List method
A list method is an API operation that retrieves the resources belonging to a specified collection.
API Design Patterns
A list method is a standard API operation that returns the resources belonging to a specified collection.
- How it is used
- Provides collection browsing, including nested resources, filtered subsets, associated resources, and discoverable long-running operations.
- How deep it goes
- Explains targets, access control, filtering, pagination, soft deletion, and operation discovery, while deferring broader listing concerns.
- Examples
- Uses ChatRoom messages, group memberships, Operation resources, and soft-deleted ChatRooms as concrete listing scenarios.
- What you can do after
- Apply via standard API conventions to browse collections, constrain results, respect authorization, and expose selected soft-deleted resources.
Build and Orchestrator in Go (From Scratch)
The store List method returns all tasks in the persistent task store as a slice of task pointers.
- How it is used
- Retrieves all stored tasks when manager APIs need a task collection rather than a task by key.
- How deep it goes
- Works through map iteration and persistent bucket traversal, including JSON decoding and error propagation for the persistent implementation.
- Examples
- Uses an in-memory task map and a BoltDB task bucket to assemble slices of task pointers.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via the Store interface to return all manager tasks without directly accessing the backing map.
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The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition
A list operation is an API operation that retrieves current collections of selectable or related data for an account application.
- How it is used
- Supports consumer access to current collections, selectable data, and narrowly targeted search results.
- How deep it goes
- Explains empty-result semantics, filtering, sorting, pagination, response scope, and summary-versus-detail representations.
- Examples
- Uses transaction queries, account applications, account ownership scopes, and course collection-versus-detail responses.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure list methods with consumer-oriented query controls, current selectable data, explicit response scope, and safe collection sizing.
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Related concepts
- filteringuses · Filtering is the operation of selecting or excluding items from data or a collection according to specified criteria.
- paginationuses · Pagination is the technique of dividing a collection or result set into bounded portions that can be retrieved or displayed separately.
- HTTP GETcontrasts with · HTTP GET is a request method for retrieving a representation of a resource identified by the request target, without requesting a state change.
- soft deletionuses · Soft deletion is a technique that marks or hides data as deleted while retaining its physical representation for recovery or later permanent removal.
- operationuses · An operation is an action or computation performed by or through a system, object, or interface, often producing a result or effect.
- export methodequivalent to · An export method is an interface element that makes data or functionality available to external consumers or systems.
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