Just the single field being used for the lookup.

The caller doesn’t have a Foo, it’s trying to get one. Sure, you can make a temporary Foo with all other fields left blank, but that only works for trivial data structures. Most objects have invariants that would be violated by the mostly-empty-object approach, so avoid it.

Will this be going over the wire (serialized/deserialized) any time now or in the future? Favor the single ID type over the who-knows-how-large full object.

If you’re looking for type-safety of the ID to its entity, then there are code solutions as well. Let me know if you need an example.

Edit: expanding on type-safety of ID:

So, let’s take your method:

public Foo GetItem(int id) {}

We only hope that the integer id that’s passed in is for a Foo object. Someone could misuse it and pass in some Bar object’s integer ID or even just by hand type in 812341. It’s not type safe to Foo. Secondly, even if you used the pass an object Foo version, I’m sure Foo has an ID field which is int which someone can possibly modify. And lastly, you cannot use method overloading if these exist in a class together as only the return type varies. Let’s rewrite this method a bit to look type-safe in C#:

public Foo GetItem(IntId<Foo> id) {}

So I’ve introduced a class named IntId which has a generic piece to it. In this particular case, I want an int that’s associated with Foo only. I can’t just pass in a naked int nor can I assign an IntId<Bar> to it accidentally. So below is how I’ve written these type-safe identifiers. Do take note that the manipulation of the actual underlying int is only at your data access layer. Anything above that only sees the strong type and has no (direct) access to its internal int ID. It should have no reason to.

IModelId.cs interface:

namespace GenericIdentifiers
{
    using System.Runtime.Serialization;
    using System.ServiceModel;

    /// <summary>
    /// Defines an interface for an object's unique key in order to abstract out the underlying key
    /// generation/maintenance mechanism.
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T">The type the key is representing.</typeparam>
    [ServiceContract]
    public interface IModelId<T> where T : class
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Gets a string representation of the domain the model originated from.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The origin.</value>
        [DataMember]
        string Origin
        {
            [OperationContract]get;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The model instance identifier for the model object that this <see cref="IModelId{T}"/> refers to.
        /// Typically, this is a database key, file name, or some other unique identifier.
        /// <typeparam name="TKeyDataType">The expected data type of the identifier.</typeparam>
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="TKeyDataType">The expected data type of the identifier.</typeparam>
        /// <returns>The unique key as the data type specified.</returns>
        [OperationContract]
        TKeyDataType GetKey<TKeyDataType>();

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an equality check on the two model identifiers and returns <c>true</c> if they are equal; otherwise
        /// <c>false</c> is returned.  All implementations must also override the equal operator.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="obj">The identifier to compare against.</param>
        /// <returns><c>true</c> if the identifiers are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.</returns>
        [OperationContract]
        bool Equals(IModelId<T> obj);
    }
}

ModelIdBase.cs base class:

namespace GenericIdentifiers
{
    using System;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.Runtime.Serialization;

    /// <summary>
    /// Represents an object's unique key in order to abstract out the underlying key generation/maintenance mechanism.
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T">The type the key is representing.</typeparam>
    [DataContract(IsReference = true)]
    [KnownType("GetKnownTypes")]
    public abstract class ModelIdBase<T> : IModelId<T> where T : class
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Gets a string representation of the domain the model originated from.
        /// </summary>
        [DataMember]
        public string Origin
        {
            get;

            internal set;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The model instance identifier for the model object that this <see cref="ModelIdBase{T}"/> refers to.
        /// Typically, this is a database key, file name, or some other unique identifier.
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="TKeyDataType">The expected data type of the identifier.</typeparam>
        /// <returns>The unique key as the data type specified.</returns>
        public abstract TKeyDataType GetKey<TKeyDataType>();

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an equality check on the two model identifiers and returns <c>true</c> if they are equal;
        /// otherwise <c>false</c> is returned. All implementations must also override the equal operator.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="obj">The identifier to compare against.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <c>true</c> if the identifiers are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
        /// </returns>
        public abstract bool Equals(IModelId<T> obj);

        protected static IEnumerable<Type> GetKnownTypes()
        {
            return new[] { typeof(IntId<T>), typeof(GuidId<T>) };
        }
    }
}

IntId.cs:

namespace GenericIdentifiers
{
    // System namespaces
    using System;
    using System.Diagnostics;
    using System.Globalization;
    using System.Runtime.Serialization;

    /// <summary>
    /// Represents an abstraction of the database key for a Model Identifier.
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T">The expected owner data type for this identifier.</typeparam>
    [DebuggerDisplay("Origin={Origin}, Integer Identifier={Id}")]
    [DataContract(IsReference = true)]
    public sealed class IntId<T> : ModelIdBase<T> where T : class
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the unique ID.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The unique ID.</value>
        [DataMember]
        internal int Id
        {
            get;

            set;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Implements the operator ==.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="intIdentifier1">The first Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <param name="intIdentifier2">The second Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <c>true</c> if the instances are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
        /// </returns>
        public static bool operator ==(IntId<T> intIdentifier1, IntId<T> intIdentifier2)
        {
            return object.Equals(intIdentifier1, intIdentifier2);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Implements the operator !=.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="intIdentifier1">The first Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <param name="intIdentifier2">The second Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <c>true</c> if the instances are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
        /// </returns>
        public static bool operator !=(IntId<T> intIdentifier1, IntId<T> intIdentifier2)
        {
            return !object.Equals(intIdentifier1, intIdentifier2);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an implicit conversion from <see cref="IntId{T}"/> to <see cref="System.Int32"/>.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="id">The identifier.</param>
        /// <returns>The result of the conversion.</returns>
        public static implicit operator int(IntId<T> id)
        {
            return id == null ? int.MinValue : id.GetKey<int>();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an implicit conversion from <see cref="System.Int32"/> to <see cref="IntId{T}"/>.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="id">The identifier.</param>
        /// <returns>The result of the conversion.</returns>
        public static implicit operator IntId<T>(int id)
        {
            return new IntId<T> { Id = id };
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Determines whether the specified <see cref="T:System.Object"/> is equal to the current
        /// <see cref="T:System.Object"/>.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="obj">The <see cref="T:System.Object"/> to compare with the current
        /// <see cref="T:System.Object"/>.</param>
        /// <returns>true if the specified <see cref="T:System.Object"/> is equal to the current
        /// <see cref="T:System.Object"/>; otherwise, false.</returns>
        /// <exception cref="T:System.NullReferenceException">The <paramref name="obj"/> parameter is null.</exception>
        public override bool Equals(object obj)
        {
            return this.Equals(obj as IModelId<T>);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Serves as a hash function for a particular type.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>
        /// A hash code for the current <see cref="T:System.Object"/>.
        /// </returns>
        public override int GetHashCode()
        {
            unchecked
            {
                var hash = 17;

                hash = (23 * hash) + (this.Origin == null ? 0 : this.Origin.GetHashCode());
                return (31 * hash) + this.GetKey<int>().GetHashCode();
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a <see cref="System.String"/> that represents this instance.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>
        /// A <see cref="System.String"/> that represents this instance.
        /// </returns>
        public override string ToString()
        {
            return this.Origin + ":" + this.GetKey<int>().ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an equality check on the two model identifiers and returns <c>true</c> if they are equal;
        /// otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.  All implementations must also override the equal operator.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="obj">The identifier to compare against.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <c>true</c> if the identifiers are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
        /// </returns>
        public override bool Equals(IModelId<T> obj)
        {
            if (obj == null)
            {
                return false;
            }

            return (obj.Origin == this.Origin) && (obj.GetKey<int>() == this.GetKey<int>());
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The model instance identifier for the model object that this <see cref="ModelIdBase{T}"/> refers to.
        /// Typically, this is a database key, file name, or some other unique identifier.
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="TKeyDataType">The expected data type of the identifier.</typeparam>
        /// <returns>The unique key as the data type specified.</returns>
        public override TKeyDataType GetKey<TKeyDataType>()
        {
            return (TKeyDataType)Convert.ChangeType(this.Id, typeof(TKeyDataType), CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Generates an object from its string representation.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="value">The value of the model's type.</param>
        /// <returns>A new instance of this class as it's interface containing the value from the string.</returns>
        internal static ModelIdBase<T> FromString(string value)
        {
            if (value == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException("value");
            }

            int id;
            var originAndId = value.Split(new[] { ":" }, StringSplitOptions.None);

            if (originAndId.Length != 2)
            {
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("value", "value must be in the format of Origin:Identifier");
            }

            return int.TryParse(originAndId[1], NumberStyles.None, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, out id)
                ? new IntId<T> { Id = id, Origin = originAndId[0] }
                : null;
        }
    }
}

and, for completeness’ sake of my codebase, I also wrote one for GUID entities, GuidId.cs:

namespace GenericIdentifiers
{
    // System namespaces
    using System;
    using System.Diagnostics;
    using System.Globalization;
    using System.Runtime.Serialization;

    /// <summary>
    /// Represents an abstraction of the database key for a Model Identifier.
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T">The expected owner data type for this identifier.</typeparam>
    [DebuggerDisplay("Origin={Origin}, GUID={Id}")]
    [DataContract(IsReference = true)]
    public sealed class GuidId<T> : ModelIdBase<T> where T : class
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the unique ID.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The unique ID.</value>
        [DataMember]
        internal Guid Id
        {
            get;

            set;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Implements the operator ==.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="guidIdentifier1">The first Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <param name="guidIdentifier2">The second Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <c>true</c> if the instances are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
        /// </returns>
        public static bool operator ==(GuidId<T> guidIdentifier1, GuidId<T> guidIdentifier2)
        {
            return object.Equals(guidIdentifier1, guidIdentifier2);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Implements the operator !=.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="guidIdentifier1">The first Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <param name="guidIdentifier2">The second Model Identifier to compare.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <c>true</c> if the instances are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
        /// </returns>
        public static bool operator !=(GuidId<T> guidIdentifier1, GuidId<T> guidIdentifier2)
        {
            return !object.Equals(guidIdentifier1, guidIdentifier2);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an implicit conversion from <see cref="GuidId{T}"/> to <see cref="System.Guid"/>.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="id">The identifier.</param>
        /// <returns>The result of the conversion.</returns>
        public static implicit operator Guid(GuidId<T> id)
        {
            return id == null ? Guid.Empty : id.GetKey<Guid>();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an implicit conversion from <see cref="System.Guid"/> to <see cref="GuidId{T}"/>.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="id">The identifier.</param>
        /// <returns>The result of the conversion.</returns>
        public static implicit operator GuidId<T>(Guid id)
        {
            return new GuidId<T> { Id = id };
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Determines whether the specified <see cref="T:System.Object"/> is equal to the current
        /// <see cref="T:System.Object"/>.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="obj">The <see cref="T:System.Object"/> to compare with the current
        /// <see cref="T:System.Object"/>.</param>
        /// <returns>true if the specified <see cref="T:System.Object"/> is equal to the current
        /// <see cref="T:System.Object"/>; otherwise, false.</returns>
        /// <exception cref="T:System.NullReferenceException">The <paramref name="obj"/> parameter is null.</exception>
        public override bool Equals(object obj)
        {
            return this.Equals(obj as IModelId<T>);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Serves as a hash function for a particular type.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>
        /// A hash code for the current <see cref="T:System.Object"/>.
        /// </returns>
        public override int GetHashCode()
        {
            unchecked
            {
                var hash = 17;

                hash = (23 * hash) + (this.Origin == null ? 0 : this.Origin.GetHashCode());
                return (31 * hash) + this.GetKey<Guid>().GetHashCode();
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a <see cref="System.String"/> that represents this instance.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>
        /// A <see cref="System.String"/> that represents this instance.
        /// </returns>
        public override string ToString()
        {
            return this.Origin + ":" + this.GetKey<Guid>();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Performs an equality check on the two model identifiers and returns <c>true</c> if they are equal;
        /// otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.  All implementations must also override the equal operator.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="obj">The identifier to compare against.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <c>true</c> if the identifiers are equal; otherwise <c>false</c> is returned.
        /// </returns>
        public override bool Equals(IModelId<T> obj)
        {
            if (obj == null)
            {
                return false;
            }

            return (obj.Origin == this.Origin) && (obj.GetKey<Guid>() == this.GetKey<Guid>());
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The model instance identifier for the model object that this <see cref="ModelIdBase{T}"/> refers to.
        /// Typically, this is a database key, file name, or some other unique identifier.
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="TKeyDataType">The expected data type of the identifier.</typeparam>
        /// <returns>The unique key as the data type specified.</returns>
        public override TKeyDataType GetKey<TKeyDataType>()
        {
            return (TKeyDataType)Convert.ChangeType(this.Id, typeof(TKeyDataType), CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Generates an object from its string representation.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="value">The value of the model's type.</param>
        /// <returns>A new instance of this class as it's interface containing the value from the string.</returns>
        internal static ModelIdBase<T> FromString(string value)
        {
            if (value == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException("value");
            }

            Guid id;
            var originAndId = value.Split(new[] { ":" }, StringSplitOptions.None);

            if (originAndId.Length != 2)
            {
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("value", "value must be in the format of Origin:Identifier");
            }

            return Guid.TryParse(originAndId[1], out id) ? new GuidId<T> { Id = id, Origin = originAndId[0] } : null;
        }
    }
}

I certainly agree with your conclusion. Passing an id is preferred for some reasons:

1. It is simple. interface between components should be simple.
2. Creating a Foo object just for the id means creating false values. Someone can make a mistake and use these values.
3. int is more platform-wide and can be declared natively in all modern languages. To create a Foo object by the method caller, you’ll probably need to create a complex data structure (like json object).

I think you would be wise to establish the lookup on the identifier of the object as Ben Voigt has suggested.

However, remember that the type of your object’s identifier may change. As such, I would create a identifier class for each of my items, and only allow looking up the items via these instances of these identifiers. See the following example:

public class Item
{
  public class ItemId
  {
    public int Id { get; set;}
  }

  public ItemId Id; { get; set; }
}

public interface Service
{
  Item GetItem(ItemId id);
}

I used encapsulation, but you can also make Item inherit from ItemId.

That way, if the type of your id changes along the road, you don’t have to change anything in the Item class, or in the signature of the GetItem method. Only in the implementation of the service would you have to change your code (which is the only thing that changes in all cases anyway)

It depends on what your method does.

Generally for Get methods, it is common sense to pass id parameter and get the object back. While for update or SET methods you would sent the whole object to be set/updated.

In some other cases where your method is passing search parameters (as a collection of individual primitive types) to retrieve a set of results, it might be wise to use a container to hold your search parameters. This is useful if in long run number of parameters will change. Thus, you would not need to change the signature of your method, add or remove parameter in all over the places.