Articles on the MQL5 programming and use of technical indicators

icon

Technical indicators constitute an important part of trading, and every trader tries to find something new. The authors of these articles talk about econometrics and machine learning, automatic marking of Elliott Waves and digital filters - everything from the classical methods of analysis to the modern interpretation of classical ideas.

The category features articles that will teach you how to develop a custom indicator and contains unique collections of ready-to-use mathematically explained William Blau's trading ideas.

Add a new article
latest | best
Multiple Null Bar Re-Count in Some Indicators
Multiple Null Bar Re-Count in Some Indicators

Multiple Null Bar Re-Count in Some Indicators

The article is concerned with the problem of re-counting of the indicator value in the MetaTrader 4 Client Terminal when the null bar changes. It outlines general idea of how to add to the indicator code some extra program items that allow to restore program code saved before multiple re-counting.
preview
Learn how to design a trading system by Bull's Power

Learn how to design a trading system by Bull's Power

Welcome to a new article in our series about learning how to design a trading system by the most popular technical indicator as we will learn in this article about a new technical indicator and how we can design a trading system by it and this indicator is the Bull's Power indicator.
preview
Everything you need to learn about the MQL5 program structure

Everything you need to learn about the MQL5 program structure

Any Program in any programming language has a specific structure. In this article, you will learn essential parts of the MQL5 program structure by understanding the programming basics of every part of the MQL5 program structure that can be very helpful when creating our MQL5 trading system or trading tool that can be executable in the MetaTrader 5.
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 45): Multi-period indicator buffers
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 45): Multi-period indicator buffers

Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 45): Multi-period indicator buffers

In this article, I will start the improvement of the indicator buffer objects and collection class for working in multi-period and multi-symbol modes. I am going to consider the operation of buffer objects for receiving and displaying data from any timeframe on the current symbol chart.
preview
Multiple indicators on one chart (Part 04): Advancing to an Expert Advisor

Multiple indicators on one chart (Part 04): Advancing to an Expert Advisor

In my previous articles, I have explained how to create an indicator with multiple subwindows, which becomes interesting when using custom indicators. This time we will see how to add multiple windows to an Expert Advisor.
preview
Building and testing Keltner Channel trading systems

Building and testing Keltner Channel trading systems

In this article, we will try to provide trading systems using a very important concept in the financial market which is volatility. We will provide a trading system based on the Keltner Channel indicator after understanding it and how we can code it and how we can create a trading system based on a simple trading strategy and then test it on different assets.
preview
Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 31): Towards the future (IV)

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 31): Towards the future (IV)

We continue to remove separate parts from our EA. This is the last article within this series. And the last thing to be removed is the sound system. This can be a bit confusing if you haven't followed these article series.
preview
Learn how to design a trading system by Gator Oscillator

Learn how to design a trading system by Gator Oscillator

A new article in our series about learning how to design a trading system based on popular technical indicators will be about the Gator Oscillator technical indicator and how to create a trading system through simple strategies.
preview
Building and testing Aroon Trading Systems

Building and testing Aroon Trading Systems

In this article, we will learn how we can build an Aroon trading system after learning the basics of the indicators and the needed steps to build a trading system based on the Aroon indicator. After building this trading system, we will test it to see if it can be profitable or needs more optimization.
preview
Testing different Moving Average types to see how insightful they are

Testing different Moving Average types to see how insightful they are

We all know the importance of the Moving Average indicator for a lot of traders. There are other Moving average types that can be useful in trading, we will identify these types in this article and make a simple comparison between each one of them and the most popular simple Moving average type to see which one can show the best results.
preview
Learn how to design a trading system by Bill Williams' MFI

Learn how to design a trading system by Bill Williams' MFI

This is a new article in the series in which we learn how to design a trading system based on popular technical indicators. This time we will cover Bill Williams' Market Facilitation Index (BW MFI).
preview
Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 28): Opening Range Breakout Tool

Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 28): Opening Range Breakout Tool

At the start of each trading session, the market’s directional bias often becomes clear only after price moves beyond the opening range. In this article, we explore how to build an MQL5 Expert Advisor that automatically detects and analyzes Opening Range Breakouts, providing you with timely, data‑driven signals for confident intraday entries.
DIY technical indicator
DIY technical indicator

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.
preview
Complex indicators made easy using objects

Complex indicators made easy using objects

This article provides a method to create complex indicators while also avoiding the problems that arise when dealing with multiple plots, buffers and/or combining data from multiple sources.
preview
Creating Graphical Panels Became Easy in MQL5

Creating Graphical Panels Became Easy in MQL5

In this article, we will provide a simple and easy guide to anyone who needs to create one of the most valuable and helpful tools in trading which is the graphical panel to simplify and ease doing tasks around trading which helps to save time and focus more on your trading process itself without any distractions.
preview
Learn how to design a trading system by Force Index

Learn how to design a trading system by Force Index

Welcome to a new article in our series about how to design a trading system by the most popular technical indicators. In this article, we will learn about a new technical indicator and how to create a trading system using the Force Index indicator.
preview
Building A Candlestick Trend Constraint Model(Part 2): Merging Native Indicators

Building A Candlestick Trend Constraint Model(Part 2): Merging Native Indicators

This article focuses on taking advantage of in-built meta trader 5 indicators to screen out off-trend signals. Advancing from the previous article we will explore how to do it using MQL5 code to communicate our idea to the final program.
preview
Learn how to design a trading system by DeMarker

Learn how to design a trading system by DeMarker

Here is a new article in our series about how to design a trading system by the most popular technical indicators. In this article, we will present how to create a trading system by the DeMarker indicator.
preview
Learn how to design a trading system by Chaikin Oscillator

Learn how to design a trading system by Chaikin Oscillator

Welcome to our new article from our series about learning how to design a trading system by the most popular technical indicator. Through this new article, we will learn how to design a trading system by the Chaikin Oscillator indicator.
Universal regression model for market price prediction (Part 2): Natural, technological and social transient functions
Universal regression model for market price prediction (Part 2): Natural, technological and social transient functions

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.
preview
Learn how to design a trading system by Accumulation/Distribution (AD)

Learn how to design a trading system by Accumulation/Distribution (AD)

Welcome to the new article from our series about learning how to design trading systems based on the most popular technical indicators. In this article, we will learn about a new technical indicator called Accumulation/Distribution indicator and find out how to design an MQL5 trading system based on simple AD trading strategies.
Tips for Purchasing a Product on the Market. Step-By-Step Guide
Tips for Purchasing a Product on the Market. Step-By-Step Guide

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.
preview
How to create a custom Donchian Channel indicator using MQL5

How to create a custom Donchian Channel indicator using MQL5

There are many technical tools that can be used to visualize a channel surrounding prices, One of these tools is the Donchian Channel indicator. In this article, we will learn how to create the Donchian Channel indicator and how we can trade it as a custom indicator using EA.
preview
Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 12): Times and Trade (I)

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 12): Times and Trade (I)

Today we will create Times & Trade with fast interpretation to read the order flow. It is the first part in which we will build the system. In the next article, we will complete the system with the missing information. To implement this new functionality, we will need to add several new things to the code of our Expert Advisor.
preview
Cycle analysis using the Goertzel algorithm

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.
preview
Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 16): Accessing data on the web (II)

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 16): Accessing data on the web (II)

Knowing how to input data from the Web into an Expert Advisor is not so obvious. It is not so easy to do without understanding all the possibilities offered by MetaTrader 5.
preview
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 49): Multi-period multi-symbol multi-buffer standard indicators

Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 49): Multi-period multi-symbol multi-buffer standard indicators

In the current article, I will improve the library classes to implement the ability to develop multi-symbol multi-period standard indicators requiring several indicator buffers to display their data.
preview
Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 15): Accessing data on the web (I)

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 15): Accessing data on the web (I)

How to access online data via MetaTrader 5? There are a lot of websites and places on the web, featuring a huge amount information. What you need to know is where to look and how best to use this information.
preview
Understanding functions in MQL5 with applications

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.
preview
Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 1): Chart Projector

Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 1): Chart Projector

This project aims to leverage the MQL5 algorithm to develop a comprehensive set of analysis tools for MetaTrader 5. These tools—ranging from scripts and indicators to AI models and expert advisors—will automate the market analysis process. At times, this development will yield tools capable of performing advanced analyses with no human involvement and forecasting outcomes to appropriate platforms. No opportunity will ever be missed. Join me as we explore the process of building a robust market analysis custom tools' chest. We will begin by developing a simple MQL5 program that I have named, Chart Projector.
Continuous futures contracts in MetaTrader 5
Continuous futures contracts in MetaTrader 5

Continuous futures contracts in MetaTrader 5

A short life span of futures contracts complicates their technical analysis. It is difficult to technically analyze short charts. For example, number of bars on the day chart of the UX-9.13 Ukrainian Stock index future is more than 100. Therefore, trader creates synthetic long futures contracts. This article explains how to splice futures contracts with different dates in the MetaTrader 5 terminal.
Calculating mathematical expressions (Part 2). Pratt and shunting yard parsers
Calculating mathematical expressions (Part 2). Pratt and shunting yard parsers

Calculating mathematical expressions (Part 2). Pratt and shunting yard parsers

In this article, we consider the principles of mathematical expression parsing and evaluation using parsers based on operator precedence. We will implement Pratt and shunting-yard parser, byte-code generation and calculations by this code, as well as view how to use indicators as functions in expressions and how to set up trading signals in Expert Advisors based on these indicators.
Mountain or Iceberg charts
Mountain or Iceberg charts

Mountain or Iceberg charts

How do you like the idea of adding a new chart type to the MetaTrader 5 platform? Some people say it lacks a few things that other platforms offer. But the truth is, MetaTrader 5 is a very practical platform as it allows you to do things that can't be done (or at least can't be done easily) in many other platforms.
preview
Non-linear indicators

Non-linear indicators

In this article, I will make an attempt to consider some ways of building non-linear indicators and their use in trading. There are quite a few indicators in the MetaTrader trading platform that use non-linear approaches.
preview
Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 25): Dual EMA Fractal Breaker

Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 25): Dual EMA Fractal Breaker

Price action is a fundamental approach for identifying profitable trading setups. However, manually monitoring price movements and patterns can be challenging and time-consuming. To address this, we are developing tools that analyze price action automatically, providing timely signals whenever potential opportunities are detected. This article introduces a robust tool that leverages fractal breakouts alongside EMA 14 and EMA 200 to generate reliable trading signals, helping traders make informed decisions with greater confidence.
preview
Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 8): A conceptual leap

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 8): A conceptual leap

What is the easiest way to implement new functionality? In this article, we will take one step back and then two steps forward.
preview
Trading strategy based on the improved Doji candlestick pattern recognition indicator

Trading strategy based on the improved Doji candlestick pattern recognition indicator

The metabar-based indicator detected more candles than the conventional one. Let's check if this provides real benefit in the automated trading.
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 44): Collection class of indicator buffer objects
Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 44): Collection class of indicator buffer objects

Timeseries in DoEasy library (part 44): Collection class of indicator buffer objects

The article deals with creating a collection class of indicator buffer objects. I am going to test the ability to create and work with any number of buffers for indicators (the maximum number of buffers that can be created in MQL indicators is 512).
preview
Understanding MQL5 Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Understanding MQL5 Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

As developers, we need to learn how to create and develop software that can be reusable and flexible without duplicated code especially if we have different objects with different behaviors. This can be smoothly done by using object-oriented programming techniques and principles. In this article, we will present the basics of MQL5 Object-Oriented programming to understand how we can use principles and practices of this critical topic in our software.
preview
The price movement model and its main provisions. (Part 3): Calculating optimal parameters of stock exchange speculations

The price movement model and its main provisions. (Part 3): Calculating optimal parameters of stock exchange speculations

Within the framework of the engineering approach developed by the author based on the probability theory, the conditions for opening a profitable position are found and the optimal (profit-maximizing) take profit and stop loss values are calculated.