MQL4 and MQL5 Programming Articles
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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LibMatrix: Library of Matrix Algebra (Part One)
The author familiarizes the readers with a simple library of matrix algebra and provides descriptions and peculiarities of the main functions.
Show Must Go On, or Once Again about ZigZag
About an obvious but still substandard method of ZigZag composition, and what it results in: the Multiframe Fractal ZigZag indicator that represents ZigZags built on three larger ons, on a single working timeframe (TF). In their turn, those larger TFs may be non-standard, too, and range from M5 to MN1.
DIY technical indicator
In this article, I will consider the algorithms allowing you to create your own technical indicator. You will learn how to obtain pretty complex and interesting results with very simple initial assumptions.
Using Discriminant Analysis to Develop Trading Systems
When developing a trading system, there usually arises a problem of selecting the best combination of indicators and their signals. Discriminant analysis is one of the methods to find such combinations. The article gives an example of developing an EA for market data collection and illustrates the use of the discriminant analysis for building prognostic models for the FOREX market in Statistica software.
How to choose an Expert Advisor: Twenty strong criteria to reject a trading bot
This article tries to answer the question: how can we choose the right expert advisors? Which are the best for our portfolio, and how can we filter the large trading bots list available on the market? This article will present twenty clear and strong criteria to reject an expert advisor. Each criterion will be presented and well explained to help you make a more sustained decision and build a more profitable expert advisor collection for your profits.
Graphics in DoEasy library (Part 94): Moving and deleting composite graphical objects
In this article, I will start the development of various composite graphical object events. We will also partially consider moving and deleting a composite graphical object. In fact, here I am going to fine-tune the things I implemented in the previous article.
Growing Neural Gas: Implementation in MQL5
The article shows an example of how to develop an MQL5-program implementing the adaptive algorithm of clustering called Growing neural gas (GNG). The article is intended for the users who have studied the language documentation and have certain programming skills and basic knowledge in the area of neuroinformatics.
Experiments with neural networks (Part 6): Perceptron as a self-sufficient tool for price forecast
The article provides an example of using a perceptron as a self-sufficient price prediction tool by showcasing general concepts and the simplest ready-made Expert Advisor followed by the results of its optimization.
MQL5 Wizard techniques you should know (Part 06): Fourier Transform
The Fourier transform introduced by Joseph Fourier is a means of deconstructing complex data wave points into simple constituent waves. This feature could be resourceful to traders and this article takes a look at that.
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 58): Timeseries of indicator buffer data
In conclusion of the topic of working with timeseries organise storage, search and sort of data stored in indicator buffers which will allow to further perform the analysis based on values of the indicators to be created on the library basis in programs. The general concept of all collection classes of the library allows to easily find necessary data in the corresponding collection. Respectively, the same will be possible in the class created today.
MQL5 Cloud Network: Are You Still Calculating?
It will soon be a year and a half since the MQL5 Cloud Network has been launched. This leading edge event ushered in a new era of algorithmic trading - now with a couple of clicks, traders can have hundreds and thousands of computing cores at their disposal for the optimization of their trading strategies.
Understanding functions in MQL5 with applications
Functions are critical things in any programming language, it helps developers apply the concept of (DRY) which means do not repeat yourself, and many other benefits. In this article, you will find much more information about functions and how we can create our own functions in MQL5 with simple applications that can be used or called in any system you have to enrich your trading system without complicating things.
Risk Management (Part 1): Fundamentals for Building a Risk Management Class
In this article, we'll cover the basics of risk management in trading and learn how to create your first functions for calculating the appropriate lot size for a trade, as well as a stop-loss. Additionally, we will go into detail about how these features work, explaining each step. Our goal is to provide a clear understanding of how to apply these concepts in automated trading. Finally, we will put everything into practice by creating a simple script with an include file.
Creating an EA that works automatically (Part 03): New functions
Today we'll see how to create an Expert Advisor that simply and safely works in automatic mode. In the previous article, we started to develop an order system that we will use in our automated EA. However, we have created only one of the necessary functions.
Custom Indicator Workshop (Part 1): Building the Supertrend Indicator in MQL5
Build a non‑repainting Supertrend in MQL5 for MetaTrader 5 from first principles. We use an iATR handle and CopyBuffer for volatility, bind buffers with SetIndexBuffer, and configure plots (DRAWCOLORCANDLES plus two line bands) via PlotIndexSetInteger. The logic updates only on closed bars with EMPTY_VALUE to suppress inactive bands, exposing atrPeriod and atrMultiplier inputs. You get a clean, EA‑ready overlay with documented buffers for strategies and signals.
How to Develop a Reliable and Safe Trade Robot in MQL 4
The article deals with the most common errors that occur in developing and using of an Expert Advisor. An exemplary safe automated trading system is described, as well.
Ready-made templates for including indicators to Expert Advisors (Part 3): Trend indicators
In this reference article, we will look at standard indicators from the Trend Indicators category. We will create ready-to-use templates for indicator use in EAs - declaring and setting parameters, indicator initialization and deinitialization, as well as receiving data and signals from indicator buffers in EAs.
Population optimization algorithms: Particle swarm (PSO)
In this article, I will consider the popular Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. Previously, we discussed such important characteristics of optimization algorithms as convergence, convergence rate, stability, scalability, as well as developed a test stand and considered the simplest RNG algorithm.
Universal regression model for market price prediction (Part 2): Natural, technological and social transient functions
This article is a logical continuation of the previous one. It highlights the facts that confirm the conclusions made in the first article. These facts were revealed within ten years after its publication. They are centered around three detected dynamic transient functions describing the patterns in market price changes.
Prices in DoEasy library (part 60): Series list of symbol tick data
In this article, I will create the list for storing tick data of a single symbol and check its creation and retrieval of required data in an EA. Tick data lists that are individual for each used symbol will further constitute a collection of tick data.
Filtering Signals Based on Statistical Data of Price Correlation
Is there any correlation between the past price behavior and its future trends? Why does the price repeat today the character of its previous day movement? Can the statistics be used to forecast the price dynamics? There is an answer, and it is positive. If you have any doubt, then this article is for you. I'll tell how to create a working filter for a trading system in MQL5, revealing an interesting pattern in price changes.
Better Programmer (Part 04): 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 by every coder, regardless of years of experience on the keyboard.
Graphics in DoEasy library (Part 80): "Geometric animation frame" object class
In this article, I will optimize the code of classes from the previous articles and create the geometric animation frame object class allowing us to draw regular polygons with a given number of vertices.
Neural networks made easy (Part 14): Data clustering
It has been more than a year since I published my last article. This is quite a lot time to revise ideas and to develop new approaches. In the new article, I would like to divert from the previously used supervised learning method. This time we will dip into unsupervised learning algorithms. In particular, we will consider one of the clustering algorithms—k-means.
How to create a simple Multi-Currency Expert Advisor using MQL5 (Part 4): Triangular moving average — Indicator Signals
The Multi-Currency Expert Advisor in this article is Expert Advisor or trading robot that can trade (open orders, close orders and manage orders for example: Trailing Stop Loss and Trailing Profit) for more than one symbol pair only from one symbol chart. This time we will use only 1 indicator, namely Triangular moving average in multi-timeframes or single timeframe.
Building an Interactive Application to Display RSS Feeds in MetaTrader 5
In this article we look at the possibility of creating an application for the display of RSS feeds. The article will show how aspects of the Standard Library can be used to create interactive programs for MetaTrader 5.
Library for easy and quick development of MetaTrader programs (part IX): Compatibility with MQL4 - Preparing data
In the previous articles, we started creating a large cross-platform library simplifying the development of programs for MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 platforms. In the eighth part, we implemented the class for tracking order and position modification events. Here, we will improve the library by making it fully compatible with MQL4.
Interview with Juan Pablo Alonso Escobar (ATC 2012)
"Everyone who is struggling with programming and who were not able to participate in this year's competition, know that it becomes a lot easier in time", said Juan Pablo Alonso Escobar (JPAlonso), the hero of today's interview.
How to Create an Interactive MQL5 Dashboard/Panel Using the Controls Class (Part 2): Adding Button Responsiveness
In this article, we focus on transforming our static MQL5 dashboard panel into an interactive tool by enabling button responsiveness. We explore how to automate the functionality of the GUI components, ensuring they react appropriately to user clicks. By the end of the article, we establish a dynamic interface that enhances user engagement and trading experience.
Tips for Purchasing a Product on the Market. Step-By-Step Guide
This step-by-step guide provides tips and tricks for better understanding and searching for a required product. The article makes an attempt to puzzle out different methods of searching for an appropriate product, sorting out unwanted products, determining product efficiency and essentiality for you.
Cycle analysis using the Goertzel algorithm
In this article we present code utilities that implement the goertzel algorithm in Mql5 and explore two ways in which the technique can be used in the analysis of price quotes for possible strategy development.
From Novice to Expert: Demystifying Hidden Fibonacci Retracement Levels
In this article, we explore a data-driven approach to discovering and validating non-standard Fibonacci retracement levels that markets may respect. We present a complete workflow tailored for implementation in MQL5, beginning with data collection and bar or swing detection, and extending through clustering, statistical hypothesis testing, backtesting, and integration into an MetaTrader 5 Fibonacci tool. The goal is to create a reproducible pipeline that transforms anecdotal observations into statistically defensible trading signals.
Expert Advisors Based on Popular Trading Systems and Alchemy of Trading Robot Optimization (Part II)
In this article the author continues to analyze implementation algorithms of simplest trading systems and describes some relevant details of using optimization results. The article will be useful for beginning traders and EA writers.
MetaTrader 5 Machine Learning Blueprint (Part 5): Sequential Bootstrapping—Debiasing Labels, Improving Returns
Sequential bootstrapping reshapes bootstrap sampling for financial machine learning by actively avoiding temporally overlapping labels, producing more independent training samples, sharper uncertainty estimates, and more robust trading models. This practical guide explains the intuition, shows the algorithm step‑by‑step, provides optimized code patterns for large datasets, and demonstrates measurable performance gains through simulations and real backtests.
How to add Trailing Stop using Parabolic SAR
When creating a trading strategy, we need to test a variety of protective stop options. Here is where a dynamic pulling up of the Stop Loss level following the price comes to mind. The best candidate for this is the Parabolic SAR indicator. It is difficult to think of anything simpler and visually clearer.
What Is a Martingale?
A short description of various illusions that come up when people trade using martingale betting strategies or misuse spiking and the like approaches.
Drawing Horizontal Break-Through Levels Using Fractals
The article describes creation of an indicator that would display the support/resistance levels using up/down fractals.
Formulating Dynamic Multi-Pair EA (Part 3): Mean Reversion and Momentum Strategies
In this article, we will explore the third part of our journey in formulating a Dynamic Multi-Pair Expert Advisor (EA), focusing specifically on integrating Mean Reversion and Momentum trading strategies. We will break down how to detect and act on price deviations from the mean (Z-score), and how to measure momentum across multiple forex pairs to determine trade direction.
Using PatchTST Machine Learning Algorithm for Predicting Next 24 Hours of Price Action
In this article, we apply a relatively complex neural network algorithm released in 2023 called PatchTST for predicting the price action for the next 24 hours. We will use the official repository, make slight modifications, train a model for EURUSD, and apply it to making future predictions both in Python and MQL5.
Prices in DoEasy library (part 62): Updating tick series in real time, preparation for working with Depth of Market
In this article, I will implement updating tick data in real time and prepare the symbol object class for working with Depth of Market (DOM itself is to be implemented in the next article).