MQL4 and MQL5 Programming Articles

We add eight shape tools and nine annotation tools to the canvas and implement a full in-place label-editing system. The article walks through geometry, AA rendering, shared word-wrap and supersampled text helpers, and the caret-driven state machine for typing, navigation, and selection. This yields a complete, consistent annotation toolkit with editable labels that plugs into the prior interaction pipeline.

We extend the supply and demand framework with a strategy layer that converts zone interactions into decisions. Qualified zones pass sequential checks for interaction proximity, approach behavior, higher‑timeframe alignment, and price action before execution is handed to a dedicated trade manager. This architecture improves control, maintainability, and future extensibility without changing the underlying zone engine.

The article discusses the ECO optimization algorithm, which is based on ecological concepts: populations are grouped into habitats based on territorial proximity, exchange genetic material within habitats, and migrate between them. Despite its wide range of operators and elegant biological metaphor, the algorithm produced a certain result discussed below.

We integrate eleven one-minute microstructure measurements from Parts 2–6 into a composite regime label with confidence and direction. A rule-based RegimeClassifier() assigns one of six regimes—Normal, Stressed, Noisy, Informed, Trending, Mean-Reverting—using empirically derived thresholds from 514 NQ M1 sessions (May 2024–May 2026). The deliverable includes MARKET_REGIME, RegimeAnalysis, and PopulateRegimeAnalysis(), enabling position sizing, stop placement, and signal filtering from a single call.

This article presents a compact MQL5 library for market-complexity analysis: LZ76 complexity and Normalized Compression Distance built on a SAX symbolizer, exposed through a simple facade and an efficiency indicator. It explains the discretization choices, normalization, and distance formulation, and validates the code with unit checks and an independent cross-check. You get a ready-to-use library and indicator, plus a disciplined way to interpret readings with a shuffle null and a direction check.

Cross-cutting concerns like logging, timing, and threshold filtering should not live inside indicator classes. We show how to apply the decorator pattern in MQL5 with a shared IIndicator interface, an owning CBaseDecorator, and concrete CLoggingDecorator, CTimingDecorator, and CThresholdFilterDecorator layers. You can stack behaviors per EA, keep computation code closed to modification, and get deterministic cleanup by deleting only the outermost decorator.

Part 8 adds bar-by-bar micro-trend scoring for NQ M1. GetMicroTrendStrength() builds a continuous [-1, +1] composite from EMA alignment, ATR‑normalized price position, slope consistency, and volume, with a contradiction penalty to suppress alignment/price conflicts. Session-adaptive thresholds scale by Part 7 confidence to modulate signal frequency across regimes. Outputs include a seven-state label, a binary signal, and a persistence check, calibrated on 514 New York sessions (May 2024–May 2026).

In this article, we will explore what structured code is. Many people confuse structured code with organized code, but there is a difference between these two concepts. This is exactly what will be discussed in this article. Despite the apparent complexity you may feel when first encountering this type of code writing, I have tried to approach the topic as simply as possible. However, this article is just the first step toward something greater.

We present a native MQL5 implementation of the catch22 feature set: all 22 canonical time-series characteristics in a reusable class validated against pycatch22. Using a leak-free pipeline (chronological split, purging, embargo), we run a three-arm ablation—classic indicators, catch22, and combined—for volatility-regime classification. Finally, we deploy the combined model as a Strategy Tester regime filter to quantify its impact on a simple baseline strategy.

This is perhaps the most entertaining article so far. The reason is that here we will modify an object already available in MetaTrader 5 in order to create another one that is not originally present on the platform. Of course, what we are going to look at here may seem a little crazy, but it works and serves a very interesting purpose.

Multi‑timeframe EAs that initialize every indicator handle in OnInit() pay a fixed startup cost even when most handles are never used. CIndicatorCache applies lazy loading with composite‑key lookup, reference‑counted Acquire/Release, and a deterministic FlushAll() for cleanup. Handles are created on first request and reused across ticks, reducing startup latency, avoiding repeated heap allocation, and preventing terminal resource leaks through centralized ownership.

The Metropolis-Hastings algorithm is a fundamental Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method that is widely used to approximate posterior distributions in Bayesian inference. This article describes the theoretical foundations of the algorithm, the implementation of the MHSampler class in MQL5, and examples of its application, including an analysis of the resulting samples.

Close-to-close volatility ignores the high, the low, and overnight gaps. We build a reusable MQL5 library implementing four range-based estimators from Parkinson to the gap-robust Yang-Zhang, and put it to work in a comparison indicator and a set of adaptive volatility bands.

This class provides one point of contact for trade operations in MQL5. It rounds and clamps lot sizes, validates SL/TP against the broker's minimum distance, resolves a compatible filling policy, and applies bounded retries for transient retcodes. Calls return a structured CGatewayResult instead of raw retcodes, simplifying error handling and maintenance across strategies.

You have probably already heard about pointers when it comes to programming. But did you know that we can use this kind of data here in MQL5? Of course, this must be done in a way that keeps us in control and avoids strange program behavior during execution. Still, because this is a feature with a very specific purpose and aimed at particular kinds of tasks, it is rare to hear anyone discuss what a pointer is and how to use it in MQL5.

The article provides a detailed explanation of the SCNN architecture and one way to implement it using MQL5. We will show how time series decomposition can be combined with neural network methods and attention mechanisms.

This article demonstrates a working prototype integrating Brain-Computer Interface technology with MetaTrader 5, proving thought-based trading is feasible at the software level. A Python Flask server simulates neural command generation, communicating with an MQL5 Expert Advisor via JSON-over-HTTP. The complete pipeline—from signal generation to trade execution—is validated through WebRequest and CTrade. While BCI hardware remains clinically restricted, this simulation establishes a reference architecture for future accessibility options, enabling direct intention-based trading that expands how traders can interact with financial markets.

Net profit and win rate tell you how much a strategy made, not how the result is distributed. This article builds a native MQL5 script that reads your closed trades and measures profit concentration: the top-N trade share, the Gini coefficient of the winners, an outlier-dependence stress test that removes the best few winners, and the largest day against a prop-firm consistency limit. It combines these into one A+ to F score with recommendations, running inside MetaTrader 5.

The article's system introduces CBasketManager: positions are grouped by a comment‑based basket ID, analyzed as a single snapshot, and controlled with a unified equity stop. CBasketScanner computes aggregate P&L and volume‑weighted pip performance; CBasketStopRegistry triggers coordinated closure on threshold breach; CBasketExecutor adapts to the broker's filling mode. A lightweight dashboard shows live legs, volumes, stops, and distances for faster basket decisions.

We continue to work on implementing the CATCH framework, which combines the Fourier transform and frequency patching mechanisms, ensuring accurate detection of market anomalies. In this article, we complete the implementation of our own vision of the proposed approaches and test the new models on real historical data.

What if lunar cycles and seasonal patterns influence the foreign exchange markets? This article shows how to translate astrological concepts into the language of mathematics and machine learning. I built a Python system with 88 features based on astronomical cycles, trained CatBoost on 15 years of EURUSD data, and obtained some intriguing results. The code is open-source, the methods are verifiable, and the conclusions are unexpected — ancient wisdom meets gradient boosting.

This article presents a reproducible MetaTrader 5 workflow: collect history, engineer nine context features, label simulated EMA crossover trades, train with FLAML, and export to ONNX with fixed opset and plain probabilities. The Expert Advisor loads the model natively, mirrors the Python feature contract, and uses a tunable confidence threshold as a trade filter. Readers can swap signals and features to reuse the same pipeline.

This article presents CSymbolMetaCache, an MQL5 layer that preloads contract specifications and trading-session schedules for monitored symbols at EA startup and then serves typed getters from memory. It explains which properties are safe to cache versus dynamic ones, including the semi-dynamic tick value on cross-currency pairs, and implements an in-memory IsMarketOpen() evaluator. A benchmark quantifies latency reduction across a set of twenty symbols.

Experimental evaluation on standard benchmark functions reveals the advantages and limitations of directly adapting combinatorial algorithms. The article provides a detailed description of the ECEA algorithm's mechanisms and test results.

The Dendritic Cell Algorithm (DCA) is a metaheuristic inspired by the mechanisms of the innate immune system. Dendritic cells patrol the search space, accumulate signals about the quality of positions, and reach a collective decision: whether to exploit what they have found or to continue exploration. Let's take a look at how a biological model for detecting pathogens is transformed into an optimization algorithm.

In this article, you will learn how to create a visual signal on your trading platform so you can determine directly on the chart whether a position is long or short, without having to open the Terminal. In addition, the article also explains how to implement a feature that improves the display when moving Take Profit and Stop Loss lines by hiding the horizontal line that follows the mouse cursor while these lines are being moved, to avoid confusion. The article provides practical insight into setting up market simulation systems.

In this article, we will see how to visualize a database and, from that, understand how it is structured. This is done by analyzing the database’s internal structure. Although this may seem unnecessary at first, it is fully justified if we really want to become database administrators. After all, some people make a living maintaining and designing databases.

In this turning-point article, we will begin to explore in greater depth the interaction between the applications we are developing to ensure full support for the replay/simulation system. Here we will analyze a problem that, on the one hand, is quite unpleasant, but on the other hand, is very interesting to explain and solve. The problem is this: how can we restore the take-profit and stop-loss lines after they have been deleted, and do so without using the terminal by performing the operation directly on the chart? At first glance, it seems simple. However, there are several obstacles that must be overcome.

This article shows how to build a hands-free trading workflow for MetaTrader 5 by translating webcam-tracked hand gestures into MQL5 trade commands. We cover the architecture (MediaPipe/OpenCV in Python plus an MQL5 EA), gesture-to-action mapping, and interprocess communication via Global Variables or HTTP polling. You will implement the EA, execute BUY/SELL/CLOSE actions, and validate latency and reliability under real‑time conditions.

In Part 2, we introduce a reusable CCovarianceMatrix class that computes and stores a covariance matrix from raw return series using MQL5's native Cov() method. We verify symmetry, print a labeled matrix grid, and call Eig() to obtain eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Readers see how symbols co-move and which factors drive variance, enabling clearer portfolio diagnostics and reuse in scripts or EAs.

This article builds a trend-following Expert Advisor that trades momentum spillover across markets, implemented fully in MQL5 without external solvers. It detects leaders with Derivative Dynamic Time Warping, learns a sparse weighted network by convex optimization, and propagates momentum through it with a reverting response. Readers get a step-by-step, reproducible pipeline and a working EA ready to run in the Strategy Tester.

The Dandelion Optimizer (DO) turns the simple flight of a seed carried by the wind into a mathematical search strategy. The three phases — vortex rising, drift toward the center of the population, and landing along a Lévy-flight trajectory — form an elegant metaphor that yields interesting results in practice.