XML Unleashed

Document Object Models

It is easy to get sucked into the chauvinistic attitude that the only DOM that is correct is the DOM that you are using. There are several types of DOMs. After all, a model is only a set of plans that provides a model of the document. A DOM can be complete, allowing modeling of and access to the document, down to the smallest detail. Or it can be incomplete, allowing only partial access to the document. The W3C DOM is an example of the former, and the JavaScript DOM for HTML is an example of the latter.

The model can also follow one of three common patterns:

• Linear models. This is the simplest model, detailing the document in a linear fashion. Consider this book. If I said "Go to page 142, line 14, and read the third ...