What Does this MSDN Sample Code Do? - ItemsControl.ItemTemplate - wpf

Question

This is a XAML code sample taken from the MSDN library article for the ItemsControl.ItemTemplate property:
<ListBox Width="400" Margin="10" ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource myTodoList}}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<StackPanel>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=TaskName}" />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=Description}"/>
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Path=Priority}"/>
</StackPanel>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
I'm looking for an explanation of the usage of the <StackPanel> element is this example.
->
Where is this panel going to exist in the ListBox?
What is its purpose in the ItemTemplate?
Can any System.Windows.Controls.Panel be used in its place, specifically a Grid?
How would I go about using a <Grid> element as the template for each item in the ListBox?
Here is the concept I am going for:
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7960/graphconcept.png
I have drawn the graph using a <Path> element, and there are no problems there.
I am working on the labels for the axies, and I am experimenting with the use of a <Grid> element in the ItemTemplate - but I have no idea how the grid is supposed to function in this context, and MSDN says nothing about the panel in their sample code.
My XAML for the Y-axis labels currently looks like this:
<ListBox Background="Transparent" BorderThickness="0" ItemsSource="{Binding Path=GraphLabelYData}">
<ListBox.ItemTemplate>
<DataTemplate>
<Grid>
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="{Binding Path=GraphLabelSpacing}" />
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="{Binding ElementName=GraphLabelYData, Path=GraphLabelMarkerLength}" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<TextBlock HorizontalAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Text="{Binding Path=GraphLabelTag}" />
<Rectangle Grid.Column="1" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Stroke="Black" Fill="Black" />
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
</ListBox.ItemTemplate>
</ListBox>
Does this look correct? Nothing shows up at run-time, but I want to make sure the XAML is modeled correctly before I start debugging the data-bindings and the code-behind.

Answer 1

"Where is this panel going to exist in the ListBox?" - The listbox will make one copy of it for each list item, i.e. one for each element in the myTodoList collection. So within each list item, you'll have the three labels stacked one above the other.
"What is its purpose in the ItemTemplate?" - To make it possible to show more than one control for each element in the ItemsSource. ItemTemplate, like many things in WPF, can only take one child element, so if you want multiple children, you need to specify how you want them laid out, and you do that by adding a panel (StackPanel in this case).
"Can any System.Windows.Controls.Panel be used in its place, specifically a Grid?" - You bet.
"How would I go about using a <Grid> element as the template for each item in the ListBox?" - The same way you would use a Grid anywhere else. It's no different; it's just that ItemsControl (and its descendant, ListBox) will create multiple instances of your Grid. Note, though, that inside the ItemTemplate, your DataContext will be the current list item, and therefore your {Binding}s will be relative to that list item (unless you specify otherwise with e.g. ElementName).
"Does this look correct?" - This really should be posted as a separate question, as it's unrelated to the questions about the MSDN sample, and I'm not even sure what you're trying to do. But I'll try to answer: I suspect something is wrong, because you're using the name "GraphLabelYData" two different ways. In the ColumnDefinition, as far as I can tell, you're treating GraphLabelYData as the name of a XAML element (i.e. you're looking for another control in the window/page/UserControl with Name="GraphLabelYData" or x:Name="GraphLabelYData", and reading that control's GraphLabelMarkerLength property); but in the TextBlock, you're treating GraphLabelYData as the name of a property on the current collection item. I suspect one of those isn't right.