Which type of container to use?

Hello all,

I am a newbie and trying my hand at creating an application to read in data from a text file and then drawing to a picturebox (my Canvas). The data represents a Printed Circuit Board.

My question is what type of container should I use to store the data that is read in from the text file. I have had suggestions of "Dictionary", "List", and I am somewhat familiar with "Arrays" and "Tables" from past experience limited as it may be and from decades ago. I want the application to be as fast as possible and have been told that a very large array can be slower than a Dictionary or List. The data to be read in can contain just a few items or thousands, it all depends on the PCB.

I hope I have explained what I want to do and my terminology is correct, if not, please forgive me and ask for clarification.

I know this is a huge task but I like programming and need a task to keep me occupied.

So far, with the help of some of you, I have created a Windows Form Application and I can read in the text file and place the contents in a textbox. Now I need to be able to parse thru the file and draw what it represents on the screen

Thanks

Dave