title: Array of IDs as query parameters in GET request RESTful API
body: <p>I've spent the past few weeks building a RESTful API in PHP (Laravel framework). Also I am building a JavaScript frontend (jQuery / Backbone) that uses this API.</p>
  
  <p>In this API there are some GET requests that require a fair amount of query parameters, most of them are arrays of IDs. I have structured it like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>/api/cars?colors[]=1&amp;colors[]=3&amp;makes[]=6&amp;makes[]=2&amp;sold=false
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>(E.g. color with ID=1 is red, make with ID=6 is Audi, etc.)</p>
  
  <p>In PHP the parsing of an array from $_GET['colors'] works out of the box. Also, when I use</p>
  
  <pre><code>$.ajax({
    url: "someurl",
    method: "GET",
    data: {
      cars: theCarsArray,
      makes: theMakesArray,
      sold: false
    }
  });
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Seems to work perfectly as well (the arrays are send in the URL as described above). I am wondering: is this the accepted approach of sending arrays of IDs in a REST interface? Are there any drawbacks to this approach? What are the alternatives?</p>