Intro
The Request Method, as supplied in the REQUEST_METHOD meta-variable, identifies the processing method to be applied by the script in producing a response.
The script author can choose to implement the methods most appropriate for the particular application.
If the script receives a request with a method it does not support it SHOULD reject it with an error.
List of the 27 Request Methods Recognized by Apache
- GET
- PUT
- POST
- DELETE
- CONNECT
- OPTIONS
- TRACE
- PATCH
- PROPFIND
- PROPPATCH
- MKCOL
- COPY
- MOVE
- LOCK
- UNLOCK
- VERSION_CONTROL
- CHECKOUT
- UNCHECKOUT
- CHECKIN
- UPDATE
- LABEL
- REPORT
- MKWORKSPACE
- MKACTIVITY
- BASELINE_CONTROL
- MERGE
- INVALID
GET
The GET method indicates that the script should produce a document based on the meta-variable values. By convention, the GET method is ’safe’ and ‘idempotent’ and SHOULD NOT have the significance of taking an action other than producing a document.
The meaning of the GET method may be modified and refined by protocol-specific meta-variables.
POST
The POST method is used to request the script perform processing and produce a document based on the data in the request message-body, in addition to meta-variable values. A common use is form submission in HTML [18], intended to initiate processing by the script that has a permanent affect, such a change in a database.
The script MUST check the value of the CONTENT_LENGTH variable before reading the attached message-body, and SHOULD check the CONTENT_TYPE value before processing it.
HEAD
The HEAD method requests the script to do sufficient processing to return the response header fields, without providing a response message-body. The script MUST NOT provide a response message-body for a HEAD request. If it does, then the server MUST discard the message-body when reading the response from the script.
OPTIONS
The OPTIONS method represents a request for information about the communication options available on the request/response chain identified by the Request-URI. This method allows the client to determine the options and/or requirements associated with a resource, or the capabilities of a server, without implying a resource action or initiating a resource retrieval.
Responses to this method are not cacheable.
If the OPTIONS request includes an entity-body (as indicated by the presence of Content-Length or Transfer-Encoding), then the media type MUST be indicated by a Content-Type field. Although this specification does not define any use for such a body, future extensions to HTTP might use the OPTIONS body to make more detailed queries on the server. A server that does not support such an extension MAY discard the request body.
If the Request-URI is an asterisk (”*”), the OPTIONS request is intended to apply to the server in general rather than to a specific resource. Since a server’s communication options typically depend on the resource, the “*” request is only useful as a “ping” or “no-op” type of method; it does nothing beyond allowing the client to test the capabilities of the server. For example, this can be used to test a proxy for HTTP/1.1 compliance (or lack thereof). If the Request-URI is not an asterisk, the OPTIONS request applies only to the options that are available when communicating with that resource.
A 200 response SHOULD include any header fields that indicate optional features implemented by the server and applicable to that resource (e.g., Allow), possibly including extensions not defined by this specification. The response body, if any, SHOULD also include information about the communication options. The format for such a body is not defined by this specification, but might be defined by future extensions to HTTP. Content negotiation MAY be used to select the appropriate response format. If no response body is included, the response MUST include a Content-Length field with a field-value of “0″.
The Max-Forwards request-header field MAY be used to target a specific proxy in the request chain. When a proxy receives an OPTIONS request on an absoluteURI for which request forwarding is permitted, the proxy MUST check for a Max-Forwards field. If the Max-Forwards field-value is zero (”0″), the proxy MUST NOT forward the message; instead, the proxy SHOULD respond with its own communication options. If the Max-Forwards field-value is an integer greater than zero, the proxy MUST decrement the field-value when it forwards the request. If no Max-Forwards field is present in the request, then the forwarded request MUST NOT include a Max-Forwards field.
PUT
The PUT method requests that the enclosed entity be stored under the supplied Request-URI. If the Request-URI refers to an already existing resource, the enclosed entity SHOULD be considered as a modified version of the one residing on the origin server. If the Request-URI does not point to an existing resource, and that URI is capable of being defined as a new resource by the requesting user agent, the origin server can create the resource with that URI. If a new resource is created, the origin server MUST inform the user agent via the 201 (Created) response. If an existing resource is modified, either the 200 (OK) or 204 (No Content) response codes SHOULD be sent to indicate successful completion of the request. If the resource could not be created or modified with the Request-URI, an appropriate error response SHOULD be given that reflects the nature of the problem. The recipient of the entity MUST NOT ignore any Content-* (e.g. Content-Range) headers that it does not understand or implement and MUST return a 501 (Not Implemented) response in such cases.
If the request passes through a cache and the Request-URI identifies one or more currently cached entities, those entries SHOULD be treated as stale. Responses to this method are not cacheable.
The fundamental difference between the POST and PUT requests is reflected in the different meaning of the Request-URI. The URI in a POST request identifies the resource that will handle the enclosed entity. That resource might be a data-accepting process, a gateway to some other protocol, or a separate entity that accepts annotations. In contrast, the URI in a PUT request identifies the entity enclosed with the request — the user agent knows what URI is intended and the server MUST NOT attempt to apply the request to some other resource. If the server desires that the request be applied to a different URI, it MUST send a 301 (Moved Permanently) response; the user agent MAY then make its own decision regarding whether or not to redirect the request.
A single resource MAY be identified by many different URIs. For example, an article might have a URI for identifying “the current version” which is separate from the URI identifying each particular version. In this case, a PUT request on a general URI might result in several other URIs being defined by the origin server.
HTTP/1.1 does not define how a PUT method affects the state of an origin server.
PUT requests MUST obey the message transmission requirements.
Unless otherwise specified for a particular entity-header, the entity-headers in the PUT request SHOULD be applied to the resource created or modified by the PUT.
DELETE
The DELETE method requests that the origin server delete the resource identified by the Request-URI. This method MAY be overridden by human intervention (or other means) on the origin server. The client cannot be guaranteed that the operation has been carried out, even if the status code returned from the origin server indicates that the action has been completed successfully. However, the server SHOULD NOT indicate success unless, at the time the response is given, it intends to delete the resource or move it to an inaccessible location.
A successful response SHOULD be 200 (OK) if the response includes an entity describing the status, 202 (Accepted) if the action has not yet been enacted, or 204 (No Content) if the action has been enacted but the response does not include an entity.
If the request passes through a cache and the Request-URI identifies one or more currently cached entities, those entries SHOULD be treated as stale. Responses to this method are not cacheable.
TRACE
The TRACE method is used to invoke a remote, application-layer loop- back of the request message. The final recipient of the request SHOULD reflect the message received back to the client as the entity-body of a 200 (OK) response. The final recipient is either the origin server or the first proxy or gateway to receive a Max-Forwards value of zero (0) in the request (see section 14.31). A TRACE request MUST NOT include an entity.
TRACE allows the client to see what is being received at the other end of the request chain and use that data for testing or diagnostic information. The value of the Via header field (section 14.45) is of particular interest, since it acts as a trace of the request chain. Use of the Max-Forwards header field allows the client to limit the length of the request chain, which is useful for testing a chain of proxies forwarding messages in an infinite loop.
If the request is valid, the response SHOULD contain the entire request message in the entity-body, with a Content-Type of “message/http”. Responses to this method MUST NOT be cached.
CONNECT
This specification reserves the method name CONNECT for use with a proxy that can dynamically switch to being a tunnel e.g. SSL tunneling.
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