Method's request body *and* query parameters become combined

[dalbani]

Given this example from the python-docs-sample repository:

class Greeting(messages.Message):
    """Greeting that stores a message."""
    message = messages.StringField(1)

@endpoints.method(
    endpoints.ResourceContainer(
        Greeting,
        times=messages.IntegerField(2, variant=messages.Variant.INT32,
                                required=True))
    Greeting,
    path='greetings/multiply/{times}',
    http_method='POST',
    name='greetings.multiply')
def multiply_greeting(self, request):
    return Greeting(message=request.message * request.times)

I find strange that the Greeting request body and times query parameter get "mixed" into a CombinedContainer object personified by request.

If I compare with Java, all of the parameters appear independently in the Java method signature.
For example:

@ApiMethod(name = "greetings.multiply", httpMethod = "post")
public HelloGreeting insertGreeting(@Named("times") Integer times, HelloGreeting greeting) {
  HelloGreeting response = new HelloGreeting();
  StringBuilder responseBuilder = new StringBuilder();
  for (int i = 0; i < times; i++) {
    responseBuilder.append(greeting.getMessage());
  }
  response.setMessage(responseBuilder.toString());
  return response;
}

That appears more logical and less error-prone to me.
Could it possible to have the same behavior in Python? Or was it designed that way on purpose?

As a workaround, what would be a generic way to turn any CombinedContainer into an object as defined in the ResourceContainer?

Thanks!

[dalbani]

Speaking of CombinedContainer: how am I supposed to implement PATCH semantics when it doesn't differentiate the case:

• when the request body explicitly contains { "message": null }, from
• when the request body does not mention message at all.

In both cases, request.message equals to None.