How to name custom endpoints in a REST service - rest

Question

I'm trying to understand how to properly implement a microservice pattern with REST endpoints.
I understand the very basics of it. The internet is full of that. Typical example:
class User
{
public User GetUser(int id) { ... }
public User GetUsers() { ... }
public User PutUser(User user) { ... }
public User PostUser(User user) { ... }
}
So if I want one User then I'd do a GET request to GetUser(100), and it would return a User object as JSON.
But suppose I have a page where I want to list the firstname and lastname of all users. Then I could do a GET request to GetUsers(). But if the User table has 100 columns in the Database and I only need to display two columns (firstname, lastname), then it's overkill to get the other 98 columns along with it.
Maybe on another page I need to display 40 of the 100 columns. And on some other page 20 of the 100 columns.
So that means I need 3 extra end points that all return all users. But each end point should return different data.
How would I name those new endpoints?
Do I have to call those 3 endpoints explicitly by name? (Ex: GetUsersNames() GetUsersAge() etc?)
PS. This is probably a poor example, but I hope you understand what I'm getting at. I don't know what to do / how to name the endpoints when I go beyond the default GET/PUT/POST/DELETE methods.

Answer 1

What you can do is to ask for the particular fields explicitly, so:
GET /api/users/?fields=firstName,lastName
This is much better than introducing new endpoints.

Answer 2

You can define custom views by using Attribute Routing. The methods you have in your controller default to the route pattern that you define in your configuration.
You can however explicitely define additional routes. You need to include this in your Configuration:
// this enables route attributes (route annotations at the actions in the controller)
config.MapHttpAttributeRoutes();
Then you can define additional routes in your controller and add the required filter logic:
[Route("api/users/range/{rangeFrom}/{rangeTo}")]
[HttpGet]
public IHttpActionResult GetUsers(int from, int to)
{
return Ok(Users.Skip(from).Take(to-from));
}
[Route("api/users/namesonly")]
[HttpGet]
public IHttpActionResult GetUsers()
{
return Ok(Users.Select(u => new { firstName = u.FirstName, lastName = u.LastName }));
}
Reference: Attribute Routing in ASP.NET Web API 2
EDIT:
Yes, not all options should be resolved in separate endpoints, but it's an option at a certain point. What others do: Use URI parameters to limit returned data count or set flags, and have them available through the method's signature e.g.:
[Route("api/users/")]
[HttpGet]
public IHttpActionResult GetUsers([FromUri]int? from, [FromUri]int? count)
{
return Ok(Users.Skip(from ?? 0).Take(count ?? Users.Count));
}
Or to have shorter user objects returned:
[Route("api/users/")]
[HttpGet]
public IHttpActionResult GetUsers([FromUri]bool? shortVersion)
{
if (shortVersion.HasValue && shortVersion.Value)
return Ok(Users.Select(u => new { firstName = u.FirstName, lastName = u.LastName }));
else
return Ok(Users);
}