Pass variable number of query string parameters to single controller action - asp.net-web-api2

Question

I am creating an API that has a controller with one GET action:
[Route("api/xxxxx/{param1:int}/{param1:int}")]
public IHttpActionResult Get(int param1, int param2) {
// method body...
}
The URLs will be in the following format:
/api/xxxxx/1/1?p1=5&p2=hello&p3=20161108
/api/xxxxx/1/1?p1=active
The number and names of the of query string parameters will vary.
I want to pass the query string parameters into the controller method, but I cannot hard code them into the method signature, due to the varying names and numbers. Is there a way to do this? I've tried calling var qsParams = ControllerContext.Request.GetQueryNameValuePairs();, but I get a resource not found error when trying to request any URL with a query string, given the Route attribute shown above.
I've come up with one alternative: use route values instead of query string parameters, then use the catch-all {*tags} and pass it as a method parameter:
[Route("api/xxxxx/{param1:int}/{param1:int}/{*tags}")]
public IHttpActionResult Get(int param1, int param2, string tags) {
// method body...
}
With URLs in the format
/api/xxxxx/1/1/5/john/20161108
/api/xxxxx/1/1/active
This works, but I'd rather use the query string to be able to use named keys instead of relying on the ordering of the parameters (also, using the query string seems to better conceptual match for what I'm doing).
So, how can I pass variable query string parameters into a controller action? I say "pass" the parameters, but they don't necessarily need to be passed as a method parameters, as long as I could access the query string parameters from the method body, while getting a URL with a query string to resolve to the action in question.
EDIT:
It's worth mentioning that creating multiple action methods for every possible parameter set is not an option.
EDIT 2:
I see two direct solutions, if they're possible:
Pass the entire query string to the action method as a single string
parameter. I could then manually parse the query string.
Be able to use ControllerContext.Request.GetQueryNameValuePairs()
inside the method body, while NOT adding corresponding parameters to
the method signature.
However, I haven't figured out if these two things are possible, though it seems likely one or both would be.

Answer 1

If you want to send an Entity to your Controller you can get it by [FromBody]
Think an Entity is the simplest way to pass it.
F.e.
[HttpPost]
[Route("api/xxxxx/send")]
public void SendReuqest([FromBody] Entity name)
hope understand your problem right.

Answer 2

I'm posting an answer to document alternatives I've come up with. I know some (all?) of these will be hacky. Nonetheless...
ANSWER
Use method GetQueryNameValuePairs. This is the very first thing I tried, but I must have had something different in the route attribute or the method signature, because I was getting a "not found" error before. Now, however, this is working perfectly. This makes this whole question and answer basically moot for me.
Example URL:
/api/xxxxx/1/1?p1=5&p2=john&p3=20161108
Action:
[Route("api/xxxxx/{param1:int}/{param1:int}")]
public IHttpActionResult Get(int param1, int param2) {
var qsParams = ControllerContext.Request.GetQueryNameValuePairs();
// rest of method body...
}
Option 1
Use a single query string parameter with a custom format that the controller understands and will be able to parse.
Example URL:
/api/xxxxx/1/1?qs=p1~5|p2~john|p3~20161108
Action:
[Route("api/xxxxx/{param1:int}/{param1:int}")]
public IHttpActionResult Get(int param1, int param2, string qs) {
string[] qsParamsArray = qs.Split(new string[] { "|" }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
IDictionary<string, string> qsParams = new Dictionary<string, string>();
foreach (string p in qsParamsArray) {
string[] kv = p.Split(new string[] { "~" }, StringSplitOptions.None);
if (String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(kv[0])) {
return NotFound();
}
qsParams.Add(kv[0], kv[1]);
}
// Use qsParams as desired...
}
Option 2
Put the query string parameters in the route instead of the query string. Must rely on ordering of parameters.
Example URL:
/api/xxxxx/1/1/5/john/20161108
Action:
[Route("api/xxxxx/{param1:int}/{param1:int}/{*tags}")]
public IHttpActionResult Get(int param1, int param2, string tags) {
// parse the "tags" parameter here...
// rest of method body...
}
Option 3
Hard code a maximum number of optional parameters with generic names, and specific query string parameters for both names and values of the parameters.
Example URL:
/api/xxxxx/1/1?name1=p1&value1=5&name2=p2&value2=john&name3=p3&value3=20161108
Action:
[Route("api/xxxxx/{param1:int}/{param1:int}")]
public IHttpActionResult Get(
int param1,
int param2,
string name1 = null,
string value1 = null,
string name2 = null,
string value2 = null,
string name3 = null,
string value3 = null,
string name4 = null,
string value4 = null,
...,
string nameNMAX = null,
string valueNMAX = null
) {
// method body...
}