Question

Is this a bad idea? Does calling a generic private constructor within a public constructor create multiple instances, or is this a valid way of initializing class variables?

Private Class MyClass
    Dim _msg As String

    Sub New(ByVal name As String)
        Me.New()
        'Do stuff
    End Sub

    Sub New(ByVal name As String, ByVal age As Integer)
        Me.New()
        'Do stuff
    End Sub

    Private Sub New() 'Initializer constructor
        Me._msg = "Hello StackOverflow"
        'Initialize other variables
    End Sub
End Class

Answer 1

It is a valid approach. There are some caveats with where the new function can be called:

The Sub New constructor can run only once when a class is created. It
cannot be called explicitly anywhere other than in the first line of
code of another constructor from either the same class or from a
derived class.

Read more about the object lifetime on MSDN.