REST API parameters should use IDs instead of Names

[Ryan_Hagg]

It would be great if API parameters took an ID instead of a name for parameters, specifically where program name is a parameter. Program IDs don't change, the UI allows a user (likely in a completely different department) to change a program name and break something they may know nothing about.

This is a common principle of REST, is there a compelling reason to use name?

[Kenny_Elkington]

To answer your question, no there really isn't a compelling reason.  Are there specific endpoints that you're referring to that accept name, but not ID?

[Ryan_Hagg]

Hi Kenny, thanks for taking the time to ask for specifics. We were using:

POST /rest/v1/leads/push.json

If someone got to our final checkout page (indicating they had successfully completed a transaction) we would push a program status to the lead. We hard coded name into our API call

PushLeadToMarketoRequest {

input (Array[Lead], optional),

lookupField (string, optional),

partitionName (string, optional),

programName (string, optional),

programStatus (string, optional),

reason (string, optional),

source (string, optional)

}

and then the unit that we don't manage changed the program name in Marketo. Thus we had to go in and change the hard coding. I will update this thread with others times we encounter this name vs. id scenario. I know we've run into it at least one other time.

Thanks again!