What is the DOM?

The Document Object Model, usually shortened to the DOM, is a cross-platform, language-independent application programming interface for HTML and XML documents.

Frequently used by web browsers to parse and display website content, the DOM treats an HTML, XHTML, or XML document as a tree structure, where each node is an object representing a part of the document that can be manipulated programmatically. JavaScript is the client-side scripting language that connects to the DOM in an internet browser.

To learn more about the Document Object Model (DOM), visit our Introduction to the DOM tutorial.