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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Fuzzy logic to create manual trading strategies
Fuzzy logic to create manual trading strategies

Fuzzy logic to create manual trading strategies

This article suggests the ways of improving manual trading strategy by applying fuzzy set theory. As an example we have provided a step-by-step description of the strategy search and the selection of its parameters, followed by fuzzy logic application to blur overly formal criteria for the market entry. This way, after strategy modification we obtain flexible conditions for opening a position that has a reasonable reaction to a market situation.
MetaTrader 4 Expert Advisor exchanges information with the outside world
MetaTrader 4 Expert Advisor exchanges information with the outside world

MetaTrader 4 Expert Advisor exchanges information with the outside world

A simple, universal and reliable solution of information exchange between МetaТrader 4 Expert Advisor and the outside world. Suppliers and consumers of the information can be located on different computers, the connection is performed through the global IP addresses.
The Basic of Coding A Hedge Expert Advisor
The Basic of Coding A Hedge Expert Advisor

The Basic of Coding A Hedge Expert Advisor

An example of hedge Expert Advisor is just presented in this article. The author will choose its very own favorite hedge pair that is EURJPY & GBPJPY. It always moves the same way, easier to set the hedging order type.
How to Write an Indicator on the Basis of Another Indicator
How to Write an Indicator on the Basis of Another Indicator

How to Write an Indicator on the Basis of Another Indicator

In MQL5 you can write an indicator both from a scratch and on the basis of another already existing indicator, in-built in the client terminal or a custom one. And here you also have two ways - to improve an indicator by adding new calculations and graphical styles to it , or to use an indicator in-built in the client terminal or a custom one via the iCustom() or IndicatorCreate() functions.
Applying OLAP in trading (part 4): Quantitative and visual analysis of tester reports
Applying OLAP in trading (part 4): Quantitative and visual analysis of tester reports

Applying OLAP in trading (part 4): Quantitative and visual analysis of tester reports

The article offers basic tools for the OLAP analysis of tester reports relating to single passes and optimization results. The tool can work with standard format files (tst and opt), and it also provides a graphical interface. MQL source codes are attached below.
Developing the oscillator-based ZigZag indicator. Example of executing a requirements specification
Developing the oscillator-based ZigZag indicator. Example of executing a requirements specification

Developing the oscillator-based ZigZag indicator. Example of executing a requirements specification

The article demonstrates the development of the ZigZag indicator in accordance with one of the sample specifications described in the article "How to prepare Requirements Specification when ordering an indicator". The indicator is built by extreme values defined using an oscillator. There is an ability to use one of five oscillators: WPR, CCI, Chaikin, RSI or Stochastic Oscillator.
My First "Grail"
My First "Grail"

My First "Grail"

Examined are the most frequent mistakes that lead the first-time programmers to creation of a "super-moneymaking" (when tested) trading systems. Exemplary experts that show fantastic results in tester, but result in losses during real trading are presented.
Deep Neural Networks (Part IV). Creating, training and testing a model of neural network
Deep Neural Networks (Part IV). Creating, training and testing a model of neural network

Deep Neural Networks (Part IV). Creating, training and testing a model of neural network

This article considers new capabilities of the darch package (v.0.12.0). It contains a description of training of a deep neural networks with different data types, different structure and training sequence. Training results are included.
Library for easy and quick development of MetaTrader programs (part XXVI): Working with pending trading requests - first implementation (opening positions)
Library for easy and quick development of MetaTrader programs (part XXVI): Working with pending trading requests - first implementation (opening positions)

Library for easy and quick development of MetaTrader programs (part XXVI): Working with pending trading requests - first implementation (opening positions)

In this article, we are going to store some data in the value of the orders and positions magic number and start the implementation of pending requests. To check the concept, let's create the first test pending request for opening market positions when receiving a server error requiring waiting and sending a repeated request.
Applying network functions, or MySQL without DLL: Part I - Connector
Applying network functions, or MySQL without DLL: Part I - Connector

Applying network functions, or MySQL without DLL: Part I - Connector

MetaTrader 5 has received network functions recently. This opened up great opportunities for programmers developing products for the Market. Now they can implement things that required dynamic libraries before. In this article, we will consider them using the implementation of the MySQL as an example.
Library for easy and quick development of MetaTrader programs (part V): Classes and collection of trading events, sending events to the program
Library for easy and quick development of MetaTrader programs (part V): Classes and collection of trading events, sending events to the program

Library for easy and quick development of MetaTrader programs (part V): Classes and collection of trading events, sending events to the program

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 fourth part, we tested tracking trading events on the account. In this article, we will develop trading event classes and place them to the event collections. From there, they will be sent to the base object of the Engine library and the control program chart.
Analyzing Balance/Equity graphs by symbols and EAs' ORDER_MAGIC
Analyzing Balance/Equity graphs by symbols and EAs' ORDER_MAGIC

Analyzing Balance/Equity graphs by symbols and EAs' ORDER_MAGIC

With the introduction of hedging, MetaTrader 5 provides an excellent opportunity to trade several Expert Advisors on a single trading account simultaneously. When one strategy is profitable, while the second one is loss-making, the profit graph may hang around zero. In this case, it is useful to build the Balance and Equity graphs for each trading strategy separately.
950 websites broadcast the Economic Calendar from MetaQuotes
950 websites broadcast the Economic Calendar from MetaQuotes

950 websites broadcast the Economic Calendar from MetaQuotes

The widget provides websites with a detailed release schedule of 500 indicators and indices, of the world's largest economies. Thus, traders quickly receive up-to-date information on all important events with explanations and graphs in addition to the main website content.
Building an Automatic News Trader
Building an Automatic News Trader

Building an Automatic News Trader

This is the continuation of Another MQL5 OOP class article which showed you how to build a simple OO EA from scratch and gave you some tips on object-oriented programming. Today I am showing you the technical basics needed to develop an EA able to trade the news. My goal is to keep on giving you ideas about OOP and also cover a new topic in this series of articles, working with the file system.
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Learn how to design a trading system by Fibonacci

Learn how to design a trading system by Fibonacci

In this article, we will continue our series of creating a trading system based on the most popular technical indicator. Here is a new technical tool which is the Fibonacci and we will learn how to design a trading system based on this technical indicator.
Moving Mini-Max: a New Indicator for Technical Analysis and Its Implementation in MQL5
Moving Mini-Max: a New Indicator for Technical Analysis and Its Implementation in MQL5

Moving Mini-Max: a New Indicator for Technical Analysis and Its Implementation in MQL5

In the following article I am describing a process of implementing Moving Mini-Max indicator based on a paper by Z.G.Silagadze 'Moving Mini-max: a new indicator for technical analysis'. The idea of the indicator is based on simulation of quantum tunneling phenomena, proposed by G. Gamov in the theory of alpha decay.
Events in МetaТrader 4
Events in МetaТrader 4

Events in МetaТrader 4

The article deals with programmed tracking of events in the МetaТrader 4 Client Terminal, such as opening/closing/modifying orders, and is targeted at a user who has basic skills in working with the terminal and in programming in MQL 4.
Martingale as the basis for a long-term trading strategy
Martingale as the basis for a long-term trading strategy

Martingale as the basis for a long-term trading strategy

In this article we will consider in detail the martingale system. We will review whether this system can be applied in trading and how to use it in order to minimize risks. The main disadvantage of this simple system is the probability of losing the entire deposit. This fact must be taken into account, if you decide to trade using the martingale technique.
Testing Features and Limits in MetaTrader 4
Testing Features and Limits in MetaTrader 4

Testing Features and Limits in MetaTrader 4

This article allows to find out more about features and limits of Strategy Tester in MetaTrader 4.
Automatic Selection of Promising Signals
Automatic Selection of Promising Signals

Automatic Selection of Promising Signals

The article is devoted to the analysis of trading signals for the MetaTrader 5 platform, which enable the automated execution of trading operations on subscribers' accounts. Also, the article considers the development of tools, which help search for potentially promising trading signals straight from the terminal.
Expert Advisors Based on Popular Trading Systems and Alchemy of Trading Robot Optimization
Expert Advisors Based on Popular Trading Systems and Alchemy of Trading Robot Optimization

Expert Advisors Based on Popular Trading Systems and Alchemy of Trading Robot Optimization

This article dwells on implementation algorithm of simplest trading systems. The article will be useful for beginning traders and EA writers.
Deep Neural Networks (Part VII). Ensemble of neural networks: stacking
Deep Neural Networks (Part VII). Ensemble of neural networks: stacking

Deep Neural Networks (Part VII). Ensemble of neural networks: stacking

We continue to build ensembles. This time, the bagging ensemble created earlier will be supplemented with a trainable combiner — a deep neural network. One neural network combines the 7 best ensemble outputs after pruning. The second one takes all 500 outputs of the ensemble as input, prunes and combines them. The neural networks will be built using the keras/TensorFlow package for Python. The features of the package will be briefly considered. Testing will be performed and the classification quality of bagging and stacking ensembles will be compared.
On Methods to Detect Overbought/Oversold Zones. Part I
On Methods to Detect Overbought/Oversold Zones. Part I

On Methods to Detect Overbought/Oversold Zones. Part I

Overbought/oversold zones characterize a certain state of the market, differentiating through weaker changes in the prices of securities. This adverse change in the synamics is pronounced most at the final stage in the development of trends of any scales. Since the profit value in trading depends directly on the capability of covering as large trend amplitude as possible, the accuracy of detecting such zones is a key task in trading with any securities whatsoever.
MQL5 Cookbook - Trading signals of moving channels
MQL5 Cookbook - Trading signals of moving channels

MQL5 Cookbook - Trading signals of moving channels

The article describes the process of developing and implementing a class for sending signals based on the moving channels. Each of the signal version is followed by a trading strategy with testing results. Classes of the Standard Library are used for creating derived classes.
Testing currency pair patterns: Practical application and real trading perspectives. Part IV
Testing currency pair patterns: Practical application and real trading perspectives. Part IV

Testing currency pair patterns: Practical application and real trading perspectives. Part IV

This article concludes the series devoted to trading currency pair baskets. Here we test the remaining pattern and discuss applying the entire method in real trading. Market entries and exits, searching for patterns and analyzing them, complex use of combined indicators are considered.
Universal RSI indicator for working in two directions simultaneously
Universal RSI indicator for working in two directions simultaneously

Universal RSI indicator for working in two directions simultaneously

When developing trading algorithms, we often encounter a problem: how to determine where a trend/flat begins and ends? In this article, we try to create a universal indicator, in which we try to combine signals for different types of strategies. We will try to simplify the process of obtaining trade signals in an expert as much as possible. An example of combining several indicators in one will be given.
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An attempt at developing an EA constructor

An attempt at developing an EA constructor

In this article, I offer my set of trading functions in the form of a ready-made EA. This method allows getting multiple trading strategies by simply adding indicators and changing inputs.
Applying One Indicator to Another
Applying One Indicator to Another

Applying One Indicator to Another

When writing an indicator that uses the short form of the OnCalculate() function call, you might miss the fact that an indicator can be calculated not only by price data, but also by data of some other indicator (no matter whether it is a built-in or custom one). Do you want to improve an indicator for its correct application to the other indicator's data? In this article we'll review all the steps required for such modification.
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Continuous Walk-Forward Optimization (Part 4): Optimization Manager (Auto Optimizer)

Continuous Walk-Forward Optimization (Part 4): Optimization Manager (Auto Optimizer)

The main purpose of the article is to describe the mechanism of working with our application and its capabilities. Thus the article can be treated as an instruction on how to use the application. It covers all possible pitfalls and specifics of the application usage.
MQL5 Cookbook - Pivot trading signals
MQL5 Cookbook - Pivot trading signals

MQL5 Cookbook - Pivot trading signals

The article describes the development and implementation of a class for sending signals based on pivots — reversal levels. This class is used to form a strategy applying the Standard Library. Improving the pivot strategy by adding filters is considered.
Cross-Platform Expert Advisor: Money Management
Cross-Platform Expert Advisor: Money Management

Cross-Platform Expert Advisor: Money Management

This article discusses the implementation of money management method for a cross-platform expert advisor. The money management classes are responsible for the calculation of the lot size to be used for the next trade to be entered by the expert advisor.
Optimization management (Part II): Creating key objects and add-on logic
Optimization management (Part II): Creating key objects and add-on logic

Optimization management (Part II): Creating key objects and add-on logic

This article is a continuation of the previous publication related to the creation of a graphical interface for optimization management. The article considers the logic of the add-on. A wrapper for the MetaTrader 5 terminal will be created: it will enable the running of the add-on as a managed process via C#. In addition, operation with configuration files and setup files is considered in this article. The application logic is divided into two parts: the first one describes the methods called after pressing a particular key, while the second part covers optimization launch and management.
Upgrade to MetaTrader 4 Build 600 and Higher
Upgrade to MetaTrader 4 Build 600 and Higher

Upgrade to MetaTrader 4 Build 600 and Higher

The new version of the MetaTrader 4 terminal features the updated structure of user data storage. In earlier versions all programs, templates, profiles etc. were stored directly in terminal installation folder. Now all necessary data required for a particular user are stored in a separate directory called data folder. Read the article to find answers to frequently asked questions.
Scraping bond yield data from the web
Scraping bond yield data from the web

Scraping bond yield data from the web

Automate the collection of interest rate data to improve the performance of an Expert Advisor.
OpenCL: The Bridge to Parallel Worlds
OpenCL: The Bridge to Parallel Worlds

OpenCL: The Bridge to Parallel Worlds

In late January 2012, the software development company that stands behind the development of MetaTrader 5 announced native support for OpenCL in MQL5. Using an illustrative example, the article sets forth the programming basics in OpenCL in the MQL5 environment and provides a few examples of the naive optimization of the program for the increase of operating speed.
MQL5 Cookbook: Multi-Currency Expert Advisor - Simple, Neat and Quick Approach
MQL5 Cookbook: Multi-Currency Expert Advisor - Simple, Neat and Quick Approach

MQL5 Cookbook: Multi-Currency Expert Advisor - Simple, Neat and Quick Approach

This article will describe an implementation of a simple approach suitable for a multi-currency Expert Advisor. This means that you will be able to set up the Expert Advisor for testing/trading under identical conditions but with different parameters for each symbol. As an example, we will create a pattern for two symbols but in such a way so as to be able to add additional symbols, if necessary, by making small changes to the code.
MQL5 Programming Basics: Lists
MQL5 Programming Basics: Lists

MQL5 Programming Basics: Lists

The new version of the programming language for trading strategy development, MQL [MQL5], provides more powerful and effective features as compared with the previous version [MQL4]. The advantage essentially lies in the object-oriented programming features. This article looks into the possibility of using complex custom data types, such as nodes and lists. It also provides an example of using lists in practical programming in MQL5.
Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch
Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch

In this article, we will discuss how to develop a trading robot with minimum programming. Of course, MetaTrader 5 provides a high level of control over trading positions. However, using only the manual ability to place orders can be quite difficult and risky for less experienced users.
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Bid/Ask spread analysis in MetaTrader 5

Bid/Ask spread analysis in MetaTrader 5

An indicator to report your brokers Bid/Ask spread levels. Now we can use MT5s tick data to analyze what the historic true average Bid/Ask spread actually have recently been. You shouldn't need to look at the current spread because that is available if you show both bid and ask price lines.
Features of Custom Indicators Creation
Features of Custom Indicators Creation

Features of Custom Indicators Creation

Creation of Custom Indicators in the MetaTrader trading system has a number of features.