What does Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) allow?

Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) is a security feature implemented in web browsers that allows web pages to request resources from a different domain than the one that served the web page. This capability is critical for web applications that interact with APIs or resources hosted on different servers or domains.

When a web page makes a request for resources from a different origin (domain, protocol, or port), the browser checks to see if the CORS policy of the resource being requested allows such an action. If the server provides appropriate CORS headers, such as Access-Control-Allow-Origin, then the browser permits the request and allows the web page to access the data. This facilitates the sharing of resources across different origins while maintaining the security model of web browsers.

The other options listed do not accurately describe what CORS allows. Combining JavaScript libraries, minifying CSS, and connecting to a local database do not involve cross-origin requests and are unrelated to the CORS mechanism. CORS specifically addresses the security concerns associated with making requests across different origins in a web context.