Ok, then perhaps I should try another question: What GUI libraries should I use to render a decent window with colored boxes and readable text? If you know so much as which widgets to use, that would be helpful also.
If you were using Java, you would use a JTable. IB's TWS Booktrader uses a JTable. There is nothing especially difficult about it. JTable allows you to install your own cell renderer which may be used to paint individual table cells any way you choose.
do you mean something like this? <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1489644>