Making a graph from a file with values in WPF - wpf

Question

Is there a way you can plot a graph/chart with WPF, I have a file with values, so I want the output to look like this:
This XAML code:
<Grid>
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Lines}" Margin="44,102,40,205" Grid.RowSpan="2">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<Canvas Background="White"/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Line X1="{Binding From.X}" Y1="{Binding From.Y}"
X2="{Binding To.X}" Y2="{Binding To.Y}"
Stroke="DarkGray" StrokeThickness="3"/>
</DataTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
</ItemsControl>
</Grid>
My ViewModel that should have all of the implementation drawing a graph:
My idea was to have a collection of lines, but I then froze, and couldn't implement a good solution.
I would read values from a txt file, but I do not know how should I pass them so they can be drawn on the graph.
public ObservableCollection<Line> Lines { get; private set; }
Lines = new ObservableCollection<Line>
{
// I would add new lines here
};
I have no experience when it comes to plotting graphs, so every advice would be a huge help to me

Answer 1

I don't think this is possible with just a simple use of the built-in controls in WPF, as you are trying to do. You need a custom control to actually render a usable chart. And take it from someone who has actually written a WPF line chart control from scratch: it's a real project. There are a lot of moving parts and things to consider.
Unless you really needed a super custom or proprietary implementation, you'd be far better off going with one of the libraries that have already been written. A quick google search for "WPF chart library" gives you a number of results. A free option that I've personally used is LiveCharts
That being said, if you really need to make your own, here are some points I had to cover in creating mine:
A function to return a "scale" (what numeric values are represented by the top and bottom of the graph), given the input of all the values that need to be displayed.
A function that, given the scale, returns a physical Y coordinate for a given chart value (e.g. "20" should be displayed 95 pixels above the bottom of the graph)
A Grid or other Panel to lay out separate areas for the title, legend, x axis, y axis (or axes, because you could potentially support more than one) and of course the plot area.
A function that determines the actual physical size of the plot area so you can physically scale (not the same as the scale mentioned earlier) the plot to fit inside the control. Don't forget that the size of the axes and other surrounding elements will have to be considered- even though they might not be drawn yet.
A method (or separate methods, which is how I did it) to draw each of axes and the lines. I used a Canvas, TextBlocks, PolyLines and Polygons (for markers).
(If you want to be professional) a method for calculating the overlap between marker labels and moving them apart so they're readable.