mirror of
				https://github.com/python/cpython.git
				synced 2025-11-04 07:31:38 +00:00 
			
		
		
		
	
		
			
				
	
	
		
			1033 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			39 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			ReStructuredText
		
	
	
	
	
	
			
		
		
	
	
			1033 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			39 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			ReStructuredText
		
	
	
	
	
	
:mod:`xml.dom` --- The Document Object Model API
 | 
						|
================================================
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. module:: xml.dom
 | 
						|
   :synopsis: Document Object Model API for Python.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. sectionauthor:: Paul Prescod <paul@prescod.net>
 | 
						|
.. sectionauthor:: Martin v. Löwis <martin@v.loewis.de>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
**Source code:** :source:`Lib/xml/dom/__init__.py`
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
--------------
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The Document Object Model, or "DOM," is a cross-language API from the World Wide
 | 
						|
Web Consortium (W3C) for accessing and modifying XML documents.  A DOM
 | 
						|
implementation presents an XML document as a tree structure, or allows client
 | 
						|
code to build such a structure from scratch.  It then gives access to the
 | 
						|
structure through a set of objects which provided well-known interfaces.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The DOM is extremely useful for random-access applications.  SAX only allows you
 | 
						|
a view of one bit of the document at a time.  If you are looking at one SAX
 | 
						|
element, you have no access to another.  If you are looking at a text node, you
 | 
						|
have no access to a containing element. When you write a SAX application, you
 | 
						|
need to keep track of your program's position in the document somewhere in your
 | 
						|
own code.  SAX does not do it for you.  Also, if you need to look ahead in the
 | 
						|
XML document, you are just out of luck.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Some applications are simply impossible in an event driven model with no access
 | 
						|
to a tree.  Of course you could build some sort of tree yourself in SAX events,
 | 
						|
but the DOM allows you to avoid writing that code.  The DOM is a standard tree
 | 
						|
representation for XML data.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The Document Object Model is being defined by the W3C in stages, or "levels" in
 | 
						|
their terminology.  The Python mapping of the API is substantially based on the
 | 
						|
DOM Level 2 recommendation.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. What if your needs are somewhere between SAX and the DOM?  Perhaps
 | 
						|
   you cannot afford to load the entire tree in memory but you find the
 | 
						|
   SAX model somewhat cumbersome and low-level.  There is also a module
 | 
						|
   called xml.dom.pulldom that allows you to build trees of only the
 | 
						|
   parts of a document that you need structured access to.  It also has
 | 
						|
   features that allow you to find your way around the DOM.
 | 
						|
   See http://www.prescod.net/python/pulldom
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
DOM applications typically start by parsing some XML into a DOM.  How this is
 | 
						|
accomplished is not covered at all by DOM Level 1, and Level 2 provides only
 | 
						|
limited improvements: There is a :class:`DOMImplementation` object class which
 | 
						|
provides access to :class:`Document` creation methods, but no way to access an
 | 
						|
XML reader/parser/Document builder in an implementation-independent way. There
 | 
						|
is also no well-defined way to access these methods without an existing
 | 
						|
:class:`Document` object.  In Python, each DOM implementation will provide a
 | 
						|
function :func:`getDOMImplementation`. DOM Level 3 adds a Load/Store
 | 
						|
specification, which defines an interface to the reader, but this is not yet
 | 
						|
available in the Python standard library.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Once you have a DOM document object, you can access the parts of your XML
 | 
						|
document through its properties and methods.  These properties are defined in
 | 
						|
the DOM specification; this portion of the reference manual describes the
 | 
						|
interpretation of the specification in Python.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The specification provided by the W3C defines the DOM API for Java, ECMAScript,
 | 
						|
and OMG IDL.  The Python mapping defined here is based in large part on the IDL
 | 
						|
version of the specification, but strict compliance is not required (though
 | 
						|
implementations are free to support the strict mapping from IDL).  See section
 | 
						|
:ref:`dom-conformance` for a detailed discussion of mapping requirements.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. seealso::
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   `Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Specification <https://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Core-20001113/>`_
 | 
						|
      The W3C recommendation upon which the Python DOM API is based.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   `Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Specification <https://www.w3.org/TR/REC-DOM-Level-1/>`_
 | 
						|
      The W3C recommendation for the DOM supported by :mod:`xml.dom.minidom`.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   `Python Language Mapping Specification <http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/02-11-05.pdf>`_
 | 
						|
      This specifies the mapping from OMG IDL to Python.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Module Contents
 | 
						|
---------------
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The :mod:`xml.dom` contains the following functions:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. function:: registerDOMImplementation(name, factory)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Register the *factory* function with the name *name*.  The factory function
 | 
						|
   should return an object which implements the :class:`DOMImplementation`
 | 
						|
   interface.  The factory function can return the same object every time, or a new
 | 
						|
   one for each call, as appropriate for the specific implementation (e.g. if that
 | 
						|
   implementation supports some customization).
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. function:: getDOMImplementation(name=None, features=())
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return a suitable DOM implementation. The *name* is either well-known, the
 | 
						|
   module name of a DOM implementation, or ``None``. If it is not ``None``, imports
 | 
						|
   the corresponding module and returns a :class:`DOMImplementation` object if the
 | 
						|
   import succeeds.  If no name is given, and if the environment variable
 | 
						|
   :envvar:`PYTHON_DOM` is set, this variable is used to find the implementation.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   If name is not given, this examines the available implementations to find one
 | 
						|
   with the required feature set.  If no implementation can be found, raise an
 | 
						|
   :exc:`ImportError`.  The features list must be a sequence of ``(feature,
 | 
						|
   version)`` pairs which are passed to the :meth:`hasFeature` method on available
 | 
						|
   :class:`DOMImplementation` objects.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Some convenience constants are also provided:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. data:: EMPTY_NAMESPACE
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The value used to indicate that no namespace is associated with a node in the
 | 
						|
   DOM.  This is typically found as the :attr:`namespaceURI` of a node, or used as
 | 
						|
   the *namespaceURI* parameter to a namespaces-specific method.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. data:: XML_NAMESPACE
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The namespace URI associated with the reserved prefix ``xml``, as defined by
 | 
						|
   `Namespaces in XML <https://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/>`_ (section 4).
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. data:: XMLNS_NAMESPACE
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The namespace URI for namespace declarations, as defined by `Document Object
 | 
						|
   Model (DOM) Level 2 Core Specification
 | 
						|
   <https://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-2-Core/core.html>`_ (section 1.1.8).
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. data:: XHTML_NAMESPACE
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The URI of the XHTML namespace as defined by `XHTML 1.0: The Extensible
 | 
						|
   HyperText Markup Language <https://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/>`_ (section 3.1.1).
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
In addition, :mod:`xml.dom` contains a base :class:`Node` class and the DOM
 | 
						|
exception classes.  The :class:`Node` class provided by this module does not
 | 
						|
implement any of the methods or attributes defined by the DOM specification;
 | 
						|
concrete DOM implementations must provide those.  The :class:`Node` class
 | 
						|
provided as part of this module does provide the constants used for the
 | 
						|
:attr:`nodeType` attribute on concrete :class:`Node` objects; they are located
 | 
						|
within the class rather than at the module level to conform with the DOM
 | 
						|
specifications.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. Should the Node documentation go here?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Objects in the DOM
 | 
						|
------------------
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The definitive documentation for the DOM is the DOM specification from the W3C.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Note that DOM attributes may also be manipulated as nodes instead of as simple
 | 
						|
strings.  It is fairly rare that you must do this, however, so this usage is not
 | 
						|
yet documented.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| Interface                      | Section                           | Purpose                         |
 | 
						|
+================================+===================================+=================================+
 | 
						|
| :class:`DOMImplementation`     | :ref:`dom-implementation-objects` | Interface to the underlying     |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | implementation.                 |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`Node`                  | :ref:`dom-node-objects`           | Base interface for most objects |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | in a document.                  |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`NodeList`              | :ref:`dom-nodelist-objects`       | Interface for a sequence of     |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | nodes.                          |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`DocumentType`          | :ref:`dom-documenttype-objects`   | Information about the           |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | declarations needed to process  |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | a document.                     |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`Document`              | :ref:`dom-document-objects`       | Object which represents an      |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | entire document.                |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`Element`               | :ref:`dom-element-objects`        | Element nodes in the document   |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | hierarchy.                      |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`Attr`                  | :ref:`dom-attr-objects`           | Attribute value nodes on        |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | element nodes.                  |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`Comment`               | :ref:`dom-comment-objects`        | Representation of comments in   |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | the source document.            |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`Text`                  | :ref:`dom-text-objects`           | Nodes containing textual        |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | content from the document.      |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :class:`ProcessingInstruction` | :ref:`dom-pi-objects`             | Processing instruction          |
 | 
						|
|                                |                                   | representation.                 |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
An additional section describes the exceptions defined for working with the DOM
 | 
						|
in Python.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-implementation-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
DOMImplementation Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The :class:`DOMImplementation` interface provides a way for applications to
 | 
						|
determine the availability of particular features in the DOM they are using.
 | 
						|
DOM Level 2 added the ability to create new :class:`Document` and
 | 
						|
:class:`DocumentType` objects using the :class:`DOMImplementation` as well.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: DOMImplementation.hasFeature(feature, version)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return true if the feature identified by the pair of strings *feature* and
 | 
						|
   *version* is implemented.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: DOMImplementation.createDocument(namespaceUri, qualifiedName, doctype)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return a new :class:`Document` object (the root of the DOM), with a child
 | 
						|
   :class:`Element` object having the given *namespaceUri* and *qualifiedName*. The
 | 
						|
   *doctype* must be a :class:`DocumentType` object created by
 | 
						|
   :meth:`createDocumentType`, or ``None``. In the Python DOM API, the first two
 | 
						|
   arguments can also be ``None`` in order to indicate that no :class:`Element`
 | 
						|
   child is to be created.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: DOMImplementation.createDocumentType(qualifiedName, publicId, systemId)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return a new :class:`DocumentType` object that encapsulates the given
 | 
						|
   *qualifiedName*, *publicId*, and *systemId* strings, representing the
 | 
						|
   information contained in an XML document type declaration.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-node-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Node Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
All of the components of an XML document are subclasses of :class:`Node`.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.nodeType
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   An integer representing the node type.  Symbolic constants for the types are on
 | 
						|
   the :class:`Node` object: :const:`ELEMENT_NODE`, :const:`ATTRIBUTE_NODE`,
 | 
						|
   :const:`TEXT_NODE`, :const:`CDATA_SECTION_NODE`, :const:`ENTITY_NODE`,
 | 
						|
   :const:`PROCESSING_INSTRUCTION_NODE`, :const:`COMMENT_NODE`,
 | 
						|
   :const:`DOCUMENT_NODE`, :const:`DOCUMENT_TYPE_NODE`, :const:`NOTATION_NODE`.
 | 
						|
   This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.parentNode
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The parent of the current node, or ``None`` for the document node. The value is
 | 
						|
   always a :class:`Node` object or ``None``.  For :class:`Element` nodes, this
 | 
						|
   will be the parent element, except for the root element, in which case it will
 | 
						|
   be the :class:`Document` object. For :class:`Attr` nodes, this is always
 | 
						|
   ``None``. This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.attributes
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   A :class:`NamedNodeMap` of attribute objects.  Only elements have actual values
 | 
						|
   for this; others provide ``None`` for this attribute. This is a read-only
 | 
						|
   attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.previousSibling
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The node that immediately precedes this one with the same parent.  For
 | 
						|
   instance the element with an end-tag that comes just before the *self*
 | 
						|
   element's start-tag.  Of course, XML documents are made up of more than just
 | 
						|
   elements so the previous sibling could be text, a comment, or something else.
 | 
						|
   If this node is the first child of the parent, this attribute will be
 | 
						|
   ``None``. This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.nextSibling
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The node that immediately follows this one with the same parent.  See also
 | 
						|
   :attr:`previousSibling`.  If this is the last child of the parent, this
 | 
						|
   attribute will be ``None``. This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.childNodes
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   A list of nodes contained within this node. This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.firstChild
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The first child of the node, if there are any, or ``None``. This is a read-only
 | 
						|
   attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.lastChild
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The last child of the node, if there are any, or ``None``. This is a read-only
 | 
						|
   attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.localName
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The part of the :attr:`tagName` following the colon if there is one, else the
 | 
						|
   entire :attr:`tagName`.  The value is a string.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.prefix
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The part of the :attr:`tagName` preceding the colon if there is one, else the
 | 
						|
   empty string.  The value is a string, or ``None``.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.namespaceURI
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The namespace associated with the element name.  This will be a string or
 | 
						|
   ``None``.  This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.nodeName
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   This has a different meaning for each node type; see the DOM specification for
 | 
						|
   details.  You can always get the information you would get here from another
 | 
						|
   property such as the :attr:`tagName` property for elements or the :attr:`name`
 | 
						|
   property for attributes. For all node types, the value of this attribute will be
 | 
						|
   either a string or ``None``.  This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Node.nodeValue
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   This has a different meaning for each node type; see the DOM specification for
 | 
						|
   details.  The situation is similar to that with :attr:`nodeName`.  The value is
 | 
						|
   a string or ``None``.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.hasAttributes()
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Returns true if the node has any attributes.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.hasChildNodes()
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Returns true if the node has any child nodes.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.isSameNode(other)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Returns true if *other* refers to the same node as this node. This is especially
 | 
						|
   useful for DOM implementations which use any sort of proxy architecture (because
 | 
						|
   more than one object can refer to the same node).
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   .. note::
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
      This is based on a proposed DOM Level 3 API which is still in the "working
 | 
						|
      draft" stage, but this particular interface appears uncontroversial.  Changes
 | 
						|
      from the W3C will not necessarily affect this method in the Python DOM interface
 | 
						|
      (though any new W3C API for this would also be supported).
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.appendChild(newChild)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Add a new child node to this node at the end of the list of
 | 
						|
   children, returning *newChild*. If the node was already in
 | 
						|
   the tree, it is removed first.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.insertBefore(newChild, refChild)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Insert a new child node before an existing child.  It must be the case that
 | 
						|
   *refChild* is a child of this node; if not, :exc:`ValueError` is raised.
 | 
						|
   *newChild* is returned. If *refChild* is ``None``, it inserts *newChild* at the
 | 
						|
   end of the children's list.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.removeChild(oldChild)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Remove a child node.  *oldChild* must be a child of this node; if not,
 | 
						|
   :exc:`ValueError` is raised.  *oldChild* is returned on success.  If *oldChild*
 | 
						|
   will not be used further, its :meth:`unlink` method should be called.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.replaceChild(newChild, oldChild)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Replace an existing node with a new node. It must be the case that  *oldChild*
 | 
						|
   is a child of this node; if not, :exc:`ValueError` is raised.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.normalize()
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Join adjacent text nodes so that all stretches of text are stored as single
 | 
						|
   :class:`Text` instances.  This simplifies processing text from a DOM tree for
 | 
						|
   many applications.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Node.cloneNode(deep)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Clone this node.  Setting *deep* means to clone all child nodes as well.  This
 | 
						|
   returns the clone.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-nodelist-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
NodeList Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
A :class:`NodeList` represents a sequence of nodes.  These objects are used in
 | 
						|
two ways in the DOM Core recommendation:  an :class:`Element` object provides
 | 
						|
one as its list of child nodes, and the :meth:`getElementsByTagName` and
 | 
						|
:meth:`getElementsByTagNameNS` methods of :class:`Node` return objects with this
 | 
						|
interface to represent query results.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The DOM Level 2 recommendation defines one method and one attribute for these
 | 
						|
objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: NodeList.item(i)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return the *i*'th item from the sequence, if there is one, or ``None``.  The
 | 
						|
   index *i* is not allowed to be less than zero or greater than or equal to the
 | 
						|
   length of the sequence.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: NodeList.length
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The number of nodes in the sequence.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
In addition, the Python DOM interface requires that some additional support is
 | 
						|
provided to allow :class:`NodeList` objects to be used as Python sequences.  All
 | 
						|
:class:`NodeList` implementations must include support for
 | 
						|
:meth:`~object.__len__` and
 | 
						|
:meth:`~object.__getitem__`; this allows iteration over the :class:`NodeList` in
 | 
						|
:keyword:`for` statements and proper support for the :func:`len` built-in
 | 
						|
function.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
If a DOM implementation supports modification of the document, the
 | 
						|
:class:`NodeList` implementation must also support the
 | 
						|
:meth:`~object.__setitem__` and :meth:`~object.__delitem__` methods.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-documenttype-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
DocumentType Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Information about the notations and entities declared by a document (including
 | 
						|
the external subset if the parser uses it and can provide the information) is
 | 
						|
available from a :class:`DocumentType` object.  The :class:`DocumentType` for a
 | 
						|
document is available from the :class:`Document` object's :attr:`doctype`
 | 
						|
attribute; if there is no ``DOCTYPE`` declaration for the document, the
 | 
						|
document's :attr:`doctype` attribute will be set to ``None`` instead of an
 | 
						|
instance of this interface.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
:class:`DocumentType` is a specialization of :class:`Node`, and adds the
 | 
						|
following attributes:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: DocumentType.publicId
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The public identifier for the external subset of the document type definition.
 | 
						|
   This will be a string or ``None``.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: DocumentType.systemId
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The system identifier for the external subset of the document type definition.
 | 
						|
   This will be a URI as a string, or ``None``.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: DocumentType.internalSubset
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   A string giving the complete internal subset from the document. This does not
 | 
						|
   include the brackets which enclose the subset.  If the document has no internal
 | 
						|
   subset, this should be ``None``.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: DocumentType.name
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The name of the root element as given in the ``DOCTYPE`` declaration, if
 | 
						|
   present.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: DocumentType.entities
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   This is a :class:`NamedNodeMap` giving the definitions of external entities.
 | 
						|
   For entity names defined more than once, only the first definition is provided
 | 
						|
   (others are ignored as required by the XML recommendation).  This may be
 | 
						|
   ``None`` if the information is not provided by the parser, or if no entities are
 | 
						|
   defined.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: DocumentType.notations
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   This is a :class:`NamedNodeMap` giving the definitions of notations. For
 | 
						|
   notation names defined more than once, only the first definition is provided
 | 
						|
   (others are ignored as required by the XML recommendation).  This may be
 | 
						|
   ``None`` if the information is not provided by the parser, or if no notations
 | 
						|
   are defined.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-document-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Document Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
A :class:`Document` represents an entire XML document, including its constituent
 | 
						|
elements, attributes, processing instructions, comments etc.  Remember that it
 | 
						|
inherits properties from :class:`Node`.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Document.documentElement
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The one and only root element of the document.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.createElement(tagName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Create and return a new element node.  The element is not inserted into the
 | 
						|
   document when it is created.  You need to explicitly insert it with one of the
 | 
						|
   other methods such as :meth:`insertBefore` or :meth:`appendChild`.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.createElementNS(namespaceURI, tagName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Create and return a new element with a namespace.  The *tagName* may have a
 | 
						|
   prefix.  The element is not inserted into the document when it is created.  You
 | 
						|
   need to explicitly insert it with one of the other methods such as
 | 
						|
   :meth:`insertBefore` or :meth:`appendChild`.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.createTextNode(data)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Create and return a text node containing the data passed as a parameter.  As
 | 
						|
   with the other creation methods, this one does not insert the node into the
 | 
						|
   tree.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.createComment(data)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Create and return a comment node containing the data passed as a parameter.  As
 | 
						|
   with the other creation methods, this one does not insert the node into the
 | 
						|
   tree.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.createProcessingInstruction(target, data)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Create and return a processing instruction node containing the *target* and
 | 
						|
   *data* passed as parameters.  As with the other creation methods, this one does
 | 
						|
   not insert the node into the tree.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.createAttribute(name)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Create and return an attribute node.  This method does not associate the
 | 
						|
   attribute node with any particular element.  You must use
 | 
						|
   :meth:`setAttributeNode` on the appropriate :class:`Element` object to use the
 | 
						|
   newly created attribute instance.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.createAttributeNS(namespaceURI, qualifiedName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Create and return an attribute node with a namespace.  The *tagName* may have a
 | 
						|
   prefix.  This method does not associate the attribute node with any particular
 | 
						|
   element.  You must use :meth:`setAttributeNode` on the appropriate
 | 
						|
   :class:`Element` object to use the newly created attribute instance.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.getElementsByTagName(tagName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Search for all descendants (direct children, children's children, etc.) with a
 | 
						|
   particular element type name.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Document.getElementsByTagNameNS(namespaceURI, localName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Search for all descendants (direct children, children's children, etc.) with a
 | 
						|
   particular namespace URI and localname.  The localname is the part of the
 | 
						|
   namespace after the prefix.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-element-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Element Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
:class:`Element` is a subclass of :class:`Node`, so inherits all the attributes
 | 
						|
of that class.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Element.tagName
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The element type name.  In a namespace-using document it may have colons in it.
 | 
						|
   The value is a string.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.getElementsByTagName(tagName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Same as equivalent method in the :class:`Document` class.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.getElementsByTagNameNS(namespaceURI, localName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Same as equivalent method in the :class:`Document` class.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.hasAttribute(name)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Returns true if the element has an attribute named by *name*.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.hasAttributeNS(namespaceURI, localName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Returns true if the element has an attribute named by *namespaceURI* and
 | 
						|
   *localName*.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.getAttribute(name)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return the value of the attribute named by *name* as a string. If no such
 | 
						|
   attribute exists, an empty string is returned, as if the attribute had no value.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.getAttributeNode(attrname)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return the :class:`Attr` node for the attribute named by *attrname*.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.getAttributeNS(namespaceURI, localName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return the value of the attribute named by *namespaceURI* and *localName* as a
 | 
						|
   string. If no such attribute exists, an empty string is returned, as if the
 | 
						|
   attribute had no value.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.getAttributeNodeNS(namespaceURI, localName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return an attribute value as a node, given a *namespaceURI* and *localName*.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.removeAttribute(name)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Remove an attribute by name.  If there is no matching attribute, a
 | 
						|
   :exc:`NotFoundErr` is raised.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.removeAttributeNode(oldAttr)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Remove and return *oldAttr* from the attribute list, if present. If *oldAttr* is
 | 
						|
   not present, :exc:`NotFoundErr` is raised.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.removeAttributeNS(namespaceURI, localName)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Remove an attribute by name.  Note that it uses a localName, not a qname.  No
 | 
						|
   exception is raised if there is no matching attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.setAttribute(name, value)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Set an attribute value from a string.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.setAttributeNode(newAttr)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Add a new attribute node to the element, replacing an existing attribute if
 | 
						|
   necessary if the :attr:`name` attribute matches.  If a replacement occurs, the
 | 
						|
   old attribute node will be returned.  If *newAttr* is already in use,
 | 
						|
   :exc:`InuseAttributeErr` will be raised.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.setAttributeNodeNS(newAttr)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Add a new attribute node to the element, replacing an existing attribute if
 | 
						|
   necessary if the :attr:`namespaceURI` and :attr:`localName` attributes match.
 | 
						|
   If a replacement occurs, the old attribute node will be returned.  If *newAttr*
 | 
						|
   is already in use, :exc:`InuseAttributeErr` will be raised.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: Element.setAttributeNS(namespaceURI, qname, value)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Set an attribute value from a string, given a *namespaceURI* and a *qname*.
 | 
						|
   Note that a qname is the whole attribute name.  This is different than above.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-attr-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Attr Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
:class:`Attr` inherits from :class:`Node`, so inherits all its attributes.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Attr.name
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The attribute name.
 | 
						|
   In a namespace-using document it may include a colon.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Attr.localName
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The part of the name following the colon if there is one, else the
 | 
						|
   entire name.
 | 
						|
   This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Attr.prefix
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The part of the name preceding the colon if there is one, else the
 | 
						|
   empty string.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Attr.value
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The text value of the attribute.  This is a synonym for the
 | 
						|
   :attr:`nodeValue` attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-attributelist-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
NamedNodeMap Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
:class:`NamedNodeMap` does *not* inherit from :class:`Node`.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: NamedNodeMap.length
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The length of the attribute list.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. method:: NamedNodeMap.item(index)
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Return an attribute with a particular index.  The order you get the attributes
 | 
						|
   in is arbitrary but will be consistent for the life of a DOM.  Each item is an
 | 
						|
   attribute node.  Get its value with the :attr:`value` attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
There are also experimental methods that give this class more mapping behavior.
 | 
						|
You can use them or you can use the standardized :meth:`getAttribute\*` family
 | 
						|
of methods on the :class:`Element` objects.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-comment-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Comment Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
:class:`Comment` represents a comment in the XML document.  It is a subclass of
 | 
						|
:class:`Node`, but cannot have child nodes.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Comment.data
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The content of the comment as a string.  The attribute contains all characters
 | 
						|
   between the leading ``<!-``\ ``-`` and trailing ``-``\ ``->``, but does not
 | 
						|
   include them.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-text-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Text and CDATASection Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The :class:`Text` interface represents text in the XML document.  If the parser
 | 
						|
and DOM implementation support the DOM's XML extension, portions of the text
 | 
						|
enclosed in CDATA marked sections are stored in :class:`CDATASection` objects.
 | 
						|
These two interfaces are identical, but provide different values for the
 | 
						|
:attr:`nodeType` attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
These interfaces extend the :class:`Node` interface.  They cannot have child
 | 
						|
nodes.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: Text.data
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The content of the text node as a string.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. note::
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The use of a :class:`CDATASection` node does not indicate that the node
 | 
						|
   represents a complete CDATA marked section, only that the content of the node
 | 
						|
   was part of a CDATA section.  A single CDATA section may be represented by more
 | 
						|
   than one node in the document tree.  There is no way to determine whether two
 | 
						|
   adjacent :class:`CDATASection` nodes represent different CDATA marked sections.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-pi-objects:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
ProcessingInstruction Objects
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Represents a processing instruction in the XML document; this inherits from the
 | 
						|
:class:`Node` interface and cannot have child nodes.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: ProcessingInstruction.target
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The content of the processing instruction up to the first whitespace character.
 | 
						|
   This is a read-only attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. attribute:: ProcessingInstruction.data
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   The content of the processing instruction following the first whitespace
 | 
						|
   character.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-exceptions:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Exceptions
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The DOM Level 2 recommendation defines a single exception, :exc:`DOMException`,
 | 
						|
and a number of constants that allow applications to determine what sort of
 | 
						|
error occurred. :exc:`DOMException` instances carry a :attr:`code` attribute
 | 
						|
that provides the appropriate value for the specific exception.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The Python DOM interface provides the constants, but also expands the set of
 | 
						|
exceptions so that a specific exception exists for each of the exception codes
 | 
						|
defined by the DOM.  The implementations must raise the appropriate specific
 | 
						|
exception, each of which carries the appropriate value for the :attr:`code`
 | 
						|
attribute.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: DOMException
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Base exception class used for all specific DOM exceptions.  This exception class
 | 
						|
   cannot be directly instantiated.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: DomstringSizeErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when a specified range of text does not fit into a string. This is not
 | 
						|
   known to be used in the Python DOM implementations, but may be received from DOM
 | 
						|
   implementations not written in Python.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: HierarchyRequestErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when an attempt is made to insert a node where the node type is not
 | 
						|
   allowed.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: IndexSizeErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when an index or size parameter to a method is negative or exceeds the
 | 
						|
   allowed values.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: InuseAttributeErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when an attempt is made to insert an :class:`Attr` node that is already
 | 
						|
   present elsewhere in the document.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: InvalidAccessErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised if a parameter or an operation is not supported on the underlying object.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: InvalidCharacterErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   This exception is raised when a string parameter contains a character that is
 | 
						|
   not permitted in the context it's being used in by the XML 1.0 recommendation.
 | 
						|
   For example, attempting to create an :class:`Element` node with a space in the
 | 
						|
   element type name will cause this error to be raised.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: InvalidModificationErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when an attempt is made to modify the type of a node.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: InvalidStateErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when an attempt is made to use an object that is not defined or is no
 | 
						|
   longer usable.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: NamespaceErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   If an attempt is made to change any object in a way that is not permitted with
 | 
						|
   regard to the `Namespaces in XML <https://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/>`_
 | 
						|
   recommendation, this exception is raised.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: NotFoundErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Exception when a node does not exist in the referenced context.  For example,
 | 
						|
   :meth:`NamedNodeMap.removeNamedItem` will raise this if the node passed in does
 | 
						|
   not exist in the map.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: NotSupportedErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when the implementation does not support the requested type of object or
 | 
						|
   operation.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: NoDataAllowedErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   This is raised if data is specified for a node which does not support data.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   .. XXX  a better explanation is needed!
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: NoModificationAllowedErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised on attempts to modify an object where modifications are not allowed (such
 | 
						|
   as for read-only nodes).
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: SyntaxErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when an invalid or illegal string is specified.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   .. XXX  how is this different from InvalidCharacterErr?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. exception:: WrongDocumentErr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   Raised when a node is inserted in a different document than it currently belongs
 | 
						|
   to, and the implementation does not support migrating the node from one document
 | 
						|
   to the other.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The exception codes defined in the DOM recommendation map to the exceptions
 | 
						|
described above according to this table:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| Constant                             | Exception                       |
 | 
						|
+======================================+=================================+
 | 
						|
| :const:`DOMSTRING_SIZE_ERR`          | :exc:`DomstringSizeErr`         |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`HIERARCHY_REQUEST_ERR`       | :exc:`HierarchyRequestErr`      |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`INDEX_SIZE_ERR`              | :exc:`IndexSizeErr`             |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`INUSE_ATTRIBUTE_ERR`         | :exc:`InuseAttributeErr`        |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`INVALID_ACCESS_ERR`          | :exc:`InvalidAccessErr`         |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR`       | :exc:`InvalidCharacterErr`      |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`INVALID_MODIFICATION_ERR`    | :exc:`InvalidModificationErr`   |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`INVALID_STATE_ERR`           | :exc:`InvalidStateErr`          |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`NAMESPACE_ERR`               | :exc:`NamespaceErr`             |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`NOT_FOUND_ERR`               | :exc:`NotFoundErr`              |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR`           | :exc:`NotSupportedErr`          |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`NO_DATA_ALLOWED_ERR`         | :exc:`NoDataAllowedErr`         |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`NO_MODIFICATION_ALLOWED_ERR` | :exc:`NoModificationAllowedErr` |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`SYNTAX_ERR`                  | :exc:`SyntaxErr`                |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| :const:`WRONG_DOCUMENT_ERR`          | :exc:`WrongDocumentErr`         |
 | 
						|
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-conformance:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Conformance
 | 
						|
-----------
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
This section describes the conformance requirements and relationships between
 | 
						|
the Python DOM API, the W3C DOM recommendations, and the OMG IDL mapping for
 | 
						|
Python.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-type-mapping:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Type Mapping
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The IDL types used in the DOM specification are mapped to Python types
 | 
						|
according to the following table.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| IDL Type         | Python Type                               |
 | 
						|
+==================+===========================================+
 | 
						|
| ``boolean``      | ``bool`` or ``int``                       |
 | 
						|
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| ``int``          | ``int``                                   |
 | 
						|
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| ``long int``     | ``int``                                   |
 | 
						|
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| ``unsigned int`` | ``int``                                   |
 | 
						|
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| ``DOMString``    | ``str`` or ``bytes``                      |
 | 
						|
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+
 | 
						|
| ``null``         | ``None``                                  |
 | 
						|
+------------------+-------------------------------------------+
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
.. _dom-accessor-methods:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
Accessor Methods
 | 
						|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The mapping from OMG IDL to Python defines accessor functions for IDL
 | 
						|
``attribute`` declarations in much the way the Java mapping does.
 | 
						|
Mapping the IDL declarations ::
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   readonly attribute string someValue;
 | 
						|
            attribute string anotherValue;
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
yields three accessor functions:  a "get" method for :attr:`someValue`
 | 
						|
(:meth:`_get_someValue`), and "get" and "set" methods for :attr:`anotherValue`
 | 
						|
(:meth:`_get_anotherValue` and :meth:`_set_anotherValue`).  The mapping, in
 | 
						|
particular, does not require that the IDL attributes are accessible as normal
 | 
						|
Python attributes:  ``object.someValue`` is *not* required to work, and may
 | 
						|
raise an :exc:`AttributeError`.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The Python DOM API, however, *does* require that normal attribute access work.
 | 
						|
This means that the typical surrogates generated by Python IDL compilers are not
 | 
						|
likely to work, and wrapper objects may be needed on the client if the DOM
 | 
						|
objects are accessed via CORBA. While this does require some additional
 | 
						|
consideration for CORBA DOM clients, the implementers with experience using DOM
 | 
						|
over CORBA from Python do not consider this a problem.  Attributes that are
 | 
						|
declared ``readonly`` may not restrict write access in all DOM
 | 
						|
implementations.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
In the Python DOM API, accessor functions are not required.  If provided, they
 | 
						|
should take the form defined by the Python IDL mapping, but these methods are
 | 
						|
considered unnecessary since the attributes are accessible directly from Python.
 | 
						|
"Set" accessors should never be provided for ``readonly`` attributes.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
The IDL definitions do not fully embody the requirements of the W3C DOM API,
 | 
						|
such as the notion of certain objects, such as the return value of
 | 
						|
:meth:`getElementsByTagName`, being "live".  The Python DOM API does not require
 | 
						|
implementations to enforce such requirements.
 | 
						|
 |