The Document Object Model originated as a specification to allow JavaScript scripts and Java programs to be portable among web browsers. Dynamic HTML was the immediate ancestor of the Document Object Model, and it was originally thought of largely in terms of browsers. However, when the Document Object Model Working Group was formed, it was also joined by vendors in other domains, including HTML or XML editors and document repositories. Several of these vendors had worked with SGML before XML was developed; as a result, the Document Object Model has been influenced by SGML Groves and the HyTime standard. Some of these vendors had also developed their own object models for documents in order to provide programming APIs for SGML/XML editors or document repositories, and these object models have also influenced the Document Object Model.
