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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Market Simulation (Part 01): Cross Orders (I)

Market Simulation (Part 01): Cross Orders (I)

Today we will begin the second stage, where we will look at the market replay/simulation system. First, we will show a possible solution for cross orders. I will show you the solution, but it is not final yet. It will be a possible solution to a problem that we will need to solve in the near future.
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Python-MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester (Part 04): Tester 101

Python-MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester (Part 04): Tester 101

In this fascinating article, we build our very first trading robot in the simulator and run a strategy testing action that resembles how the MetaTrader 5 strategy tester works, then compare the outcome produced in a custom simulation against our favorite terminal.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 75): New Chart Trade (II)

Developing a Replay System (Part 75): New Chart Trade (II)

In this article, we will talk about the C_ChartFloatingRAD class. This is what makes Chart Trade work. However, the explanation does not end there. We will complete it in the next article, as the content of this article is quite extensive and requires deep understanding. The content presented here is intended solely for educational purposes. Under no circumstances should the application be viewed for any purpose other than to learn and master the concepts presented.
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Neural Network in Practice: Pseudoinverse (I)

Neural Network in Practice: Pseudoinverse (I)

Today we will begin to consider how to implement the calculation of pseudo-inverse in pure MQL5 language. The code we are going to look at will be much more complex for beginners than I expected, and I'm still figuring out how to explain it in a simple way. So for now, consider this an opportunity to learn some unusual code. Calmly and attentively. Although it is not aimed at efficient or quick application, its goal is to be as didactic as possible.
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From Novice to Expert: Animated News Headline Using MQL5 (IV) — Locally hosted AI model market insights

From Novice to Expert: Animated News Headline Using MQL5 (IV) — Locally hosted AI model market insights

In today's discussion, we explore how to self-host open-source AI models and use them to generate market insights. This forms part of our ongoing effort to expand the News Headline EA, introducing an AI Insights Lane that transforms it into a multi-integration assistive tool. The upgraded EA aims to keep traders informed through calendar events, financial breaking news, technical indicators, and now AI-generated market perspectives—offering timely, diverse, and intelligent support to trading decisions. Join the conversation as we explore practical integration strategies and how MQL5 can collaborate with external resources to build a powerful and intelligent trading work terminal.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 62): Using Decision Transformer in hierarchical models

Neural networks made easy (Part 62): Using Decision Transformer in hierarchical models

In recent articles, we have seen several options for using the Decision Transformer method. The method allows analyzing not only the current state, but also the trajectory of previous states and actions performed in them. In this article, we will focus on using this method in hierarchical models.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Spatio-Temporal Neural Network (STNN)

Neural Networks in Trading: Spatio-Temporal Neural Network (STNN)

In this article we will talk about using space-time transformations to effectively predict upcoming price movement. To improve the numerical prediction accuracy in STNN, a continuous attention mechanism is proposed that allows the model to better consider important aspects of the data.
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DoEasy. Service functions (Part 2): Inside Bar pattern

DoEasy. Service functions (Part 2): Inside Bar pattern

In this article, we will continue to look at price patterns in the DoEasy library. We will also create the Inside Bar pattern class of the Price Action formations.
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Neural Network in Practice: Straight Line Function

Neural Network in Practice: Straight Line Function

In this article, we will take a quick look at some methods to get a function that can represent our data in the database. I will not go into detail about how to use statistics and probability studies to interpret the results. Let's leave that for those who really want to delve into the mathematical side of the matter. Exploring these questions will be critical to understanding what is involved in studying neural networks. Here we will consider this issue quite calmly.
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Building a Trading System (Part 5): Managing Gains Through Structured Trade Exits

Building a Trading System (Part 5): Managing Gains Through Structured Trade Exits

For many traders, it's a familiar pain point: watching a trade come within a whisker of your profit target, only to reverse and hit your stop-loss. Or worse, seeing a trailing stop close you out at breakeven before the market surges toward your original target. This article focuses on using multiple entries at different Reward-to-Risk Ratios to systematically secure gains and reduce overall risk exposure.
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Artificial Bee Hive Algorithm (ABHA): Tests and results

Artificial Bee Hive Algorithm (ABHA): Tests and results

In this article, we will continue exploring the Artificial Bee Hive Algorithm (ABHA) by diving into the code and considering the remaining methods. As you might remember, each bee in the model is represented as an individual agent whose behavior depends on internal and external information, as well as motivational state. We will test the algorithm on various functions and summarize the results by presenting them in the rating table.
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Trading with the MQL5 Economic Calendar (Part 7): Preparing for Strategy Testing with Resource-Based News Event Analysis

Trading with the MQL5 Economic Calendar (Part 7): Preparing for Strategy Testing with Resource-Based News Event Analysis

In this article, we prepare our MQL5 trading system for strategy testing by embedding economic calendar data as a resource for non-live analysis. We implement event loading and filtering for time, currency, and impact, then validate it in the Strategy Tester. This enables effective backtesting of news-driven strategies.
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Neural Networks Made Easy (Part 97): Training Models With MSFformer

Neural Networks Made Easy (Part 97): Training Models With MSFformer

When exploring various model architecture designs, we often devote insufficient attention to the process of model training. In this article, I aim to address this gap.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 64): ConserWeightive Behavioral Cloning (CWBC) method

Neural networks made easy (Part 64): ConserWeightive Behavioral Cloning (CWBC) method

As a result of tests performed in previous articles, we came to the conclusion that the optimality of the trained strategy largely depends on the training set used. In this article, we will get acquainted with a fairly simple yet effective method for selecting trajectories to train models.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 65): Distance Weighted Supervised Learning (DWSL)

Neural networks made easy (Part 65): Distance Weighted Supervised Learning (DWSL)

In this article, we will get acquainted with an interesting algorithm that is built at the intersection of supervised and reinforcement learning methods.
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From Basic to Intermediate: FOR Statement

From Basic to Intermediate: FOR Statement

In this article, we will look at the most basic concepts of the FOR statement. It is very important to understand everything that will be shown here. Unlike the other statements we've talked about so far, the FOR statement has some quirks that quickly make it very complex. So don't let stuff like this accumulate. Start studying and practicing as soon as possible.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 71): Getting the Time Right (IV)

Developing a Replay System (Part 71): Getting the Time Right (IV)

In this article, we will look at how to implement what was shown in the previous article related to our replay/simulation service. As in many other things in life, problems are bound to arise. And this case was no exception. In this article, we continue to improve things. The content presented here is intended solely for educational purposes. Under no circumstances should the application be viewed for any purpose other than to learn and master the concepts presented.
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Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 12): Birth of the SIMULATOR (II)

Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 12): Birth of the SIMULATOR (II)

Developing a simulator can be much more interesting than it seems. Today we'll take a few more steps in this direction because things are getting more interesting.
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Population optimization algorithms: Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm. Part I

Population optimization algorithms: Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm. Part I

The Simulated Annealing algorithm is a metaheuristic inspired by the metal annealing process. In the article, we will conduct a thorough analysis of the algorithm and debunk a number of common beliefs and myths surrounding this widely known optimization method. The second part of the article will consider the custom Simulated Isotropic Annealing (SIA) algorithm.
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Developing a multi-currency Expert Advisor (Part 10): Creating objects from a string

Developing a multi-currency Expert Advisor (Part 10): Creating objects from a string

The EA development plan includes several stages with intermediate results being saved in the database. They can only be retrieved from there again as strings or numbers, not objects. So we need a way to recreate the desired objects in the EA from the strings read from the database.
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Trading with the MQL5 Economic Calendar (Part 3): Adding Currency, Importance, and Time Filters

Trading with the MQL5 Economic Calendar (Part 3): Adding Currency, Importance, and Time Filters

In this article, we implement filters in the MQL5 Economic Calendar dashboard to refine news event displays by currency, importance, and time. We first establish filter criteria for each category and then integrate these into the dashboard to display only relevant events. Finally, we ensure each filter dynamically updates to provide traders with focused, real-time economic insights.
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MQL5 Trading Tools (Part 9): Developing a First Run User Setup Wizard for Expert Advisors with Scrollable Guide

MQL5 Trading Tools (Part 9): Developing a First Run User Setup Wizard for Expert Advisors with Scrollable Guide

In this article, we develop an MQL5 First Run User Setup Wizard for Expert Advisors, featuring a scrollable guide with an interactive dashboard, dynamic text formatting, and visual controls like buttons and a checkbox allowing users to navigate instructions and configure trading parameters efficiently. Users of the program get to have insight of what the program is all about and what to do on the first run, more like an orientation model.
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Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for Synthetic Data in Financial Modeling (Part 1): Introduction to GANs and Synthetic Data in Financial Modeling

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for Synthetic Data in Financial Modeling (Part 1): Introduction to GANs and Synthetic Data in Financial Modeling

This article introduces traders to Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for generating Synthetic Financial data, addressing data limitations in model training. It covers GAN basics, python and MQL5 code implementations, and practical applications in finance, empowering traders to enhance model accuracy and robustness through synthetic data.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 41): Hierarchical models

Neural networks made easy (Part 41): Hierarchical models

The article describes hierarchical training models that offer an effective approach to solving complex machine learning problems. Hierarchical models consist of several levels, each of which is responsible for different aspects of the task.
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Triangular and Sawtooth Waves: Analytical Tools for Traders

Triangular and Sawtooth Waves: Analytical Tools for Traders

Wave analysis is one of the methods used in technical analysis. This article focuses on two less conventional wave patterns: triangular and sawtooth waves. These formations underpin a number of technical indicators designed for market price analysis.
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From Basic to Intermediate: WHILE and DO WHILE Statements

From Basic to Intermediate: WHILE and DO WHILE Statements

In this article, we will take a practical and very visual look at the first loop statement. Although many beginners feel intimidated when faced with the task of creating loops, knowing how to do it correctly and safely can only come with experience and practice. But who knows, maybe I can reduce your troubles and suffering by showing you the main issues and precautions to take when using loops in your code.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 52): Research with optimism and distribution correction

Neural networks made easy (Part 52): Research with optimism and distribution correction

As the model is trained based on the experience reproduction buffer, the current Actor policy moves further and further away from the stored examples, which reduces the efficiency of training the model as a whole. In this article, we will look at the algorithm of improving the efficiency of using samples in reinforcement learning algorithms.
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From Novice to Expert: Animated News Headline Using MQL5 (I)

From Novice to Expert: Animated News Headline Using MQL5 (I)

News accessibility is a critical factor when trading on the MetaTrader 5 terminal. While numerous news APIs are available, many traders face challenges in accessing and integrating them effectively into their trading environment. In this discussion, we aim to develop a streamlined solution that brings news directly onto the chart—where it’s most needed. We'll accomplish this by building a News Headline Expert Advisor that monitors and displays real-time news updates from API sources.
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The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 3): Expert Standard Deviation Channel

The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 3): Expert Standard Deviation Channel

In this discussion, we will develop an Expert Advisor using the CTrade and CChartObjectStdDevChannel classes, while applying several filters to enhance profitability. This stage puts our previous discussion into practical application. Additionally, I’ll introduce another simple approach to help you better understand the MQL5 Standard Library and its underlying codebase. Join the discussion to explore these concepts in action.
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Creating Custom Indicators in MQL5 (Part 3): Multi-Gauge Enhancements with Sector and Round Styles

Creating Custom Indicators in MQL5 (Part 3): Multi-Gauge Enhancements with Sector and Round Styles

In this article, we enhance the gauge-based indicator in MQL5 to support multiple oscillators, allowing user selection through an enumeration for single or combined displays. We introduce sector and round gauge styles via derived classes from a base gauge framework, improving case rendering with arcs, lines, and polygons for a more refined visual appearance.
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Blood inheritance optimization (BIO)

Blood inheritance optimization (BIO)

I present to you my new population optimization algorithm - Blood Inheritance Optimization (BIO), inspired by the human blood group inheritance system. In this algorithm, each solution has its own "blood type" that determines the way it evolves. Just as in nature where a child's blood type is inherited according to specific rules, in BIO new solutions acquire their characteristics through a system of inheritance and mutations.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 22): Conditional GANs

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 22): Conditional GANs

Generative Adversarial Networks are a pairing of Neural Networks that train off of each other for more accurate results. We adopt the conditional type of these networks as we look to possible application in forecasting Financial time series within an Expert Signal Class.
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Population optimization algorithms: Changing shape, shifting probability distributions and testing on Smart Cephalopod (SC)

Population optimization algorithms: Changing shape, shifting probability distributions and testing on Smart Cephalopod (SC)

The article examines the impact of changing the shape of probability distributions on the performance of optimization algorithms. We will conduct experiments using the Smart Cephalopod (SC) test algorithm to evaluate the efficiency of various probability distributions in the context of optimization problems.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Superpoint Transformer (SPFormer)

Neural Networks in Trading: Superpoint Transformer (SPFormer)

In this article, we introduce a method for segmenting 3D objects based on Superpoint Transformer (SPFormer), which eliminates the need for intermediate data aggregation. This speeds up the segmentation process and improves the performance of the model.
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Tables in the MVC Paradigm in MQL5: Integrating the Model Component into the View Component

Tables in the MVC Paradigm in MQL5: Integrating the Model Component into the View Component

In the article, we will create the first version of the TableControl (TableView) control. This will be a simple static table being created based on the input data defined by two arrays — a data array and an array of column headers.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Market Analysis Using a Pattern Transformer

Neural Networks in Trading: Market Analysis Using a Pattern Transformer

When we use models to analyze the market situation, we mainly focus on the candlestick. However, it has long been known that candlestick patterns can help in predicting future price movements. In this article, we will get acquainted with a method that allows us to integrate both of these approaches.
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Developing a quality factor for Expert Advisors

Developing a quality factor for Expert Advisors

In this article, we will see how to develop a quality score that your Expert Advisor can display in the strategy tester. We will look at two well-known calculation methods – Van Tharp and Sunny Harris.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 61): Playing the service (II)

Developing a Replay System (Part 61): Playing the service (II)

In this article, we will look at changes that will allow the replay/simulation system to operate more efficiently and securely. I will also not leave without attention those who want to get the most out of using classes. In addition, we will consider a specific problem in MQL5 that reduces code performance when working with classes, and explain how to solve it.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 11): Number Walls

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 11): Number Walls

Number Walls are a variant of Linear Shift Back Registers that prescreen sequences for predictability by checking for convergence. We look at how these ideas could be of use in MQL5.
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From Basic to Intermediate: Indicator (I)

From Basic to Intermediate: Indicator (I)

In this article, we will create our first fully practical and functional indicator. The goal is not to show how to create an application, but to help you understand how you can develop your own ideas and give you the opportunity to apply them in a safe, simple, and practical way.