How to create scrolling graph from input values?

Question

Hi i'm new here, I'm trying to build a new concept for an interface inside an operating theatre - What I was trying to do (to start with) was make a line dynamically draw itself from a set of values (which I have in an excel spreadsheet) - gradually revealing itself over time like in the screens you see on medical drama's. How would I go about doing this?
Thanks for your time,
marksy
PS Using CS4 if thats relevant

Answer 1

Well first off you need to store your data somewhere, I suggest XML. Then you can use this data to draw a graph dynamically using the drawing api. To draw a single line you could do something like this.
myClip.graphics.moveTo(0,0);
myClip.graphics.lineTo(point1.x, point1.y);
myClip.graphics.lineTo(point2.x, point2.y);
To animate that you would simply need to interpolate a point that lies on the line connecting point1 and point2. Then you could ease your way to the end point (point2) and redraw the line at each frame. Its not very difficult to do once you are comfortable with the drawing api.