DocumentType (Java Platform SE 8 )
Keywords: org.w3c.dom.DocumentType interface
Date: 2026-04-17

compact2, compact3
org.w3c.dom

## Interface DocumentType

- All Superinterfaces:
    Node

      public interface DocumentType
      extends Node

  Each `Document` has a `doctype` attribute whose value is either `null` or a `DocumentType` object. The `DocumentType` interface in the DOM Core provides an interface to the list of entities that are defined for the document, and little else because the effect of namespaces and the various XML schema efforts on DTD representation are not clearly understood as of this writing.

  DOM Level 3 doesn't support editing `DocumentType` nodes. `DocumentType` nodes are read-only.

  See also the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Core Specification.

- - ### Field Summary

    - ### Fields inherited from interface org.w3c.dom.Node

      `ATTRIBUTE_NODE, CDATA_SECTION_NODE, COMMENT_NODE, DOCUMENT_FRAGMENT_NODE, DOCUMENT_NODE, DOCUMENT_POSITION_CONTAINED_BY, DOCUMENT_POSITION_CONTAINS, DOCUMENT_POSITION_DISCONNECTED, DOCUMENT_POSITION_FOLLOWING, DOCUMENT_POSITION_IMPLEMENTATION_SPECIFIC, DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING, DOCUMENT_TYPE_NODE, ELEMENT_NODE, ENTITY_NODE, ENTITY_REFERENCE_NODE, NOTATION_NODE, PROCESSING_INSTRUCTION_NODE, TEXT_NODE`

  - ### Method Summary

    All Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods
    Modifier and Type | Method and Description
    --- | ---
    `NamedNodeMap` | `getEntities()` A `NamedNodeMap` containing the general entities, both external and internal, declared in the DTD.
    `String` | `getInternalSubset()` The internal subset as a string, or `null` if there is none.
    `String` | `getName()` The name of DTD; i.e., the name immediately following the `DOCTYPE` keyword.
    `NamedNodeMap` | `getNotations()` A `NamedNodeMap` containing the notations declared in the DTD.
    `String` | `getPublicId()` The public identifier of the external subset.
    `String` | `getSystemId()` The system identifier of the external subset.

    - ### Methods inherited from interface org.w3c.dom.Node

      `appendChild, cloneNode, compareDocumentPosition, getAttributes, getBaseURI, getChildNodes, getFeature, getFirstChild, getLastChild, getLocalName, getNamespaceURI, getNextSibling, getNodeName, getNodeType, getNodeValue, getOwnerDocument, getParentNode, getPrefix, getPreviousSibling, getTextContent, getUserData, hasAttributes, hasChildNodes, insertBefore, isDefaultNamespace, isEqualNode, isSameNode, isSupported, lookupNamespaceURI, lookupPrefix, normalize, removeChild, replaceChild, setNodeValue, setPrefix, setTextContent, setUserData`

- - ### Method Detail

    - #### getName

          String getName()

      The name of DTD; i.e., the name immediately following the `DOCTYPE` keyword.

    - #### getEntities

          NamedNodeMap getEntities()

      A `NamedNodeMap` containing the general entities, both external and internal, declared in the DTD. Parameter entities are not contained. Duplicates are discarded. For example in:

          <!DOCTYPE
           ex SYSTEM "ex.dtd" [ <!ENTITY foo "foo"> <!ENTITY bar
           "bar"> <!ENTITY bar "bar2"> <!ENTITY % baz "baz">
           ]> <ex/>

      the interface provides access to `foo` and the first declaration of `bar` but not the second declaration of `bar` or `baz`. Every node in this map also implements the `Entity` interface.
      The DOM Level 2 does not support editing entities, therefore `entities` cannot be altered in any way.

    - #### getNotations

          NamedNodeMap getNotations()

      A `NamedNodeMap` containing the notations declared in the DTD. Duplicates are discarded. Every node in this map also implements the `Notation` interface.
      The DOM Level 2 does not support editing notations, therefore `notations` cannot be altered in any way.

    - #### getPublicId

          String getPublicId()

      The public identifier of the external subset.
      Since:
        DOM Level 2

    - #### getSystemId

          String getSystemId()

      The system identifier of the external subset. This may be an absolute URI or not.
      Since:
        DOM Level 2

    - #### getInternalSubset

          String getInternalSubset()

      The internal subset as a string, or `null` if there is none. This is does not contain the delimiting square brackets.

      Note: The actual content returned depends on how much information is available to the implementation. This may vary depending on various parameters, including the XML processor used to build the document.

      Since:
        DOM Level 2

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