Constructors With Same Arguments?

Question

I have a WinForm that I want to be able to construct using two different ID values. So for instance:

var f1 = new Form(table1Id);
var f2 = new Form(table2Id);

The first constructor would build the form based on data in table1, the second constructor would build the form based on data in table2. The problem is, if I have two constructors that take an int, there is no differentiating between the two. What is the best way around this problem?

Answer 1

Consider a factory approach instead of a constructor. Named methods are a way to disambiguate when the parameter types are the same but mean different things. For example

public static Form CreateFromTable1(int id)
{
    // instantiate, build form
    return form;
}

public static Form CreateFromTable2(int id)
{
    // instantiate, build form
    return form;
}