MQL4 and MQL5 Programming Articles

The article describes the methods of how to understand the tester optimization results better. It also gives some tips that help to avoid "harmful optimization".

In the first part, we started creating a large cross-platform library simplifying the development of programs for MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 platforms. We created the COrder abstract object which is a base object for storing data on history orders and deals, as well as on market orders and positions. Now we will develop all the necessary objects for storing account history data in collections.

The new MetaTrader 5 client terminal and the MQL5 Language provides new opportunities for presenting visual information to the trader. In this article, we propose a universal and extensible set of classes, which handles all the work of organizing displaying of the arbitrary text information on the chart. The example of Market Watch indicator is presented.

In this article we will analyze the table of ASCII symbols and the ways it can be used. We will also deal with some new functions, the principle of operation of which is based on the peculiarities of the ASCII table, and then we will create a new library, which will include these functions. They are quite popular in other programming languages, but they are not included into the list of built-in functions. Besides, we will examine in details the basics of working with strings. So, I think you will certainly learn something new about this useful type of data.

How to make the testing process more visual? The answer is simple: you need to use one or more indicators in the Strategy Tester, including a tick indicator, an indicator of balance and equity, an indicator of drawdown and deposit load. This solution will help you visually track the nature of ticks, balance and equity changes, as well as drawdown and deposit load.

The article describes the contents of the program folder of MetaTrader 4 Client Terminal. The article will be useful for those who have already started to grasp into the details of the client terminal operation.

This article starts a new series about the creation of the DoEasy library for easy and fast program development. In the current article, we will implement the library functionality for accessing and working with symbol timeseries data. We are going to create the Bar object storing the main and extended timeseries bar data, and place bar objects to the timeseries list for convenient search and sorting of the objects.

This article considers capabilities of the MQL5 language from the point of view of the event-driven programming. The greatest advantage of this approach is that the program can receive information about phased implementation of a trade operation. The article also contains an example of receiving and processing information about ongoing trade operation using the TradeTransaction event handler. In my opinion, such an approach can be used for copying deals from one terminal to another.

In this article, we will consider the development of a multi-symbol indicator to analyze price divergence in a specified period of time. The core topics have been already discussed in the previous article on the programming of multi-currency indicators "MQL5 Cookbook: Developing a Multi-Symbol Volatility Indicator in MQL5". So this time we will dwell only on those new features and functions that have been changed dramatically. If you are new to the programming of multi-currency indicators, I recommend you to first read the previous article.

I am not a professional programmer. And thus, the principle of "going from the simple to the complex" is of primary importance to me when I am working on trading system development. What exactly is simple for me? First of all, it is the visualization of the process of creating the system, and the logic of its work. Also, it is a minimum of handwritten code. In this article, I will attempt to create and test the trading system, based on a Matlab package, and then write an Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 5. The historical data from MetaTrader 5 will be used for the testing process.

The Graphic.mqh library has been designed to work with graphics in MQL5. The article provides an example of its practical application and explains the idea of sorting. The general concept of sorting is described here since each type of sorting already has at least one separate article, while some of sorting types are objects of detailed studies.

If specific neural network programs for trading seem expensive and complex or, on the contrary, too simple, try NeuroPro. It is free and contains the optimal set of functionalities for amateurs. This article will tell you how to use it in conjunction with MetaTrader 5.

This article details a method by which cross-platform expert advisors can be developed faster and easier. The proposed method consolidates the features shared by both versions into a single class, and splits the implementation on derived classes for incompatible features.

This article dwells on the ways of transferring an indicator code into an Expert Advisor Code and on writing Expert Advisors with no calling to custom indicators, and with the whole program code for the calculation of necessary indicator values inside the Expert Advisor. This article gives a general scheme of Expert Advisor changing and the idea of building an indicator function based on a custom indicator. The article is intended for readers, already having experience of programming in MQL4 language.

This article describes how object-oriented programming can be used for creating multi-timeframe and multi-currency panels for MetaTrader 5. The main goal is to build a universal panel, which can be used for displaying many different kinds of data, such as prices, price changes, indicator values or custom buy/sell conditions without the need to modify the code of the panel itself.

This article presents an alternative method of GUI creation based on layouts and containers, using one layout manager — the CBox class. The CBox class is an auxiliary control that acts as a container for essential controls in a GUI panel. It can make designing graphical panels easier, and in some cases, reduce coding time.

This article describes the theory of exchange pricing and clearing specifics of Moscow Exchange's Derivatives Market. This is a comprehensive article for beginners who want to get their first exchange experience on derivatives trading, as well as for experienced forex traders who are considering trading on a centralized exchange platform.

Analyse and examples of techniques how trading analysis can be performed on MetaTrader 5 platform, but executed by MetaTrader 4. Article will show you how to create simple signal provider in your MetaTrader 5, and connect to it with multiple clients, even running MetaTrader 4. Also you will find out how you can follow participants of Automated Trading Championship in your real MetaTrader 4 account.

Experienced traders are well aware of the fact that most time-consuming things in trading are not opening and tracking positions but selecting symbols and looking for entry points. In this article, we will develop an EA simplifying the search for entry points on trading instruments provided by your broker.

This article shows you how to build an Object-Oriented Expert Advisor from scratch, from conceiving a theoretical trading idea to programming a MQL5 EA that makes that idea real in the empirical world. Learning by doing is IMHO a solid approach to succeed, so I am showing a practical example in order for you to see how you can order your ideas to finally code your Forex robots. My goal is also to invite you to adhere the OO principles.

This article considers typical chart events and includes examples of their processing. We will focus on mouse events, keystrokes, creation/modification/removal of a graphical object, mouse click on a chart and on a graphical object, moving a graphical object with a mouse, finish editing of text in a text field, as well as on chart modification events. A sample of an MQL5 program is provided for each type of event considered.

This article will implement the ability to select text using various key combinations and deletion of the selected text, similar to the way it is done in any other text editor. In addition, we will continue to optimize the code and prepare the classes to move on to the final process of the second stage of the library's evolution, where all controls will be rendered as separate images (canvases).

Debate about an optimal way of calculating indicators is endless. Where should we calculate the indicator values - in the indicator itself or embed the entire logic in a Expert Advisor that uses it? The article describes one of the variants of moving the source code of a custom indicator iCustom right in the code of an Expert Advisor or script with optimization of calculations and modeling the prev_calculated value.

Take a look at your trading terminal. What means of price presentation can you see? Bars, candlesticks, lines. We are chasing time and prices whereas we only profit from prices. Shall we only give attention to prices when analyzing the market? This article proposes an algorithm and a script for point and figure charting ("naughts and crosses") Consideration is given to various price patterns whose practical use is outlined in recommendations provided.

In the second part of the series, we will show in detail the development of such interface elements as main menu and context menu. We will also mention drawing elements and create a special class for it. We will discuss in depth such question as managing program events including custom ones.

Today we'll see how to create an Expert Advisor that simply and safely works in automatic mode. In the previous article, we discussed the first steps that anyone needs to understand before proceeding to creating an Expert Advisor that trades automatically. We considered the concepts and the structure.

The article considers the necessity and general principles of developing a bundled program that would contain both an Expert Advisor, a script and an indicator.

In this article, we will develop a framework for a trading system based on the Triple Screen strategy in MQL5. The Expert Advisor will not be developed from scratch. Instead, we will simply modify the program from the previous article "MQL5 Cookbook: Using Indicators to Set Trading Conditions in Expert Advisors" which already substantially serves our purpose. So the article will also demonstrate how you can easily modify patterns of ready-made programs.

In this article we will continue dealing with the OLAP technology applied to trading. We will expand the functionality presented in the first two articles. This time we will consider the operational analysis of quotes. We will put forward and test the hypotheses on trading strategies based on aggregated historical data. The article presents Expert Advisors for studying bar patterns and adaptive trading.

There exists some components in the MQL5 Standard Library that may prove to be useful in the MQL4 version of cross-platform expert advisors. This article deals with a method of making certain components of the MQL5 Standard Library compatible with the MQL4 compiler.

The article describes the work with indicators through the universal CUnIndicator class. In addition, new methods of working with pending orders are considered. Please note: from this point on, the structure of the CStrategy project has undergone substantial changes. Now all its files are located in a single directory for the convenience of users.