org.apache.commons.httpclient.methods

The HTTP DELETE method is defined in section 9.7 of RFC2616:

The DELETE method requests that the origin server delete the resource identified by the Request-URI.

This abstract class serves as a foundation for all HTTP methods that support 'Expect: 100-continue' handshake.

The purpose of the 100 (Continue) status (refer to section 10.1.1 of the RFC 2616 for more details) is to allow a client that is sending a request message with a request body to determine if the origin server is willing to accept the request (based on the request headers) before the client sends the request body.

The HTTP GET method is defined in section 9.3 of RFC2616:

The GET method means retrieve whatever information (in the form of an entity) is identified by the Request-URI.

The HTTP HEAD method is defined in section 9.4 of RFC2616:

The HEAD method is identical to GET except that the server MUST NOT return a message-body in the response.

The HTTP multipart POST method is defined in section 3.3 of RFC1867:

The media-type multipart/form-data follows the rules of all multipart MIME data streams as outlined in RFC 1521.

The HTTP OPTIONS method is defined in section 9.2 of RFC2616:

The OPTIONS method represents a request for information about the communication options available on the request/response chain identified by the Request-URI.

The HTTP POST method is defined in section 9.5 of RFC2616:

The POST method is used to request that the origin server accept the entity enclosed in the request as a new subordinate of the resource identified by the Request-URI in the Request-Line.

The HTTP PUT method is defined in section 9.6 of RFC2616:

The PUT method requests that the enclosed entity be stored under the supplied Request-URI.

The HTTP TRACE method is defined in section 9.6 of RFC2616:

The TRACE method is used to invoke a remote, application-layer loop- back of the request message.