Articles with MQL5 programming examples

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Access a huge collection of articles with code examples showing how to create indicators and trading robots for the MetaTrader platform in the MQL5 language. Source codes are attached to the articles, so you can open them in MetaEditor and run them to see how the applications work.

These articles will be useful both for those who have just started exploring automated trading and for professional traders with programming experience. They feature not only examples, but also contain new ideas.

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Developing an MQL5 RL agent with RestAPI integration (Part 3): Creating automatic moves and test scripts in MQL5

Developing an MQL5 RL agent with RestAPI integration (Part 3): Creating automatic moves and test scripts in MQL5

This article discusses the implementation of automatic moves in the tic-tac-toe game in Python, integrated with MQL5 functions and unit tests. The goal is to improve the interactivity of the game and ensure the reliability of the system through testing in MQL5. The presentation covers game logic development, integration, and hands-on testing, and concludes with the creation of a dynamic game environment and a robust integrated system.
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Mastering Log Records (Part 7): How to Show Logs on Chart

Mastering Log Records (Part 7): How to Show Logs on Chart

Learn how to display logs directly on the MetaTrader chart in an organized way, with frames, titles and automatic scrolling. In this article, we show you how to create a visual log system using MQL5, ideal for monitoring what your robot is doing in real time.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 46): Chart Trade Project (V)

Developing a Replay System (Part 46): Chart Trade Project (V)

Tired of wasting time searching for that very file that you application needs in order to work? How about including everything in the executable? This way you won't have to search for the things. I know that many people use this form of distribution and storage, but there is a much more suitable way. At least as far as the distribution of executable files and their storage is concerned. The method that will be presented here can be very useful, since you can use MetaTrader 5 itself as an excellent assistant, as well as MQL5. Furthermore, it is not that difficult to understand.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 62): Playing the service (III)

Developing a Replay System (Part 62): Playing the service (III)

In this article, we will begin to address the issue of tick excess that can impact application performance when using real data. This excess often interferes with the correct timing required to construct a one-minute bar in the appropriate window.
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From Basic to Intermediate: Recursion

From Basic to Intermediate: Recursion

In this article we will look at a very interesting and quite challenging programming concept, although it should be treated with great caution, as its misuse or misunderstanding can turn relatively simple programs into something unnecessarily complex. But when used correctly and adapted perfectly to equally suitable situations, recursion becomes an excellent ally in solving problems that would otherwise be much more laborious and time-consuming. The materials presented here are intended for educational purposes only. Under no circumstances should the application be viewed for any purpose other than to learn and master the concepts presented.
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Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part IX): Code Organization (I)

Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part IX): Code Organization (I)

This discussion delves into the challenges encountered when working with large codebases. We will explore the best practices for code organization in MQL5 and implement a practical approach to enhance the readability and scalability of our Trading Administrator Panel source code. Additionally, we aim to develop reusable code components that can potentially benefit other developers in their algorithm development. Read on and join the conversation.
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Market Profile indicator (Part 2): Optimization and rendering on canvas

Market Profile indicator (Part 2): Optimization and rendering on canvas

The article considers an optimized version of the Market Profile indicator, where rendering with multiple graphical objects is replaced with rendering on a canvas - an object of the CCanvas class.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 43): Chart Trade Project (II)

Developing a Replay System (Part 43): Chart Trade Project (II)

Most people who want or dream of learning to program don't actually have a clue what they're doing. Their activity consists of trying to create things in a certain way. However, programming is not about tailoring suitable solutions. Doing it this way can create more problems than solutions. Here we will be doing something more advanced and therefore different.
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Developing A Swing Entries Monitoring (EA)

Developing A Swing Entries Monitoring (EA)

As the year approaches its end, long-term traders often reflect on market history to analyze its behavior and trends, aiming to project potential future movements. In this article, we will explore the development of a long-term entry monitoring Expert Advisor (EA) using MQL5. The objective is to address the challenge of missed long-term trading opportunities caused by manual trading and the absence of automated monitoring systems. We'll use one of the most prominently traded pairs as an example to strategize and develop our solution effectively.
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Population optimization algorithms: Bird Swarm Algorithm (BSA)

Population optimization algorithms: Bird Swarm Algorithm (BSA)

The article explores the bird swarm-based algorithm (BSA) inspired by the collective flocking interactions of birds in nature. The different search strategies of individuals in BSA, including switching between flight, vigilance and foraging behavior, make this algorithm multifaceted. It uses the principles of bird flocking, communication, adaptability, leading and following to efficiently find optimal solutions.
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Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 13): Taking Our Crossover Strategy to New Dimensions (Part 2)

Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 13): Taking Our Crossover Strategy to New Dimensions (Part 2)

Join us in our discussion as we look for additional improvements to make to our moving-average cross over strategy to reduce the lag in our trading strategy to more reliable levels by leveraging our skills in data science. It is a well-studied fact that projecting your data to higher dimensions can at times improve the performance of your machine learning models. We will demonstrate what this practically means for you as a trader, and illustrate how you can weaponize this powerful principle using your MetaTrader 5 Terminal.
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Artificial Bee Hive Algorithm (ABHA): Theory and methods

Artificial Bee Hive Algorithm (ABHA): Theory and methods

In this article, we will consider the Artificial Bee Hive Algorithm (ABHA) developed in 2009. The algorithm is aimed at solving continuous optimization problems. We will look at how ABHA draws inspiration from the behavior of a bee colony, where each bee has a unique role that helps them find resources more efficiently.
All about Automated Trading Championship: Interviews with the Participants'07
All about Automated Trading Championship: Interviews with the Participants'07

All about Automated Trading Championship: Interviews with the Participants'07

The published interviews of Championship 2007 bear the stamp of the results obtained during the preceding contest. The first Championship evoked a wide response on the internet and in printings. The leading developer of the MetaQuotes Software Corp. tells about changes made to the forthcoming Automated Trading Championship 2007. We put our questions to the developer of a well-known indicating complex ZUP, Eugeni Neumoin (nen) and spoke to an equity trader, Alexander Pozdnishev (AlexSilver).
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Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part IV): SP500 and US Treasury Notes

Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part IV): SP500 and US Treasury Notes

In this series of articles, we analyze classical trading strategies using modern algorithms to determine whether we can improve the strategy using AI. In today's article, we revisit a classical approach for trading the SP500 using the relationship it has with US Treasury Notes.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 40): Starting the second phase (I)

Developing a Replay System (Part 40): Starting the second phase (I)

Today we'll talk about the new phase of the replay/simulator system. At this stage, the conversation will become truly interesting and quite rich in content. I strongly recommend that you read the article carefully and use the links provided in it. This will help you understand the content better.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 67): Refining the Control Indicator

Developing a Replay System (Part 67): Refining the Control Indicator

In this article, we'll look at what can be achieved with a little code refinement. This refinement is aimed at simplifying our code, making more use of MQL5 library calls and, above all, making it much more stable, secure and easy to use in other projects that we may develop in the future.
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Permuting price bars in MQL5

Permuting price bars in MQL5

In this article we present an algorithm for permuting price bars and detail how permutation tests can be used to recognize instances where strategy performance has been fabricated to deceive potential buyers of Expert Advisors.
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Self Optimizing Expert Advisors in MQL5 (Part 8): Multiple Strategy Analysis (2)

Self Optimizing Expert Advisors in MQL5 (Part 8): Multiple Strategy Analysis (2)

Join us for our follow-up discussion, where we will merge our first two trading strategies into an ensemble trading strategy. We shall demonstrate the different schemes possible for combining multiple strategies and also how to exercise control over the parameter space, to ensure that effective optimization remains possible even as our parameter size grows.
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Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part IX): Code Organization (III): Communication Module

Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part IX): Code Organization (III): Communication Module

Join us for an in-depth discussion on the latest advancements in MQL5 interface design as we unveil the redesigned Communications Panel and continue our series on building the New Admin Panel using modularization principles. We'll develop the CommunicationsDialog class step by step, thoroughly explaining how to inherit it from the Dialog class. Additionally, we'll leverage arrays and ListView class in our development. Gain actionable insights to elevate your MQL5 development skills—read through the article and join the discussion in the comments section!
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Most notable Artificial Cooperative Search algorithm modifications (ACSm)

Most notable Artificial Cooperative Search algorithm modifications (ACSm)

Here we will consider the evolution of the ACS algorithm: three modifications aimed at improving the convergence characteristics and the algorithm efficiency. Transformation of one of the leading optimization algorithms. From matrix modifications to revolutionary approaches regarding population formation.
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Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part III): Extending Built-in Classes for Theme Management (II)

Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part III): Extending Built-in Classes for Theme Management (II)

In this discussion, we will carefully extend the existing Dialog library to incorporate theme management logic. Furthermore, we will integrate methods for theme switching into the CDialog, CEdit, and CButton classes utilized in our Admin Panel project. Continue reading for more insightful perspectives.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 33): Order System (II)

Developing a Replay System (Part 33): Order System (II)

Today we will continue to develop the order system. As you will see, we will be massively reusing what has already been shown in other articles. Nevertheless, you will receive a small reward in this article. First, we will develop a system that can be used with a real trading server, both from a demo account or from a real one. We will make extensive use of the MetaTrader 5 platform, which will provide us with all the necessary support from the beginning.
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Feature Engineering With Python And MQL5 (Part IV): Candlestick Pattern Recognition With UMAP Regression

Feature Engineering With Python And MQL5 (Part IV): Candlestick Pattern Recognition With UMAP Regression

Dimension reduction techniques are widely used to improve the performance of machine learning models. Let us discuss a relatively new technique known as Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP). This new technique has been developed to explicitly overcome the limitations of legacy methods that create artifacts and distortions in the data. UMAP is a powerful dimension reduction technique, and it helps us group similar candle sticks in a novel and effective way that reduces our error rates on out of sample data and improves our trading performance.
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HTTP and Connexus (Part 2): Understanding HTTP Architecture and Library Design

HTTP and Connexus (Part 2): Understanding HTTP Architecture and Library Design

This article explores the fundamentals of the HTTP protocol, covering the main methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), status codes and the structure of URLs. In addition, it presents the beginning of the construction of the Conexus library with the CQueryParam and CURL classes, which facilitate the manipulation of URLs and query parameters in HTTP requests.
All about Automated Trading Championship: Additional Materials of Championships 2006-2007
All about Automated Trading Championship: Additional Materials of Championships 2006-2007

All about Automated Trading Championship: Additional Materials of Championships 2006-2007

We present to you a selection of these materials that are divided into several parts. The present one contains additional materials about automated trading, Expert Advisors development, etc.
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From Basic to Intermediate: The Include Directive

From Basic to Intermediate: The Include Directive

In today's article, we will discuss a compilation directive that is widely used in various codes that can be found in MQL5. Although this directive will be explained rather superficially here, it is important that you begin to understand how to use it, as it will soon become indispensable as you move to higher levels of programming. 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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Resampling techniques for prediction and classification assessment in MQL5

Resampling techniques for prediction and classification assessment in MQL5

In this article, we will explore and implement, methods for assessing model quality that utilize a single dataset as both training and validation sets.
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From Novice to Expert: Animated News Headline Using MQL5 (VII) — Post Impact Strategy for News Trading

From Novice to Expert: Animated News Headline Using MQL5 (VII) — Post Impact Strategy for News Trading

The risk of whipsaw is extremely high during the first minute following a high-impact economic news release. In that brief window, price movements can be erratic and volatile, often triggering both sides of pending orders. Shortly after the release—typically within a minute—the market tends to stabilize, resuming or correcting the prevailing trend with more typical volatility. In this section, we’ll explore an alternative approach to news trading, aiming to assess its effectiveness as a valuable addition to a trader’s toolkit. Continue reading for more insights and details in this discussion.
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From Basic to Intermediate: Array (III)

From Basic to Intermediate: Array (III)

In this article, we will look at how to work with arrays in MQL5, including how to pass information between functions and procedures using arrays. The purpose is to prepare you for what will be demonstrated and explained in future materials in the series. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you carefully study what will be shown in this article.
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Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part IX): Multiple Time Frame Analysis (II)

Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part IX): Multiple Time Frame Analysis (II)

In today's discussion, we examine the strategy of multiple time-frame analysis to learn on which time frame our AI model performs best. Our analysis leads us to conclude that the Monthly and Hourly time-frames produce models with relatively low error rates on the EURUSD pair. We used this to our advantage and created a trading algorithm that makes AI predictions on the Monthly time frame, and executes its trades on the Hourly time frame.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 69): Getting the Time Right (II)

Developing a Replay System (Part 69): Getting the Time Right (II)

Today we will look at why we need the iSpread feature. At the same time, we will understand how the system informs us about the remaining time of the bar when there is not a single tick available for it. 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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Population optimization algorithms: Evolution Strategies, (μ,λ)-ES and (μ+λ)-ES

Population optimization algorithms: Evolution Strategies, (μ,λ)-ES and (μ+λ)-ES

The article considers a group of optimization algorithms known as Evolution Strategies (ES). They are among the very first population algorithms to use evolutionary principles for finding optimal solutions. We will implement changes to the conventional ES variants and revise the test function and test stand methodology for the algorithms.
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Across Neighbourhood Search (ANS)

Across Neighbourhood Search (ANS)

The article reveals the potential of the ANS algorithm as an important step in the development of flexible and intelligent optimization methods that can take into account the specifics of the problem and the dynamics of the environment in the search space.
All about Automated Trading Championship: Interviews with the Participants'06
All about Automated Trading Championship: Interviews with the Participants'06

All about Automated Trading Championship: Interviews with the Participants'06

Interviews with the Participants of Automated Trading Championship 2006 demonstrated a great variety of views of automated trading and trading as a whole. You can see yourselves which ideas turned out to work better during the Championship and which of them could not pass the critical verification through a three-month long "test-drive" on a contest account.
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Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 14): Multiple Strategy Analysis

Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 14): Multiple Strategy Analysis

In this article, we continue our exploration of building an ensemble of trading strategies and using the MT5 genetic optimizer to tune the strategy parameters. Today, we analyzed the data in Python, showing our model could better predict which strategy would outperform, achieving higher accuracy than forecasting market returns directly. However, when we tested our application with its statistical models, our performance levels fell dismally. We subsequently discovered that the genetic optimizer unfortunately favored highly correlated strategies, prompting us to revise our method to keep vote weights fixed and focus optimization on indicator settings instead.
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Requesting in Connexus (Part 6): Creating an HTTP Request and Response

Requesting in Connexus (Part 6): Creating an HTTP Request and Response

In this sixth article of the Connexus library series, we will focus on a complete HTTP request, covering each component that makes up a request. We will create a class that represents the request as a whole, which will help us bring together the previously created classes.
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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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Anarchic Society Optimization (ASO) algorithm

Anarchic Society Optimization (ASO) algorithm

In this article, we will get acquainted with the Anarchic Society Optimization (ASO) algorithm and discuss how an algorithm based on the irrational and adventurous behavior of participants in an anarchic society (an anomalous system of social interaction free from centralized power and various kinds of hierarchies) is able to explore the solution space and avoid the traps of local optimum. The article presents a unified ASO structure applicable to both continuous and discrete problems.
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From Basic to Intermediate: IF ELSE

From Basic to Intermediate: IF ELSE

In this article we will discuss how to work with the IF operator and its companion ELSE. This statement is the most important and significant of those existing in any programming language. However, despite its ease of use, it can sometimes be confusing if we have no experience with its use and the concepts associated with it. 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.
Method of Determining Errors in Code by Commenting
Method of Determining Errors in Code by Commenting

Method of Determining Errors in Code by Commenting

The article describes a method of searching the errors in the MQL4 code that is based on commenting. This method is found to be a useful one in case of problems occuring during the compilation caused by the errors in a reasonably large code.