DOM (Document Object Model) is a programming interface for web documents that represents the structure of a page as a tree-like hierarchy of objects. It's the reason why web developers can dynamically manipulate content, structure, and styles on a webpage using JavaScript, but it's also the bane of their existence when they have to traverse through deeply nested nodes or deal with browser inconsistencies.

How to use it in a sentence

• "I spent all day debugging this issue, only to realize that I was updating the wrong DOM (Document Object Model) element the whole time. I should've just become a barista instead."

• "Sure, you could use jQuery to manipulate the DOM (Document Object Model), but that's so 2010. Real developers use vanilla JavaScript and cry themselves to sleep."

If you actually want to learn more...

• "Segregated DOM" emphasizes modularizing DOM manipulation into dedicated JavaScript objects for better understandability and testability in single-page apps. Read more

• "Collection Pipeline" introduces a programming pattern using sequences of operations on collections, common in functional programming. Check it out

• "Embedded Document" addresses the use of JSON in modern web applications, stressing the importance of understanding encapsulation. Learn more

Note: the Developer Dictionary is in Beta. Please direct feedback to skye@statsig.com.