Forum: MetaTrader 4 platform

Tma: MetaTrader 4 and MQL 4 overview

--------------------------------------Lenar:
Hi everybody,
Michal asked me to introduce our trading terminal and strategy developing IDE.
MetaTrader 4 Client Terminal
Terminal possesses both analytical and trading abilities. In trading, there is t
hree execution technologies and full set of trading orders. Along with trading t
here are about 50 analytical tools: 30 technical indicators and 20 line studies.
And its very important fact. From one application you can analyze markets and c
onduct trading operations immediately. This also allows automating your trading
activity with MQL4 (listed below) and Expert Advisors. For those who worrying ab
out where he can use these advantages, I want to inform that now about 85 broker
s and banks worldwide using MetaTrader 4 under different labels.
MQL 4
If you fell that there are not enough built-in technical indicators you can writ
e your own with MQL 4. For each indicator you can use 8 indicators` arrays, i.e.
in each indicator you can use 8 lines. For example, you can create an indicator
which will draw 8 different Moving Averages. Using abilities of MT4/MQL4 you ca
n even built new charts (for example, heiken ashi). From one indicator you have
access to any security and period in terminal. If indicator is applied to D1 per
iod chart, it can use data, for example, from H1 or M15. Also using MQL 4 you ca
n work with any data. Some traders are need to use exotic timeframes (2,3,6-hour
s, 2,3,5-days and so on). Using period converter (its a MQL4-Script) and lesser
periods they can get these timeframes. This ability also allows to build new sec
urities basing on the data of existing in terminal financial instruments. For ex
ample, Alex Silver builds USD Index.
MQL 4 IDE allows Experts to contact each other in the frame of terminal. Such fe
ature brings, for instance, a synchronization function - if several experts are
trying to conduct trading operations at the same time, there will be errors. But
it possible to avoid this situation when synchronization is on. As against to C
ustom Indicators, Expert Advisors and Scripts can not only use data from any sec
ucurity/period, but also to trade in any different securities/periods. If one us
ing very complicated strategy which is analyzing data from several securities an
d can open positions on any of them, this ability is indispensable. MQL 4 allows
to use several functions in body of one expert.
Usage of DLLs broadens the abilities of MQL4 greatly. For example, the same peri
od converter script appends HST-file opened as offline-chart and sends to termin
al command using PostMessage WinAPI function to refresh chart. Second example, i
s to use Speech API.
MetaTrader 4 Terminal got built-in strategy tester. Everybody knows what is it a
nd whats its purpose. So I will take you attention to main features only. Except
of testing abilities there two types of optimization: step-by-step and optimiza
tion based on principles of genetic algorithms. Both of them allows to find the
best input parameters for your Expert. There is a limitation on genetic optimiza
tion: if there are less that 2000 combinations, genetic optimization is not runn
ing - its just have no sense. Instead of it, one can use usual step-by-step. Imp
ortant feature of genetic optimization is a caching of results. It means that if
such combination already was met in previous generations, testing with these pa
rams will not be run once again. Tester just takes the results of already held r
un from the memory and writes them for this testing too. Strategy tester maximal
y accurate emulates work of server. I mean it calculates rollovers, margin level

s, commissions etc.
Hope this brief info give answers to some questions.
michal.kreslik:
Lenar, thanks for a brief introduction. My introductory questions:
1. which brokers support trading via MetaTrader4?
2. do some of them support second time stamps on tick charts?
3. what is the cost of data feed(s)?
4. what is the cost of using the platform?
5. is there any broker supporting MetaTrader4 who supports fully automated forex
trading?
6. is there an alternative bar construction ability in MetaTrader4 (like CRBs constant range bars)?
7. is it possible to construct tick-based charts (like 30-tick chart)
8. is there any data feed cache management in MetaTrader4 similar to that in Neo
Ticker?
9. we know that Tradestation is used by many solely thanks to the third-party ad
d-ons availibilty (including me). What is the add-ons availability for MetaTrade
r4? What is your general approach towards encouraging programmers to write third
-party add-ons for your platform?
10. there is a PDA version of MetaTrader4. What are your and your clients' exper
iences with that? For me, this sounds just "kewl" :)
11. I'll quote aspTrader, one of the best EL and NeoTicker programmers around (I
guess he will ask some questions here, too):
-aspTrader
So, longwrote:
term, having ActiveX external-to-the-platform control
over the platform itself will turn out to be important (to achieve the
goal of not "intruding" on the strategy code itself like all GAs do
that support TS).
hmmm...Let's see.Which platform already supports ActiveX control?
Make a guess...
well, I guess he is talking about his beloved NeoTicker :) But my question is: d
oes MetaTrader4 support ActiveX control?
Thanks for the answers,
Michal
Lenar:
michal.kreslik
Lenar,
thanks for
wrote:
a brief introduction. My introductory questions:
1. which brokers support trading via MetaTrader4?
2. do some of them support second time stamps on tick charts?
3. what is the cost of data feed(s)?
4. what is the cost of using the platform?
5. is there any broker supporting MetaTrader4 who supports fully automated forex
trading?
6. is there an alternative bar construction ability in MetaTrader4 (like CRBs constant range bars)?
7. is it possible to construct tick-based charts (like 30-tick chart)
8. is there any data feed cache management in MetaTrader4 similar to that in Neo
Ticker?
9. we know that Tradestation is used by many solely thanks to the third-party ad
d-ons availibilty (including me). What is the add-ons availability for MetaTrade
r4? What is your general approach towards encouraging programmers to write third
-party add-ons for your platform?
10. there is a PDA version of MetaTrader4. What are your and your clients' exper
iences with that? For me, this sounds just "kewl" :)
11. I'll quote aspTrader, one of the best EL and NeoTicker programmers around (I
guess he will ask some questions here, too):
well, I guess he is talking about his beloved NeoTicker :) But my question is: d
oes MetaTrader4 support ActiveX control?
Thanks for the answers,

Michal
Hi Michal,
1. all of those who bought MetaTrader 4 are supporting the trading. Our platfrom
is not informational. Its "informational-trading" platform. Currently
about 85 brokers and banks worldwide.
2. No timeframes are everywhere are standard. But you can use period converter t
o make any "exotic" TF.
3. Its not your problem, its brokers:)) He finding feeds and distibutes them int
o all trading terminals.
4. Here is the problem. You know the PLATFORM term in the West means the traders
working place. In our case, Platfrom is a whole cycle trading complex intended
for organization of brokerage services on the financial markets. What is in the
west called platform is our Client Terminal.
So if you are speaking about Client Terminal - its free. Only mobile version cos
ts 45$ for unlimited usage. If you are talking about MetaTrader 4 Platfrom, you
should contact our Cyprus office.
5. Yes there are brokers, who supports automated trading. Check their sites for
this information.
6. and 7. You can do this with FXT-files. Its a history files format. Its opened
.
8. what is this, please describe in details.
9. Our approach is combination of MQL 4 + DDL. There are already several groups
of professional MQL 4 developers. For example, http://www.metatrader.info
10. I have to disagree with you. There is a group of traders who seldom are off
the desctop PCs. They rate that feature very highly. In some traders communities
i even say post like "I`d cose this broker but he havent Mobile Trading. S
o i brought my money to broker who got MetaTrader 4." Im not joking and its
not a marketing motto. Our reserches show that every year amount of mobile user
s are increasing 2.5 times.
11. No there is no ActiveX support. Only MQL4 + DLL.
michal.kreslik:
Michal
1.
Lenar
which
wrote:
wrote:
brokers support trading via MetaTrader4?
1. all of those who bought MetaTrader 4 are supporting the trading. Our platfrom
is not informational. Its "informational-trading" platform. Currently
about 85 brokers and banks worldwide.
Great, so that
you can choose your broker out of 85 available
Could you please provide us a link to the list of those brokers who support trad
ing through your platform? I couldn't find it on your website.
Michal
2.
Lenar
do wrote:
some
wrote:
of them support second time stamps on tick charts?
2. No timeframes are everywhere are standard. But you can use period converter t
o make any "exotic" TF.
Sure, it's not a problem to convert data to other format once you have it availa
ble. You can easily decrease the resolution from 1 min bars to 15 min bars. But
the question is, does any broker who cooperates with you support tick-level data
down to the second-by-second timestamp? For example, in Tradestation, there is
only minute-by-minute time stamp. This means that although there is tick data av
ailable, you only get them with the minute timestamp. Thus, you get 10 ticks wit
h a timestamp of 10:45, then 5 ticks 10:46, 12 ticks 10:47 and so on. You never
know when exactly did the tick happend within the minute, like 10:45:12, 10:45:2
2, 10:45:36. Just 10:45:00, 10:45:00, 10:45:00. This down-to-second timestamp is
particularly useful for scalping strategies in forex.
Michal
3.
Lenar
whatwrote:
wrote:
is the cost of data feed(s)?
3. Its not your problem, its brokers:)) He finding feeds and distibutes them int
o all trading terminals.
Sure, I was asking about what the cost of data feed is if you don't have an acco
unt open. Is it free? You have to pay for the client terminal and the datafeed f

rom Tradestation $200 a month minimum. This can be less if you trade some predef
ined number/volume of trades every month.
Michal
4.
Lenar
whatwrote:
wrote:
is the cost of using the platform?
4. Here is the problem. You know the PLATFORM term in the West means the traders
working place. In our case, Platfrom is a whole cycle trading complex intended
for organization of brokerage services on the financial markets. What is in the
west called platform is our Client Terminal.
So if you are speaking about Client Terminal - its free.
This is what I wanted to know.
Friends system developers, can you hear that?
MetaTrader4 Client Terminal is free! BigGrin_Smile
Is some standard data feed free too?
Michal
5.
is there
wrote:any broker supporting MetaTrader4 who supports fully automated forex
Lenar
trading?
wrote:
5. Yes there are brokers, who supports automated trading. Check their sites for
this information.
Another highlight of the show:
MetaTrader4 supports automated
Michal
6.
is there
wrote:an alternative bar
constant range bars)?
7. is wrote:
Lenar
it possible to construct
6. and 7. You can do this with
.

forex trading
construction ability in MetaTrader4 (like CRBs tick-based charts (like 30-tick chart)
FXT-files. Its a history files format. Its opened

Constant range bars (and more) available in MetaTrader4

Michal
8.
is there
wrote:any data feed cache management in MetaTrader4 similar to that in Neo
Lenar wrote:
Ticker?
8. what is this, please describe in details.
Cache manager manages stored data feeds on your computer. You have the control o
ver which data are stored, which should be downloaded automatically etc. The exp
ert on this issue is aspTrader, who uses this feature in NoeTicker. I'm sure asp
Trader will explain to you in this thread what are the advantages of cache manag
er more accurately then me since I have not ever used it personally. In Tradesta
tion there's no cache manager and you never know whether you can go offline (on
a vacation to the countryside) and still be able to backtest your strategies sin
ce you never know what exact datais stored locally on your hard disk. Also, you
cannot prune unneccessary data this way. So is there any such feature in MetaTra
der4?
Michal
9.
we know
wrote:
that Tradestation is used by many solely thanks to the third-party ad
d-ons availibilty (including me). What is the add-ons availability for MetaTrade
r4? What is your general approach towards encouraging programmers to write third
-partywrote:
Lenar
add-ons for your platform?
9. Our approach is combination of MQL 4 + DDL. There are already several groups
of professional MQL 4 developers. For example, http://www.metatrader.info
OK. I was asking because the more you support your third-party developers, the m
ore customers will find your platform attractive, the more revenue it will gener
ate for you and the better the platform will be. Is it possible to export an ind
icator or a strategy (expert advisor in your terms) in a password-protected file
so that the program will work, but the code won't be visible to the user? In Tr
adestation, this is possible.
Michal
10.
there
wrote:
is a PDA version of MetaTrader4. What are your and your clients' exper
ienceswrote:
Lenar
with that? For me, this sounds just "kewl"
10. I have to disagree with you. There is a group of traders who seldom are off
the desctop PCs. They rate that feature very highly. In some traders communities
i even say post like "I`d cose this broker but he havent Mobile Trading. S
o i brought my money to broker who got MetaTrader 4." Im not joking and its
not a marketing motto. Our reserches show that every year amount of mobile user

s are increasing 2.5 times.

Frankly, you don't have to disagree with me, Lenar:lol: Kewl = cool = superb! I
am a PDA on Windows CE user from its very beginning in cca 1998. I find it great
that you support this.
MichalMetaTrader4
does
Lenar
wrote:
wrote:
support ActiveX control?
11. No there is no ActiveX support. Only MQL4 + DLL.
Will there be?
I have a new question: is it possible to import offline price data from a file t
o MetaTrader4?
Thanks very much for your answers, Lenar! We appreciate your attentiveness much.
Michal
Lenar:
Hi Michal,
Michal wrote:
you can choose your broker out of 85 available
Could you please provide us a link to the list of those brokers who support trad
ing through your platform? I couldn't find it on your website.
We do not publish the list o brokers. But maybe in nearest future this situation
will change and we will publish it.
Michal wrote:
Sure, it's not a problem to convert data to other format once you have it availa
ble. You can easily decrease the resolution from 1 min bars to 15 min bars. But
the question is, does any broker who cooperates with you support tick-level data
down to the second-by-second timestamp? For example, in Tradestation, there is
only minute-by-minute time stamp. This means that although there is tick data av
ailable, you only get them with the minute timestamp. Thus, you get 10 ticks wit
h a timestamp of 10:45, then 5 ticks 10:46, 12 ticks 10:47 and so on. You never
know when exactly did the tick happend within the minute, like 10:45:12, 10:45:2
2, 10:45:36. Just 10:45:00, 10:45:00, 10:45:00. This down-to-second timestamp is
particularly useful for scalping strategies in forex.
I think that there are some brokers who offers this data. But i cant name you ex
act companies. Try to search from google.
Michal wrote:
Sure, I was asking about what the cost of data feed is if you don't have an acco
unt open. Is it free? You have to pay for the client terminal and the datafeed f
rom Tradestation $200 a month minimum. This can be less if you trade some predef
ined number/volume of trades every month.
If you dont have an account you dont have realtime data. In this case you can do
wnload data from some resources manually and analyse them in off-line mode.
But what is a problem? I never heard that some of our clients do not provide dem
o accounts which are absolutely free.
Michal wrote:
Is some standard data feed free too?
Michal, free means free:) Terminal is free and its main purpose is to work with
the server. So you can only download terminal, open demo account and you already
have realtime data. Free.:)
Michal wrote:
Cache manager manages stored data feeds on your computer. You have the control o
ver which data are stored, which should be downloaded automatically etc. The exp
ert on this issue is aspTrader, who uses this feature in NoeTicker. I'm sure asp
Trader will explain to you in this thread what are the advantages of cache manag
er more accurately then me since I have not ever used it personally. In Tradesta
tion there's no cache manager and you never know whether you can go offline (on
a vacation to the countryside) and still be able to backtest your strategies sin
ce you never know what exact datais stored locally on your hard disk. Also, you
cannot prune unneccessary data this way. So is there any such feature in MetaTra

der4?
As far as i understood you, you want to have mechanism to control of downloading
data. Yes, ther is mechanism. First of all in terminal there is an option Max.
Bars in History which is controlling the amount of history in bars stored on you
r HDD. Secondly, there is an automatic system in terminal which is downloading d
ata only on opened charts. So you can set you history limitation to any amount,
then open the charts you needand the storing of history is began.
Also you can use Data Centers. This component have several purposes, one of them
is to collect and distribute data. Its like a proxy server.
Michal wrote:
OK. I was asking because the more you support your third-party developers, the m
ore customers will find your platform attractive, the more revenue it will gener
ate for you and the better the platform will be. Is it possible to export an ind
icator or a strategy (expert advisor in your terms) in a password-protected file
so that the program will work, but the code won't be visible to the user? In Tr
adestation, this is possible.
Yes its possible. The MQ4 files are the sources and they are may be used to desi
gn the experts. But if you want hide your code you can distribute EX4 files only
.
Want to note that there is no any standard password checking mechanism. But expe
rt-developers make some checks inside of the code and they are able to control t
he usege of their expers. For example they cheking the time, checking some &quot
;activation files" (whitout those files experts do not work) and so on.
The main moment of this situation is that EX4 files are executable, but are not
customizable. Nobody (including its author) can change them. Even author have to
change MQ4 files and recompile them only.
Michal wrote:
Frankly, you don't have to disagree with me, Lenar:lol: Kewl = cool = superb! I
am a PDA on Windows CE user from its very beginning in cca 1998. I find it great
that you support this.
Ok, looks like i didnt understood you well, Michal.:))
Lenar wrote:
11. No there is no ActiveX support. Only MQL4 + DLL.
Michalthere
Will
wrote:
be?
No, we do not plan to integrate it.
Michal wrote:
I have a new question: is it possible to import offline price data from a file t
o MetaTrader4?
Of course, FXT format and you may use any data. The possibility of offline analy
sis was one of ours priority.
Michal wrote:
Thanks very much for your answers, Lenar! We appreciate your attentiveness much.
Michal
Any time, Michal.
michal.kreslik:
Thanks for answering the questions, Lenar.
michal.kreslik wrote:
6. is there an alternative bar construction ability in MetaTrader4 (like CRBs constant range bars)?
Lenar
6.
andwrote:
7. You can do this with FXT-files. Its a history files format. Its opened
.
Now I realize that maybe I didn't formulate the question precisely. Is it possib
le to display alternative bars (like constant range or Kase bars) online? And ba
se standard MT4 indicators and strategies on them online?
Also, is there a feature in MetaTrader4 similar to Tradestation's RadarScreen?
Thanks,
Michal

Lenar:
michal.kreslik wrote:
Now I realize that maybe I didn't formulate the question precisely. Is it possib
le to display alternative bars (like constant range or Kase bars) online? And ba
se standard MT4 indicators and strategies on them online?
Also, is there a feature in MetaTrader4 similar to Tradestation's RadarScreen?
Thanks,
Michal
Hi Michal,
Yes its possible. You can build expert like Period Converter which will automati
cally rewrite offline data and send to terminal Refresh Chart command.
About Radar - no, there is no such feature.
michal.kreslik:
Lenar,
the RadarScreen feature in Tradestation is rather unique. As far as I know, ther
e's no other publicly available trading platform offering this functionality (co
rrect me if I am wrong). I would also say that the RadarScreen is the sole reaso
n for many real-time traders to use Tradestation over other platforms.
Would you be willing to add this feature to MetaTrader4?
Michal
christhlo2:
Yes, I do agree with Michal as a TS user can use only one window to glance throu
gh a whole lot of instruments using Radarscreen.Of course, there is still lots o
f rooms for Radarscreen to improve on the ability to filter out/screen out desir
able instruments that fulfill certain conditions. MetaTrader 4 should try to att
ackthis weakness in TS if possible.There is a lot of potential power hidden in R
adarscreen like structure/function. :smt002
michal.kreslik:
I'm sure that Avery (for Lenar: Avery, or TheRumpledOne is the single best Radar
Screen programmer of all times) would unleash the power of a RadarScreen in Meta
Trader4 to the extreme extent :)
Also, I assume that MetaTrader4 development team is interested in their clients'
enhancement suggestions (unlike the Tradestation development team), so that the
RadarScreen in MetaTrader4 might be much better than that in Tradestation origi
nally.
Michal
Lenar:
michal.kreslik wrote:
Lenar,
the RadarScreen feature in Tradestation is rather unique. As far as I know, ther
e's no other publicly available trading platform offering this functionality (co
rrect me if I am wrong). I would also say that the RadarScreen is the sole reaso
n for many real-time traders to use Tradestation over other platforms.
Would you be willing to add this feature to MetaTrader4?
Michal
Michal,
im not sure about it. If traders community will strongly demand it, we will add
it, of course. Maybe it will be realized in MetaTrder 5 :)
michal.kreslik:
Thanks, Lenar.
Next I'd like to ask you: is it possible to optimize a bar timeframe?
The possible result might be that your trading system works best with the 60 min
bars.
NeoTicker is capable of this while Tradestation is not.
Thanks much,

Michal
michal.kreslik:
Also, the FX traders here are interested in knowing if it is possible to include
the FX spread in the simulation. With Tradestation, the only trading costs you
may include in the backtest are commissions and slippage.
Thanks,
Michal
Lenar:
michal.kreslik
Thanks,
Lenar. wrote:
Next I'd like to ask you: is it possible to optimize a bar timeframe?
The possible result might be that your trading system works best with the 60 min
bars.
NeoTicker is capable of this while Tradestation is not.
Thanks much,
Michal
Hi Michal,
You should write period-independed Expert (Period have to be external variable)
and when you want to test it on different timeframes, you should start optimizat
ion on Period parameter.
Lenar:
michal.kreslik
Also,
the FX traders
wrote:here are interested in knowing if it is possible to include
the FX spread in the simulation. With Tradestation, the only trading costs you
may include in the backtest are commissions and slippage.
Thanks,
Michal
im not sure that understood you well. Please give me more details, Michal.
michal.kreslik:
Being able to optimize the timeframes is really cool, Lenar. Tradestation can't
do that, NeoTicker can and now we know MetaTrader4, too.
I can tell you that the alternative platforms list discussed on our Yahoo group
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheRumpledOne
(only about 20% of the members have migrated here so far) has narrowed to NeoTic
ker and MetaTrader4 I would say.
Lenar the
michal.kreslik
Also,
wrote:
FX traders
wrote:here are interested in knowing if it is possible to include
the FX spread in the simulation. With Tradestation, the only trading costs you
may include in the backtest are commissions and slippage.
Thanks,
Michal
im not sure that understood you well. Please give me more details, Michal.
OK, in a nutshell:
- you need to subtract the costs of trading when you backtest
- in Forex, the principal cost of trading is the spread, i.e. the difference bet
ween the Bid and the Ask prices
- in EURUSD, the spread is typically 3 points
- is it possible to subtract the spread of 3 points from every closed out trade
in backtest?
Strangely enough, you can't subtract spread in Tradestation. You can only subtra
ct commissions or slippage in dollars, which is a workaround for USD-priced pair
s, but that doesn't work for other pairs.
Example:
- EURUSD, 1 lot, spread 3 points = spread is $30 a trade
- GBPUSD, 1 lot, spread 4 points = spread is $40 a trade
- USDCHF, 1 lot, spread 4 points = spread is CHF 40 a trade
- EURGBP, 1 lot, spread 3 points = spread is GBP 30 a trade
etc.

The trick is to be able to denominate the spread in the price currency, which is
not always USD.
Michal
Lenar:
michal.kreslik
Being
able to optimize
wrote: the timeframes is really cool, Lenar. Tradestation can't
do that, NeoTicker can and now we know MetaTrader4, too.
I can tell you that the alternative platforms list discussed on our Yahoo group
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheRumpledOne
(only about 20% of the members have migrated here so far) has narrowed to NeoTic
ker and MetaTrader4 I would say.
Lenar the
michal.kreslik
Also,
wrote:
FX traders
wrote:here are interested in knowing if it is possible to include
the FX spread in the simulation. With Tradestation, the only trading costs you
may include in the backtest are commissions and slippage.
Thanks,
Michal
im not sure that understood you well. Please give me more details, Michal.
OK, in a nutshell:
- you need to subtract the costs of trading when you backtest
- in Forex, the principal cost of trading is the spread, i.e. the difference bet
ween the Bid and the Ask prices
- in EURUSD, the spread is typically 3 points
- is it possible to subtract the spread of 3 points from every closed out trade
in backtest?
Strangely enough, you can't subtract spread in Tradestation. You can only subtra
ct commissions or slippage in dollars, which is a workaround for USD-priced pair
s, but that doesn't work for other pairs.
Example:
- EURUSD, 1 lot, spread 3 points = spread is $30 a trade
- GBPUSD, 1 lot, spread 4 points = spread is $40 a trade
- USDCHF, 1 lot, spread 4 points = spread is CHF 40 a trade
- EURGBP, 1 lot, spread 3 points = spread is GBP 30 a trade
etc.
The trick is to be able to denominate the spread in the price currency, which is
not always USD.
Michal
Michal there is no need to use any tricks. Strategy tester emulates server fully
. All spreads are described in currency settings.
forest:
I have been playing around with MT4 (StrategyBuilderFX) and am having a blast. V
ery easy to set up and trade with, at least with the demo account. I have not tr
ied any programming yet, but have downloaded and tried quite a few indicator com
binations, some of which look promising for forex trading.
This as opposed to Neoticker which I am still having troubles getting the datafe
ed implemented, even though I have an account with Interactive Brokers. Thus, Ne
oticker is not getting as much screentime as MT4 which is unfortunate for Neotic
ker since there is only a 30 day trial and time is now running for my copy.
Of course this is only one minor issue to be considered, but when you are up and
running on one system as soon as you download it, as opposed to having to spend
time configuring the software when you would rather be experimenting with tradi
ng scenarios...
michal.kreslik:
Lenar,
thanks again for your answers. New questions arise as we learn about the feature
s in the new NeoTicker Grid Optizimer that will be reelased shortly http://kresl
ik.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=346
- is it possible to optimize accross multiple computers for maximum horspower?

- is it possible to suspend the optimization, allowing modification of rules and

ranges and then resume?
Thanks,
Michal
aspTrader:
Guess what platform has a Tradestation Radar Screen like capability that is supe
rior to Radar Screen and it's included in the platform for free.
TRO would go cracy with these capabilities.
That's right...You guessed it!
It's NeoTicker...
aspTrader:
forest
Of
course
wrote:
this is only one minor issue to be considered, but when you are up and
running on one system as soon as you download it, as opposed to having to spend
time configuring the software when you would rather be experimenting with tradi
ng scenarios...
The problem with this point of view is this...
The selection of a trading platform is a significant and strategic decision.To t
ake a decision merely because a data feed can be configured for one platform mor
e quickly than another is absurd.
NeoTicker is designed to work with multiple data feeds and multiple brokers and
the two are not and should not be the same...(The why of that is another questio
n.)
So, yes...You do need to spend a few minutes thinking about data feed issues whe
n using NeoTicker because there are multiple options.
If you don't have a few minutes to consider the issues related to data feed and
their configuration in this kind of strategic decision then I agree that NeoTick
er is not for you.
By the way, do you understand that there are significant issues with the IB data
feed apart from the NeoTicker interface to it and why it's not really a good id
ea to use that data feed if you're a short-term trader?
aspTrader:
michal.kreslik
11.
I'll quote aspTrader,
wrote:
one of the best EL and NeoTicker programmers around (I
guess he will ask some questions here, too):
-aspTrader
So, longwrote:
term, having ActiveX external-to-the-platform control
over the platform itself will turn out to be important (to achieve the
goal of not "intruding" on the strategy code itself like all GAs do
that support TS).
hmmm...Let's see.Which platform already supports ActiveX control?
Make a guess...
well, I guess he is talking about his beloved NeoTicker :) But my question is: d
oes MetaTrader4 support ActiveX control?
Michal,
Yesterday you attended the demonstration I did for NeoTicker's Grid Optimizer.Yo
u saw how simple the strategy and indicator were that were to be optimized when
the chart was optimized... the CHART not the strategy.
What you saw was done with ActiveX.It's ActiveX capability which makes it possib
le to have a wide range of options for optimization of strategy elements (like B
arType/BarSize) and even optimizers now and in the future without the need for i
nserting code into the strategy as is the case with GGO.
IMO, ActiveX is a strategic necessity for those wanting flexibility vis-a-vis op
timizers in the future.
The strategic questions, IMO, are these...
What functionality and capabilities do I need to have robustness and flexibility
in the future?(Flexibliity vis-a-vis brokers, data feeds, add-ons, etc.)
Which platform vendor(s) have had the conscious objective to design and build in
that robustness and flexibility?
Have they succeeded in the building of it?

Who is their primary type of business customer?Am I that type of customer?

aspTrader:
Lenar wrote: wrote:
michal.kreslik
3. what is the cost of data feed(s)?
3. Its not your problem, its brokers:)) He finding feeds and distibutes them int
o all trading terminals.
This is, IMO, a fundamental problem with MT4 for traders as I currently understa
nd it.
Success in trading is about control.
Isn't that the problem with TS for more sophisticated traders.TS is the data fee
d and the execution platform and the broker.
And that inevitably leads to problems because there are different objectives and
priorities among organizations and people providing them.
I want complete control of the data feed choice and the broker choice and I want
those choices to be independent of each other.
I want to have as much control as possible over all the factors that impact my s
uccess or failure.
Lenar:
michal.kreslik wrote:
Lenar,
thanks again for your answers. New questions arise as we learn about the feature
s in the new NeoTicker Grid Optizimer that will be reelased shortly http://kresl
ik.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=346
- is it possible to optimize accross multiple computers for maximum horspower?
- is it possible to suspend the optimization, allowing modification of rules and
ranges and then resume?
Thanks,
Michal
Hi Michal,
1. there is no opportunity to use several comps in one network to rise horspower
s on optimization. But Genetical algorithmg make optimization fast enough. So i
think there is no need (at least for now) to use several comps.
2. NO. Its possible to stop optimization and change parameters. But after that i
f you will push Start button new testing begins. The previous test is not resumi
ng.
Lenar:
aspTrader wrote:
This is, IMO, a fundamental problem with MT4 for traders as I currently understa
nd it.
Hi ASP,
I dont think that its a problem. If you dont like datafeeds of one MetaTrader 4
broker and the broker himself do not satisfys you, you are always may choose ono
ther one. By the moment its about 90 brokers who uses MetaTrader 4.
Also we are in MetaQuotes just cant imagine following picture:
1. you use some softs for analysis and trading. These softs have to be compatibl
e with brokers server. If they are not compatible its becoming a problem, when y
ou are trying to open position. Analysis its good, but without trading its usele
ss.
2. you want to use some datafeeds, which are different to broker ones. For analy
sis its ok, but for trading - no. When you will try to open position you will us
e brokers quotes only (taking you attention to the fact that these quotes are di
fferent to yours). How can you rely to feeds which are from the begining are dif
ferent to broker ones?
We dont think that sometime this picture will change - you will always use broke
rs quotes.
so

aspTrader wrote:
I want complete control of the data feed choice and the broker choice and I want
those choices to be independent of each other.
I want to have as much control as possible over all the factors that impact my s
uccess or failure.
i think it will never happend. Broker (in this case) means brokers feeds and com
patible soft also. If broker can offer several softs for trading, he will still
offer only one feeds.
michal.kreslik:
aspTrader,
it's true we have grown too much accustomed to the all-in-one type of work with
Tradestation. Development platform, history data provider and broker rolled into
one.
The troubles it brings once you're not content with one of these layers is clear
:you can't change the layer
It requires more work to choose and choose wisely. But at the same time, you are
free.
Forest, imagine yourself being presented with a package of:a wifea houseand car
8)
Isn't that terrific to have all in one for one price? :)
No, it isn't. Choosing a wife, a house and a car requires more work but is defin
itely worth the hassle.
aspTrader, there might be issues however with different history data provider an
d a broker. I have never used that horrible Tradestation GAIN capital group for
my FX broker, so I have always calculated my signals based on TS data and entere
d my orders with a different broker by hand. Sometimes the trade was successfull
y closed in TS, but with my broker the price behavior was slightly different, so
I had to close the trade sooner than the profit target was hit.
After attending the aspTrader's online demo of the new Grid Optimizer, I am clea
r about the matter. The Grid Optimizer employs alternative search methods (neare
st neighbor search aka "SmartSearch", Monte Carlo simulation) that are
way more effective than the standard exhausitve optimization. Although it's sti
ll not genetics, it's pretty good.
The only issue concerning me right now is the FX tick data availability for back
testing.
MetaTrader4 is a great platform, too, especially for the FX trader and the alpha
version of the builtin GA looks promising.
Right now, it seems it's more probable I'd go for NeoTicker. In this case, anywa
y, I would learn MetaQuotes Language 4 and start using MetaTrader4 as my backup
platform, since you never know - what if the TickQuest management slips into apa
thy towards their customers' needs in a one year's time just as the Tradestation
management did?
Lenar, I hope you are reading this - can you point us to some cutting edge featu
res in which MetaTrader4 is superior to NeoTicker4? After all, you know the plat
form you develop best. Maybe we have overlooked some important issue.
Switching the platform where you have already done so much work and leaping into
the dark is a tough decision.
But I am a pioneer of my life.
"The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do
and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."
- Dale Carnegie
Michal
michal.kreslik:
Lenar
2.
youwrote:
want to use some datafeeds, which are different to broker ones. For analy
sis its ok, but for trading - no. When you will try to open position you will us
e brokers quotes only (taking you attention to the fact that these quotes are di

fferent to yours). How can you rely to feeds which are from the begining are dif
ferent to broker ones?
Precisely, Lenar. This has already happened to me. Different quotes on my tradesignal-generating feed and my broker's feed with the resulting different trading
outcomes. Not quite a pleasant feeling.
You wrote your two articles in the meantime when I was writing mine :)
Michal
Lenar:
michal.kreslik wrote:
Lenar, I hope you are reading this - can you point us to some cutting edge featu
res in which MetaTrader4 is superior to NeoTicker4? After all, you know the plat
form you develop best. Maybe we have overlooked some important issue.
Michal, i dont think thats its too good idea when representative of one company
comments products of another one. Sorry.
michal.kreslik:
Please do, Lenar!
You see, you have been asked to do that publicly by us, so no one can possibly b
lame you for empty advertising.
This forum is here to find the best platform to switch to for many dissatisfied
TS users, so every infromation that can be gained at this stage is of gold's wor
th for us.
Don't be afraid to comment on NT4's features as opposed to MT4. If any informati
on provided by you should slip into being a flawless lie, aspTrader would certai
nly be very glad to correct you in no time :lol::lol:
Just have a look at the 100+ people watching this thread like a hawk regularly:
Click on the icon above (you'll find it in the upper right part of this webpage)
and you'll see that currently 41 registered users watch this topic and there ha
s been 120 anonymous (non-registered) visits to this topic.
I'm passing you the word. Go ahead, please.
Michal
michal.kreslik:
aspTrader you
Yesterday
wrote:
attended the demonstration I did for NeoTicker's Grid Optimizer.
It should be noted for the record that the Grid Optimizer will sell separately f
rom the NeoTicker and "It will be priced at least 600 to 700." - preli
minary quote I got from the NT support.
The Grid Optimizer won't be available for a monthly lease as opposed to NT.
Honestly, I'm not quite wild about purchasing grid optimizer for "at least
$600 - $700" if I want to try NeoTicker on a monthly subscription basis fir
st before I buy.
But aspTrader says that the Grid optimizer will be free until September or so. I
will check with TickQuest and will keep you posted here.
Michal
forest:
aspTrader wrote:
The problem with this point of view is this...
The selection of a trading platform is a significant and strategic decision.To t
ake a decision merely because a data feed can be configured for one platform mor
e quickly than another is absurd.
I agree, the end choice is indeed signicant and possibly detrimental. I do appre
ciate the discussion. However, it was just my first impression and is why I stat
ed it might be a minor issue in order to give myself some wiggle room. I have fo
und that more often than not, a program's ease of implementation is indicative o
f how well thought out the rest of the software has been developed. I cannot thi

nk of a more important aspect in order to sell your product than the initial imp
ression. Isn't that the whole point of a trial period?
From my point of view, NeoTicker is not as intuitive to get up and running compa
red to some other solutions being considered, MT4 included. That doesn't mean it
is the overall best/worst solution.
My objective is to have a successful model I can optimize and massage that can b
e traded via a mechanical system with the least amount of distractions possible.
forest:
michal.kreslik wrote:
Forest, imagine yourself being presented with a package of:a wifea houseand car
8)
Isn't that terrific to have all in one for one price? :)
No, it isn't. Choosing a wife, a house and a car requires more work but is defin
itely worth the hassle.
Michal, I suppose if I were offered such a package of unrelated items, you are d
efinitely correct, it is likely I would not enjoy the combination somebody else
compiled to offer me.
When I was just out of college, I had the same same delimma as posed on this for
um when choosing my Architectural CAD software. There were many solutions being
developed and in their infancy, thus all were buggy. AutoCAD was the front-runne
r and the mainstay (similar to Tradestation) since it had an established user ba
se and was being ported from it's engineering/drafting platform into 3D, but it
was unbelievably cumbersome and since it came from an engineering background, it
was not conducive towards how a designer thought. It really turned me off, that
I had to spend time learning a programming syntax in order to convey my designs
. Rightbrain/leftbrain conflicts.
Fortunately, that intuition ended up being correct. I purchased all the architec
tural software I could at a student discount and tried them out for almost a six
month period of evaluation. I ended up selecting the software (happened to be t
he most expensive too) that was a reasonably intuitive 3D modeling and presentat
ion solution which translated it's model into a working drawing to be used as pl
ans for the building's construction. I still happily use this all-in-one softwar
e package (ArchiCAD) to this day.
That's how I am attempting to approach this. What software will accomplish my en
d without my being distracted by it's idiosyncrasies? I want to "design&quo
t; trading models and have the software implement them. That's it's job.
aspTrader:
forestmywrote:
From
point of view, NeoTicker is not as intuitive to get up and running compa
red to some other solutions being considered, MT4 included.
I agree that the power and ease of use of NeoTicker is not obvious or intuitive
at first glance.
I also insist that it is among the most powerful trading platforms available and
has a nicely designed means for accessing the controls for it's features.
michal.kreslik:
michal.kreslik
But
aspTrader says
wrote:
that the Grid optimizer will be free until September or so. I
will check with TickQuest and will keep you posted here.
As promised, I queried Tickquest:
Imichal.kreslik
have been toldwrote:
by aspTrader that it
seems the GO will be free until September or so for NT users.
Is that true?
reply:
GO is in preview for clients before its official release.
Quote:
Thus it is available to all clients before it goes official.
After its official release a demo version will be made available.
But still we don't know when the official release will be ready. I'll try to fin
d out and will keep you posted.

aspTrader:
michal.kreslik
But
still we don't
wrote:
know when the official release will be ready. I'll try to fin
d out and will keep you posted.
Here's the link saying that the free version would expire at the end of Septembe
r.Worst case is that only the first build mentioned in that blog post has a hard
end of September expiration.
It took me 3 months to decide to make the break from Tradestation even after I k
new I had to do it.
http://newsletter.neoticker.com/?p=224
Lenar:
michal.kreslik
Please
do, Lenar!
wrote:
Michal ,im sorry, but i cant. Please dont ask about that. If you want me to answ
er to questions about our products, im always at your service. But compare some
products - i wont do it. Sorry.
jamesdufresne7:
Does anyone know how to access a 3 minute or 10 minute chart through Meta Trader
?I can only see the 1, 5, 15, 30...and so on.I prefer to scalp and would like to
know how i could get those two specific time frames if possible.
Thanks.
TheRumpledOne:
MT4 doesn't have 3 or 10 min charts.
Someone wrote a program to simulate difference tiime periods.
Batchboy:
hi,
I urgently need to know how or what means to have more live 1Min barts for teste
r.Currently it seems either MT4 or IBFX is limiting the data that stays with MT4
.When I flip to tester window and look art history center data available for a b
ack-test/optimization there there is only couple days of data despite hitting up
date.The MT4 has been running a live$$ account for many months, but it only keep
s a couple days!I've set the chart and storage limit values in options way up to
o.
If a broker can limit this remotely so folks don't have data to optimize with re
: live$-acct data, then I need an EA that will store 1Min bar in a separate file
which I can call upon by history center to import.The EA would need to not allo
w holes (naturtally would have to keep MT4 on or not miss 2 days) or avoid doing
overlap of time-stamp data.
Any such around?Or someone put together said EA?Or recommendation to do?
I can scarcely believe the lack of demand on web for such when searching around,
as when optimizing an EA demo data is a crummy off-broadway version of live bar
s, thus demo-tests and optimizations are not really good, so many being sold on
EAs with "back-tests" that are nada!!!!!
If this can be done per above whomever develops this simple EA unit will not onl
y have very valuable in need product, but stored IBFX live$-acct type data will
also be invaluable!No?
jb
:shock:
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