This interface allows an application to encapsulate information about an output destination in a single object, which may include a URI, a byte stream (possibly with a specified encoding), a base URI, and/or a character stream.

The exact definitions of a byte stream and a character stream are binding dependent.

The application is expected to provide objects that implement this interface whenever such objects are needed. The application can either provide its own objects that implement this interface, or it can use the generic factory method DOMImplementationLS.createLSOutput() to create objects that implement this interface.

The LSSerializer will use the LSOutput object to determine where to serialize the output to. The LSSerializer will look at the different outputs specified in the LSOutput in the following order to know which one to output to, the first one that is not null and not an empty string will be used:

1. LSOutput.characterStream
2. LSOutput.byteStream
3. LSOutput.systemId

LSOutput objects belong to the application. The DOM implementation will never modify them (though it may make copies and modify the copies, if necessary).

See also the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Load and Save Specification.