[svgwg] Issue: Remove correspondingElement and correspondingUseElement from SVGElement (#1070) marked as Agenda+

karlcow has just labeled an issue for https://github.com/w3c/svgwg as "Agenda+":

== Remove correspondingElement and correspondingUseElement from SVGElement ==


https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-InterfaceSVGElementInstance

This is not implemented in any browsers:
https://wpt.fyi/results/svg/idlharness.window.html

And currently defined with an issue explaining potential performance issues. 


5.13.11. Mixin SVGElementInstance

The [SVGElementInstance](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-InterfaceSVGElementInstance) interface defines extensions to the [SVGElement](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#types-InterfaceSVGElement) interface, which are only used for elements in a [use-element shadow tree](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermUseElementShadowTree).

In previous versions of SVG, SVG element instances were defined as non-element objects that were valid event targets but not full DOM nodes. This specification re-defines the [use-element shadow tree](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermUseElementShadowTree) to be consistent with the Shadow DOM specification, which means that instances are actual SVGElement objects. This interface adds the missing functionality for backwards compatibility. However, authors should be aware that compatibility is not perfect, and design their scripts accordingly. Also note that these properties will not be available on HTML-namespaced element objects in the shadow tree.

interface mixin SVGElementInstance {
  [[SameObject](https://heycam.github.io/webidl/#SameObject)] readonly attribute [SVGElement](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#types-InterfaceSVGElement)? [correspondingElement](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-__svg__SVGElementInstance__correspondingElement);
  [[SameObject](https://heycam.github.io/webidl/#SameObject)] readonly attribute [SVGUseElement](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-InterfaceSVGUseElement)? [correspondingUseElement](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-__svg__SVGElementInstance__correspondingUseElement);
};
The correspondingElement IDL attribute points to the [corresponding element](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermCorrespondingElement) if this element is an [element instance](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermElementInstance) in a [use-element shadow tree](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermUseElementShadowTree), or is null otherwise.

 When the [referenced element](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermReferencedElement) is in an external file, the presence of this pointer implies that the entire DOM of the external file must be maintained in memory. However, as currently specified, the external DOM is read-only. It therefore offers limited functionality and a potentially large performance impact. Pending feedback from implementers, authors should consider the use of correspondingElement with external file references to be at-risk.

The correspondingUseElement IDL attribute points to the [corresponding use element](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermCorrespondingUseElement) if this element is an [element instance](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermElementInstance) in a [use-element shadow tree](https://w3c.github.io/svgwg/svg2-draft/single-page.html#struct-TermUseElementShadowTree), or is null otherwise.




See https://github.com/w3c/svgwg/issues/1070


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Received on Wednesday, 4 March 2026 12:01:42 UTC