Java in a Nutshell, 5th Edition

Name

NamedNodeMap

Synopsis

The NamedNodeMap interface defines a collection of nodes that may be looked up by name or by namespace URI and local name. It is unrelated to the java.util.Map interface. Use getNamedItem( ) to look for and return a node whose getNodeName( ) method returns the specified value. Use getNamedItemNS( ) to look for and return a node whose getNamespaceURI( ) and getLocalName( ) methods return the specified values. A NamedNodeMap is a mapping from names to nodes, and does not order the nodes in any particular way. Nevertheless, it does impose an arbitrary ordering on the nodes and allow them to be looked up by index. Use getLength( ) to find out how many nodes are contained in the NamedNodeMap, and use item( ) to obtain the Node object at a specified index.

If a NamedNodeMap is not read-only, you can use removeNamedItem( ) and removeNamedItemNS( ) to remove a named node from the map, and you can use setNamedItem( ) and setNamedItemNS( ) to add a node to the map, mapping to it from its name or its namespace URI and local name.

NamedNodeMap objects are “live,” which means that they immediately reflect any changes to the document tree. For example, if you obtain a NamedNodeMap that represents the attributes of an element, and then add a new attribute to that element, the new attribute is automatically available through the NamedNodeMap: you do not need to obtain a new NamedNodeMap to get the modified set of attributes.

NamedNodeMap is returned only by relatively obscure ...