DESCRIPTION

XML::DOM::Document extends XML::DOM::Node.

It is the main root of the XML document structure as returned by XML::DOM::Parser::parse and XML::DOM::Parser::parsefile.

Since elements, text nodes, comments, processing instructions, etc. cannot exist outside the context of a Document, the Document interface also contains the factory methods needed to create these objects. The Node objects created have a getOwnerDocument method which associates them with the Document within whose context they were created.

METHODS

getDocumentElement

This is a convenience method that allows direct access to the child node that is the root Element of the document.

getDoctype

The Document Type Declaration (see DocumentType) associated with this document. For HTML documents as well as XML documents without a document type declaration this returns undef. The DOM Level 1 does not support editing the Document Type Declaration.

Not In DOM Spec: This implementation allows editing the doctype. See XML::DOM::ignoreReadOnly for details.

getImplementation

The DOMImplementation object that handles this document. A DOM application may use objects from multiple implementations.

createElement (tagName)

Creates an element of the type specified. Note that the instance returned implements the Element interface, so attributes can be specified directly on the returned object.

DOMExceptions:

• INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR

  Raised if the tagName does not conform to the XML spec.

createTextNode (data)

Creates a Text node given the specified string.

createComment (data)

Creates a Comment node given the specified string.

createCDATASection (data)

Creates a CDATASection node given the specified string.

createAttribute (name [, value [, specified ]])

Creates an Attr of the given name. Note that the Attr instance can then be set on an Element using the setAttribute method.

Not In DOM Spec: The DOM Spec does not allow passing the value or the specified property in this method. In this implementation they are optional.

Parameters:
 value     The attribute's value. See Attr::setValue for details.
              If the value is not supplied, the specified property is set to 0.
 specified Whether the attribute value was specified or whether the default
              value was used. If not supplied, it's assumed to be 1.

DOMExceptions:

• INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR

  Raised if the name does not conform to the XML spec.

createProcessingInstruction (target, data)

Creates a ProcessingInstruction node given the specified name and data strings.

Parameters:
 target  The target part of the processing instruction.
 data    The data for the node.

DOMExceptions:

• INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR

  Raised if the target does not conform to the XML spec.

createDocumentFragment

Creates an empty DocumentFragment object.

createEntityReference (name)

Creates an EntityReference object.

Additional methods not in the DOM Spec

getXMLDecl and setXMLDecl (xmlDecl)

Returns the XMLDecl for this Document or undef if none was specified. Note that XMLDecl is not part of the list of child nodes.

setDoctype (doctype)

Sets or replaces the DocumentType. NOTE: Don't use appendChild or insertBefore to set the DocumentType. Even though doctype will be part of the list of child nodes, it is handled specially.

getDefaultAttrValue (elem, attr)

Returns the default attribute value as a string or undef, if none is available.

Parameters:
 elem    The element tagName.
 attr    The attribute name.

getEntity (name)

Returns the Entity with the specified name.

createXMLDecl (version, encoding, standalone)

Creates an XMLDecl object. All parameters may be undefined.

createDocumentType (name, sysId, pubId)

Creates a DocumentType object. SysId and pubId may be undefined.

createNotation (name, base, sysId, pubId)

Creates a new Notation object. Consider using XML::DOM::DocumentType::addNotation!

createEntity (parameter, notationName, value, sysId, pubId, ndata)

Creates an Entity object. Consider using XML::DOM::DocumentType::addEntity!

createElementDecl (name, model)

Creates an ElementDecl object.

DOMExceptions:

• INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR

  Raised if the element name (tagName) does not conform to the XML spec.

createAttlistDecl (name)

Creates an AttlistDecl object.

DOMExceptions:

• INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR

  Raised if the element name (tagName) does not conform to the XML spec.

expandEntity (entity [, parameter])

Expands the specified entity or parameter entity (if parameter=1) and returns its value as a string, or undef if the entity does not exist. (The entity name should not contain the '%', '&' or ';' delimiters.)

check ( [$checker] )

Uses the specified XML::Checker to validate the document. If no XML::Checker is supplied, a new XML::Checker is created. See XML::Checker for details.

check_sax ( [$checker] )

Similar to check() except it uses the SAX interface to XML::Checker instead of the expat interface. This method may disappear or replace check() at some time.

createChecker ()

Creates an XML::Checker based on the document's DTD. The $checker can be reused to check any elements within the document. Create a new XML::Checker whenever the DOCTYPE section of the document is altered!