What is DOM and how does it relate to XML?

Answer 1

The DOM is a W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) standard.
The DOM defines a standard for accessing documents like XML and HTML:"The W3C Document Object Model (DOM) is a platform
and language-neutral interface that allows programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content, structure, and style of a document."

The DOM is separated into 3 different parts / levels:

Core DOM - standard model for any structured document
XML DOM - standard model for XML documents
HTML DOM - standard model for HTML documents
The DOM defines the objects and properties of all document elements, and the methods (interface) to access them.

Answer 2

The Document Object Model (DOM) is an interface specification maintained by the W3C DOM Workgroup that defines an application independent mechanism to access, parse, or update XML data. In simple terms it is a hierarchical model that allows developers to manipulate XML documents easily Any developer that has worked extensively with XML should be able to discuss the concept and use of DOM objects freely. Additionally, it is not unreasonable to expect advanced candidates to thoroughly understand its internal workings and be able to explain how DOM differs from an event-based interface like SAX.