basis of powerful systems meeting the business needs of several large organizations."
DOM Level 1 was designed for HTML 4.0 and XML 1.0. With DOM Level 2, authors can take further advantage of the extensibility of XML. Simply put, anywhere you use XML, you can now use the DOM to manipulate it.
The standard DOM interface makes it possible to write software (similar to plug-ins) for processing customized tag-sets in a language- and platform-independent way. A standard API makes it easier to develop modules that can be re-used in different applications. DOM Level 2 provides support for XML namespaces, extending and improving the XML platform. As more sites move to XML for content delivery, DOM Level 2 emerges as a critical tool for developing dynamic Web content.
The DOM defines a standard API that allows authors to write programs that work without changes across tools and browsers from different vendors. But beyond this, it provides a uniform way to produce programs that work across a variety of different devices, so all may benefit from dynamically generated content..
The DOM Level 2 Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) API makes it possible for a script author to access and manipulate style information associated with contents, while preserving accessibility. DOM Level 2 also includes an Events API to provide interactivity anywhere someone uses XML - in documents, in data, or in B2B applications.
Key industry players bring their expertise to the W3C DOM Working Group including Arbortext, IBM, Intel, JavaSoft, Macromedia, Microsoft, Netscape, Nexgenix, Oracle, SoftQuad Software Inc., Software AG, and Sun Microsystems. Many are already providing support, as indicated in the testimonials.
Other W3C Working Groups are currently at work in extending further the DOM Level 2 platform for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) and Mathematical Markup Language (MathML). The DOM Working Group is currently at work developing DOM Level 3, the next layer of functionality for DOM.
The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, over 470 organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/