It's possible to pass multiple parameters as a single model as vijay suggested. This works for GET when you use the FromUri parameter attribute. This tells WebAPI to fill the model from the query parameters.
The result is a cleaner controller action with just a single parameter. For more information see: http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/formats-and-model-binding/parameter-binding-in-aspnet-web-api
public class BooksController : ApiController
{
// GET /api/books?author=tolk&title=lord&isbn=91&somethingelse=ABC&date=1970-01-01
public string GetFindBooks([FromUri]BookQuery query)
{
// ...
}
}
public class BookQuery
{
public string Author { get; set; }
public string Title { get; set; }
public string ISBN { get; set; }
public string SomethingElse { get; set; }
public DateTime? Date { get; set; }
}
It even supports multiple parameters, as long as the properties don't conflict.
// GET /api/books?author=tolk&title=lord&isbn=91&somethingelse=ABC&date=1970-01-01
public string GetFindBooks([FromUri]BookQuery query, [FromUri]Paging paging)
{
// ...
}
public class Paging
{
public string Sort { get; set; }
public int Skip { get; set; }
public int Take { get; set; }
}
Update:
In order to ensure the values are optional make sure to use reference types or nullables (ex. int?) for the models properties.