Explain what is meant by the OPTIONS method in HTTP requests.

The OPTIONS method in HTTP is used to request information from the server about the supported methods and capabilities of a resource. Typically, a client sends an OPTIONS request to find out which HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.) are allowed for a specific URL.

This is especially useful when implementing CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing), where the browser first sends a preflight OPTIONS request to check if the main request is permitted.

An example of a simple OPTIONS request:

OPTIONS /api/data HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com

The server's response may include an Allow header, which lists the permitted methods:

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Allow: GET, POST, OPTIONS