What does an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) allow developers to do?

An Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool allows developers to interact with a database using the principles of object-oriented programming. By using objects to represent database entities, ORMs abstract away the underlying SQL queries, enabling developers to work with database records as if they were standard objects within their programming language. This makes the code more intuitive and maintainable, allowing for operations like creating, reading, updating, and deleting records to be performed using method calls instead of raw SQL syntax.

In contrast, the other options relate to different aspects of web development. Interacting with a database using SQL queries involves directly writing and executing those queries, which is not the primary focus of ORM. Manipulating HTML elements is a task related to the Document Object Model (DOM) in web development, rather than database interactions. Performing asynchronous operations refers to handling tasks outside the main program flow, typically dealing with things like fetching data from APIs or databases without freezing the user interface, which is also unrelated to the direct function of an ORM.