MQL5 Programming Articles

In this article, we will make an attempt to develop the best possible grid-based EA. As usual, this will be a cross-platform EA capable of working both with MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. The first EA was good enough, except that it could not make a profit over a long period of time. The second EA could work at intervals of more than several years. Unfortunately, it was unable to yield more than 50% of profit per year with a maximum drawdown of less than 50%.

Discipline becomes reliable when it is produced by system design, not willpower. Using MQL5, the article implements real-time constraints—trade-frequency caps and daily equity-based stops—that monitor behavior and trigger actions on breach. Readers gain a practical template for governance layers that stabilize execution under market pressure.

In this article, I will describe the concept of building various library GUI design themes, create the Form object, which is a descendant of the graphical element class object, and prepare data for creating shadows of the library graphical objects, as well as for further development of the functionality.

The market price is formed out of a stable balance between demand and supply which, in turn, depend on a variety of economic, political and psychological factors. Differences in nature as well as causes of influence of these factors make it difficult to directly consider all the components. This article sets forth an attempt to predict the market price on the basis of an elaborated regression model.

Before the first single test, every trader faces the same question — "Which of the four modes to use?" Each of the provided modes has its advantages and features, so we will do it the easy way - run all four modes at once with a single button! The article shows how to use the Win API and a little magic to see all four testing chart at the same time.

Those who are familiar with market sentiments, know the MACD indicator (its full name is Moving Average Convergence/Divergence) - the powerful tool for analyzing the price movement, used by traders from the very first moments of appearance of the computer analysis methods. In this article we'll consider possible modifications of MACD and implement them in one indicator with the possibility to graphically switch between the modifications.

The majority of students in my courses felt that MQL5 was really difficult to understand. In addition to this, they were searching for a straightforward method to automate a few processes. Find out how to begin working with MQL5 right now by reading the information contained in this article. Even if you have never done any form of programming before. And even in the event that you are unable to comprehend the previous illustrations that you have observed.

An algorithm of statistical protection of open positive swap positions from unwanted price movements. This article features a variant of the carry trade protection strategy that allows to compensate for potential risk of the price movement in the direction opposite to that of the open position.

The article implements an MQL application with a graphical interface for extended visualization of the optimization process. The graphical interface applies the last version of EasyAndFast library. Many users may ask why they need graphical interfaces in MQL applications. This article demonstrates one of multiple cases where they can be useful for traders.

If MQL5 language functional is not enough for fulfilling tasks, an MQL5 programmer has to use additional tools. He\she has to pass to another programming language and create an intermediate DLL. MQL5 has the possibility to present various data types and transfer them to API but, unfortunately, MQL5 cannot solve the issue concerning data extraction from the accepted pointer. In this article we will dot all the "i"s and show simple mechanisms of exchanging and working with complex data types.

In the previous article, we defined position closure events for MQL4 in the library and got rid of the unused order properties. Here we will consider the creation of the Account object, develop the collection of account objects and prepare the functionality for tracking account events.

In this article, we consider the creation of an interactive graphical interface for an MQL program, which is designed for the processing of account history and trading reports using OLAP techniques. To obtain a visual result, we will use maximizable and scalable windows, an adaptive layout of rubber controls and a new control for displaying diagrams. To provide the visualization functionality, we will implement a GUI with the selection of variables along coordinate axes, as well as with the selection of aggregate functions, diagram types and sorting options.

Development of the library for creating graphical interfaces continues. The Time and List of checkboxes controls will be covered this time. In addition, the CTable class now provides the ability to sort data in ascending or descending order.

Any trader's trading activity involves various mechanisms and interrelationships including relations among orders. This article suggests a solution of OCO orders processing. Standard library classes are extensively involved, as well as new data types are created herein.

In this article, we build an MQL5 EA that detects regular RSI divergences using swing points with strength, bar limits, and tolerance checks. It executes trades on bullish or bearish signals with fixed lots, SL/TP in pips, and optional trailing stops. Visuals include colored lines on charts and labeled swings for better strategy insights.

In this article, we develop a Change of Character (CHoCH) detection system in MQL5 that identifies swing highs and lows over a user-defined bar length, labels them as HH/LH for highs or LL/HL for lows to determine trend direction, and triggers trades on breaks of these swing points, indicating a potential reversal, and trades the breaks when the structure changes.

This article describes the use of methods of the theory of probability and mathematical statistics in the analysis of trading systems.

User interface of the MetaTrader 5 platform is translated into several languages. Don't worry if your native language is not among the supported ones. You can easily complete the translation using the special MetaTrader 5 MultiLanguage Pack utility, offered by MetaQuotes Software Corp. for free to all comers. In this article we will show some examples of how to add a new user interface languages to the MetaTrader 5 platform.

Horizontal diagrams are not a common occurrence on the terminal charts but they can still be of use in a number of tasks, for example when developing indicators displaying volume or price distribution for a certain period, when creating various market depth versions, etc. The article considers constructing and managing horizontal diagrams as arrays of graphical primitives.

A number of indicators have appeared since the time of first Moving Average indicator creation. Many of them use the similar smoothing methods, but the performances of different moving averages algorithms have not been studied. In this article, we will consider possible ways of use the Moving Averages in MQL5 and compare their performance.

A logical continuation of the earlier discussed topic would be the development of multifunctional mathematical models for trading tasks. In this article, I will describe the entire process related to the development of the first mathematical model describing fractals, from scratch. This model should become an important building block and be multifunctional and universal. It will build up our theoretical basis for further development of this idea.

In this article, we will create a pattern that uses a single set of parameters for optimization of a trading system, while allowing for unlimited number of parameters. The list of symbols will be created in a standard text file (*.txt). Input parameters for each symbol will also be stored in files. This way we will be able to circumvent the restriction of the terminal on the number of input parameters of an Expert Advisor.

This article introduces the Pattern Density Heatmap, a price‑action mapping tool that transforms repeated candlestick pattern detections into statistically significant support and resistance zones. Rather than treating each signal in isolation, the EA aggregates detections into fixed price bins, scores their density with optional recency weighting, and confirms levels against higher‑timeframe data. The resulting heatmap reveals where the market has historically reacted—levels that can be used proactively for trade timing, risk management, and strategy confidence across any trading style.

This article discusses an implementation of stop levels in an expert advisor in order to make it compatible with the two platforms MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.

Traders don't always have ability and desire to seat at the trading terminal for hours. Especially, if trading system is more or less formalized and can automatically identify some of the market states. This article describes how to generate a report of trade results (using Expert Advisor, Indicator or Script) as HTML-file and upload it via FTP to WWW-server. We will also consider sending notification of trade events as SMS to mobile phone.

This is the final chapter of the second part of the series about graphical interfaces. Here, we are going to consider the creation of the main menu. The development of this control and setting up handlers of the library classes for correct reaction to the user's actions will be demonstrated here. We will also discuss how to attach context menus to the items of the main menu. Adding to that, we will mention blocking currently inactive elements.

The second chapter of the part nine is dedicated to the progress bar and line chart controls. As always, there will be detailed examples provided to reveal how these controls can be used in custom MQL applications.