Best way to display domain/workgroup name in the datagrid of computer list

Question

We are have been developing the application for distributed computer network, and every computer can be domain member or workgroup member. So we have a view, where all computers are listed in the datagrid, and we need to display the name of the domain or the workgroup each computer belongs to.

We have at least two solution for this:

1. Add two columns, call them Domain and Workgroup, and fill them properly.
2. Add only one column, call it Member of, and fill it properly, because the computer can belong to the workgroup, or to the domain, not both at the same time.

Which solution is best? What you can advice?

Answer 1

I think the best way to go about it might be a combination of the two (though this really depends on which information is most important).

If it's important to differentiate whether it belongs to a workgroup or domain, I would suggest two columns, one listing the 'type' (domain or workgroup), and the other listing the 'name'. This avoids blank spaces in the data grid that your first option would cause and makes it easily sort-able by type and name.

If it doesn't matter whether it belongs to a workgroup or domain, I would just go with your second option with one column.