MQL4 and MQL5 Programming Articles

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Study the MQL5 language for programming trading strategies in numerous published articles mostly written by you - the community members. The articles are grouped into categories to help you quicker find answers to any questions related to programming: Integration, Tester, Trading Strategies, etc.

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Indicator Taichi - a Simple Idea of Formalizing the Values of Ichimoku Kinko Hyo
Indicator Taichi - a Simple Idea of Formalizing the Values of Ichimoku Kinko Hyo

Indicator Taichi - a Simple Idea of Formalizing the Values of Ichimoku Kinko Hyo

Hard to interpret Ichimoku signals? This article introduces some principles of formalizing values and signals of Ichimoku Kinko Hyo. For visualization of its usage the author chose the currency pair EURUSD based on his own preferences. However, the indicator can be used on any currency pair.
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Build Self Optimizing Expert Advisors in MQL5 (Part 4): Dynamic Position Sizing

Build Self Optimizing Expert Advisors in MQL5 (Part 4): Dynamic Position Sizing

Successfully employing algorithmic trading requires continuous, interdisciplinary learning. However, the infinite range of possibilities can consume years of effort without yielding tangible results. To address this, we propose a framework that gradually introduces complexity, allowing traders to refine their strategies iteratively rather than committing indefinite time to uncertain outcomes.
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Automating Trading Strategies in MQL5 (Part 17): Mastering the Grid-Mart Scalping Strategy with a Dynamic Dashboard

Automating Trading Strategies in MQL5 (Part 17): Mastering the Grid-Mart Scalping Strategy with a Dynamic Dashboard

In this article, we explore the Grid-Mart Scalping Strategy, automating it in MQL5 with a dynamic dashboard for real-time trading insights. We detail its grid-based Martingale logic and risk management features. We also guide backtesting and deployment for robust performance.
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Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 19): New order system (II)

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 19): New order system (II)

In this article, we will develop a graphical order system of the "look what happens" type. Please note that we are not starting from scratch this time, but we will modify the existing system by adding more objects and events on the chart of the asset we are trading.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 26): Reinforcement Learning

Neural networks made easy (Part 26): Reinforcement Learning

We continue to study machine learning methods. With this article, we begin another big topic, Reinforcement Learning. This approach allows the models to set up certain strategies for solving the problems. We can expect that this property of reinforcement learning will open up new horizons for building trading strategies.
Self-organizing feature maps (Kohonen maps) - revisiting the subject
Self-organizing feature maps (Kohonen maps) - revisiting the subject

Self-organizing feature maps (Kohonen maps) - revisiting the subject

This article describes techniques of operating with Kohonen maps. The subject will be of interest to both market researchers with basic level of programing in MQL4 and MQL5 and experienced programmers that face difficulties with connecting Kohonen maps to their projects.
Research of Statistical Recurrences of Candle Directions
Research of Statistical Recurrences of Candle Directions

Research of Statistical Recurrences of Candle Directions

Is it possible to predict the behavior of the market for a short upcoming interval of time, based on the recurring tendencies of candle directions, at specific times throughout the day? That is, If such an occurrence is found in the first place. This question has probably arisen in the mind of every trader. The purpose of this article is to attempt to predict the behavior of the market, based on the statistical recurrences of candle directions during specific intervals of time.
Extending MQL5 Standard Library and Reusing Code
Extending MQL5 Standard Library and Reusing Code

Extending MQL5 Standard Library and Reusing Code

MQL5 Standard Library makes your life as a developer easier. Nevertheless, it does not implement all the needs of all developers in the world, so if you feel that you need some more custom stuff you can take a step further and extend. This article walks you through integrating MetaQuotes' Zig-Zag technical indicator into the Standard Library. We get inspired by MetaQuotes' design philosophy to achieve our goal.
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Developing Advanced ICT Trading Systems: Implementing Signals in the Order Blocks Indicator

Developing Advanced ICT Trading Systems: Implementing Signals in the Order Blocks Indicator

In this article, you will learn how to develop an Order Blocks indicator based on order book volume (market depth) and optimize it using buffers to improve accuracy. This concludes the current stage of the project and prepares for the next phase, which will include the implementation of a risk management class and a trading bot that uses signals generated by the indicator.
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Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 32): Python Candlestick Recognition Engine (II) — Detection Using Ta-Lib

Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 32): Python Candlestick Recognition Engine (II) — Detection Using Ta-Lib

In this article, we’ve transitioned from manually coding candlestick‑pattern detection in Python to leveraging TA‑Lib, a library that recognizes over sixty distinct patterns. These formations offer valuable insights into potential market reversals and trend continuations. Follow along to learn more.
Graphical Interfaces IX: The Color Picker Control (Chapter 1)
Graphical Interfaces IX: The Color Picker Control (Chapter 1)

Graphical Interfaces IX: The Color Picker Control (Chapter 1)

With this article we begin chapter nine of series of articles dedicated to creating graphical interfaces in MetaTrader trading terminals. It consists of two chapters where new elements of controls and interface, such as color picker, color button, progress bar and line chart are presented.
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Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 19): ZigZag Analyzer

Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 19): ZigZag Analyzer

Every price action trader manually uses trendlines to confirm trends and spot potential turning or continuation levels. In this series on developing a price action analysis toolkit, we introduce a tool focused on drawing slanted trendlines for easy market analysis. This tool simplifies the process for traders by clearly outlining key trends and levels essential for effective price action evaluation.
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Brute force approach to pattern search (Part III): New horizons

Brute force approach to pattern search (Part III): New horizons

This article provides a continuation to the brute force topic, and it introduces new opportunities for market analysis into the program algorithm, thereby accelerating the speed of analysis and improving the quality of results. New additions enable the highest-quality view of global patterns within this approach.
Can the Forex Market Be Forecasted? How to Create One's Own Trading Strategy?
Can the Forex Market Be Forecasted? How to Create One's Own Trading Strategy?

Can the Forex Market Be Forecasted? How to Create One's Own Trading Strategy?

Everyone starting to work in Forex tries to answer these questions. But not everyone finds the answer, even after many years of hard work and search. I personally have answered this question, as well as many other questions of this article. As a result of these answers a way of creating an efficient trading strategy was determined.
Graphical Interfaces X: Word wrapping algorithm in the Multiline Text box (build 12)
Graphical Interfaces X: Word wrapping algorithm in the Multiline Text box (build 12)

Graphical Interfaces X: Word wrapping algorithm in the Multiline Text box (build 12)

We continue to develop the Multiline Text box control. This time our task is to implement an automatic word wrapping in case a text box width overflow occurs, or a reverse word wrapping of the text to the previous line if the opportunity arises.
Graphical Interfaces I: Testing Library in Programs of Different Types and in the MetaTrader 4 Terminal (Chapter 5)
Graphical Interfaces I: Testing Library in Programs of Different Types and in the MetaTrader 4 Terminal (Chapter 5)

Graphical Interfaces I: Testing Library in Programs of Different Types and in the MetaTrader 4 Terminal (Chapter 5)

In the previous chapter of the first part of the series about graphical interfaces, the form class was enriched by methods which allowed managing the form by pressing its controls. In this article, we will test our work in different types of MQL program such as indicators and scripts. As the library was designed to be cross-platform so it could be used in all MetaTrader platforms, we will also test it in MetaTrader 4.
Decreasing Memory Consumption by Auxiliary Indicators
Decreasing Memory Consumption by Auxiliary Indicators

Decreasing Memory Consumption by Auxiliary Indicators

If an indicator uses values of many other indicators for its calculations, it consumes a lot of memory. The article describes several methods of decreasing the memory consumption when using auxiliary indicators. Saved memory allows increasing the number of simultaneously used currency pairs, indicators and strategies in the client terminal. It increases the reliability of trade portfolio. Such a simple care about technical resources of your computer can turn into money resources at your deposit.
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Developing Advanced ICT Trading Systems: Implementing Signals in the Order Blocks Indicator

Developing Advanced ICT Trading Systems: Implementing Signals in the Order Blocks Indicator

In this article, you will learn how to develop an Order Blocks indicator based on order book volume (market depth) and optimize it using buffers to improve accuracy. This concludes the current stage of the project and prepares for the next phase, which will include the implementation of a risk management class and a trading bot that uses signals generated by the indicator.
Custom Graphical Controls. Part 3. Forms
Custom Graphical Controls. Part 3. Forms

Custom Graphical Controls. Part 3. Forms

This is the last of the three articles devoted to graphical controls. It covers the creation of the main graphical interface component - the form - and its use in combination with other controls. In addition to the form classes, CFrame, CButton, CLabel classes have been added to the control library.
Practical Use of Kohonen Neural Networks in Algorithmic Trading. Part II. Optimizing and forecasting
Practical Use of Kohonen Neural Networks in Algorithmic Trading. Part II. Optimizing and forecasting

Practical Use of Kohonen Neural Networks in Algorithmic Trading. Part II. Optimizing and forecasting

Based on universal tools designed for working with Kohonen networks, we construct the system of analyzing and selecting the optimal EA parameters and consider forecasting time series. In Part I, we corrected and improved the publicly available neural network classes, having added necessary algorithms. Now, it is time to apply them to practice.
On the Long Way to Be a Successful Trader - The Two Very First Steps
On the Long Way to Be a Successful Trader - The Two Very First Steps

On the Long Way to Be a Successful Trader - The Two Very First Steps

The main point of this article is to show a practical way to implement an effective MM. This can be achieved only by using a certain kind of strategies that we need to identify and describe first. In the following we’ll cover the basic concepts of how to build such a strategy and we’ll point out the common mistakes which always end up in draining a trader’s account.
Better programmer (Part 05): How to become a faster developer
Better programmer (Part 05): How to become a faster developer

Better programmer (Part 05): How to become a faster developer

Every developer wants to be able to write code faster, and being able to code faster and effective is not some kind of special ability that only a few people are born with. It's a skill that can be learned, that is what I'm trying to teach in this article.
Promote Your Development Projects Using EX5 Libraries
Promote Your Development Projects Using EX5 Libraries

Promote Your Development Projects Using EX5 Libraries

Hiding of the implementation details of classes/functions in an .ex5 file will enable you to share your know-how algorithms with other developers, set up common projects and promote them in the Web. And while the MetaQuotes team spares no effort to bring about the possibility of direct inheritance of ex5 library classes, we are going to implement it right now.
Free-of-Holes Charts
Free-of-Holes Charts

Free-of-Holes Charts

The article deals with realization of charts without skipped bars.
A scientific approach to the development of trading algorithms
A scientific approach to the development of trading algorithms

A scientific approach to the development of trading algorithms

The article considers the methodology for developing trading algorithms, in which a consistent scientific approach is used to analyze possible price patterns and to build trading algorithms based on these patterns. Development ideals are demonstrated using examples.
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Day Trading Larry Connors RSI2 Mean-Reversion Strategies

Day Trading Larry Connors RSI2 Mean-Reversion Strategies

Larry Connors is a renowned trader and author, best known for his work in quantitative trading and strategies like the 2-period RSI (RSI2), which helps identify short-term overbought and oversold market conditions. In this article, we’ll first explain the motivation behind our research, then recreate three of Connors’ most famous strategies in MQL5 and apply them to intraday trading of the S&P 500 index CFD.
Prices in DoEasy library (Part 64): Depth of Market, classes of DOM snapshot and snapshot series objects
Prices in DoEasy library (Part 64): Depth of Market, classes of DOM snapshot and snapshot series objects

Prices in DoEasy library (Part 64): Depth of Market, classes of DOM snapshot and snapshot series objects

In this article, I will create two classes (the class of DOM snapshot object and the class of DOM snapshot series object) and test creation of the DOM data series.
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Everything you need to learn about the MQL5 program structure

Everything you need to learn about the MQL5 program structure

Any Program in any programming language has a specific structure. In this article, you will learn essential parts of the MQL5 program structure by understanding the programming basics of every part of the MQL5 program structure that can be very helpful when creating our MQL5 trading system or trading tool that can be executable in the MetaTrader 5.
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Building a Professional Trading System with Heikin Ashi (Part 2): Developing an EA

Building a Professional Trading System with Heikin Ashi (Part 2): Developing an EA

This article explains how to develop a professional Heikin Ashi-based Expert Advisor (EA) in MQL5. You will learn how to set up input parameters, enumerations, indicators, global variables, and implement the core trading logic. You will also be able to run a backtest on gold to validate your work.
MQL5 Cookbook: Analyzing Position Properties in the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester
MQL5 Cookbook: Analyzing Position Properties in the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester

MQL5 Cookbook: Analyzing Position Properties in the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester

We will present a modified version of the Expert Advisor from the previous article "MQL5 Cookbook: Position Properties on the Custom Info Panel". Some of the issues we will address include getting data from bars, checking for new bar events on the current symbol, including a trade class of the Standard Library to a file, creating a function to search for trading signals and a function for executing trading operations, as well as determining trade events in the OnTrade() function.
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 36): Object of timeseries for all used symbol periods
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 36): Object of timeseries for all used symbol periods

Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 36): Object of timeseries for all used symbol periods

In this article, we will consider combining the lists of bar objects for each used symbol period into a single symbol timeseries object. Thus, each symbol will have an object storing the lists of all used symbol timeseries periods.
Graphical Interfaces X: Sorting, rebuilding the table and controls in the cells (build 11)
Graphical Interfaces X: Sorting, rebuilding the table and controls in the cells (build 11)

Graphical Interfaces X: Sorting, rebuilding the table and controls in the cells (build 11)

We continue to add new features to the rendered table: data sorting, managing the number of columns and rows, setting the table cell types to place controls into them.
Graphical Interfaces XI: Integrating the Standard Graphics Library (build 16)
Graphical Interfaces XI: Integrating the Standard Graphics Library (build 16)

Graphical Interfaces XI: Integrating the Standard Graphics Library (build 16)

A new version of the graphics library for creating scientific charts (the CGraphic class) has been presented recently. This update of the developed library for creating graphical interfaces will introduce a version with a new control for creating charts. Now it is even easier to visualize data of different types.
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How to integrate Smart Money Concepts (OB) coupled with Fibonacci indicator for Optimal Trade Entry

How to integrate Smart Money Concepts (OB) coupled with Fibonacci indicator for Optimal Trade Entry

The SMC (Order Block) are key areas where institutional traders initiate significant buying or selling. After a significant price move, fibonacci helps to identify potential retracement from a recent swing high to a swing low to identify optimal trade entry.
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Implementing an ARIMA training algorithm in MQL5

Implementing an ARIMA training algorithm in MQL5

In this article we will implement an algorithm that applies the Box and Jenkins Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model by using Powells method of function minimization. Box and Jenkins stated that most time series could be modeled by one or both of two frameworks.
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Automating Trading Strategies in MQL5 (Part 4): Building a Multi-Level Zone Recovery System

Automating Trading Strategies in MQL5 (Part 4): Building a Multi-Level Zone Recovery System

In this article, we develop a Multi-Level Zone Recovery System in MQL5 that utilizes RSI to generate trading signals. Each signal instance is dynamically added to an array structure, allowing the system to manage multiple signals simultaneously within the Zone Recovery logic. Through this approach, we demonstrate how to handle complex trade management scenarios effectively while maintaining a scalable and robust code design.
Designing and implementing new GUI widgets based on CChartObject class
Designing and implementing new GUI widgets based on CChartObject class

Designing and implementing new GUI widgets based on CChartObject class

After I wrote a previous article on semi-automatic Expert Advisor with GUI interface it turned out that it would be desirable to enhance interface with some new functionalities for more complex indicators and Expert Advisors. After getting acquainted with MQL5 standard library classes I implemented new widgets. This article describes a process of designing and implementing new MQL5 GUI widgets that can be used in indicators and Expert Advisors. The widgets presented in the article are CChartObjectSpinner, CChartObjectProgressBar and CChartObjectEditTable.
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How to Implement Auto Optimization in MQL5 Expert Advisors

How to Implement Auto Optimization in MQL5 Expert Advisors

Step by step guide for auto optimization in MQL5 for Expert Advisors. We will cover robust optimization logic, best practices for parameter selection, and how to reconstruct strategies with back-testing. Additionally, higher-level methods like walk-forward optimization will be discussed to enhance your trading approach.
Contest of Expert Advisors inside an Expert Advisor
Contest of Expert Advisors inside an Expert Advisor

Contest of Expert Advisors inside an Expert Advisor

Using virtual trading, you can create an adaptive Expert Advisor, which will turn on and off trades at the real market. Combine several strategies in a single Expert Advisor! Your multisystem Expert Advisor will automatically choose a trade strategy, which is the best to trade with at the real market, on the basis of profitability of virtual trades. This kind of approach allows decreasing drawdown and increasing profitability of your work at the market. Experiment and share your results with others! I think many people will be interested to know about your portfolio of strategies.
Graphics in DoEasy library (Part 83): Class of the abstract standard graphical object
Graphics in DoEasy library (Part 83): Class of the abstract standard graphical object

Graphics in DoEasy library (Part 83): Class of the abstract standard graphical object

In this article, I will create the class of the abstract graphical object. This object is to serve as a basis for creating the class of standard graphical objects. Graphical objects feature multiple properties. Therefore, I will need to do a lot of preparatory work before actually creating the abstract graphical object class. This work includes setting the properties in the library enumerations.