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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From Basic to Intermediate: BREAK and CONTINUE Statements

From Basic to Intermediate: BREAK and CONTINUE Statements

In this article, we will look at how to use the RETURN, BREAK, and CONTINUE statements in a loop. Understanding what each of these statements does in the loop execution flow is very important for working with more complex applications. 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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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 79): Using Gator Oscillator and Accumulation/Distribution Oscillator with Supervised Learning

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 79): Using Gator Oscillator and Accumulation/Distribution Oscillator with Supervised Learning

In the last piece, we concluded our look at the pairing of the gator oscillator and the accumulation/distribution oscillator when used in their typical setting of the raw signals they generate. These two indicators are complimentary as trend and volume indicators, respectively. We now follow up that piece, by examining the effect that supervised learning can have on enhancing some of the feature patterns we had reviewed. Our supervised learning approach is a CNN that engages with kernel regression and dot product similarity to size its kernels and channels. As always, we do this in a custom signal class file that works with the MQL5 wizard to assemble an Expert Advisor.
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Data Science and ML (Part 39): News + Artificial Intelligence, Would You Bet on it?

Data Science and ML (Part 39): News + Artificial Intelligence, Would You Bet on it?

News drives the financial markets, especially major releases like Non-Farm Payrolls (NFPs). We've all witnessed how a single headline can trigger sharp price movements. In this article, we dive into the powerful intersection of news data and Artificial Intelligence.
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Formulating Dynamic Multi-Pair EA (Part 6): Adaptive Spread Sensitivity for High-Frequency Symbol Switching

Formulating Dynamic Multi-Pair EA (Part 6): Adaptive Spread Sensitivity for High-Frequency Symbol Switching

In this part, we will focus on designing an intelligent execution layer that continuously monitors and evaluates real-time spread conditions across multiple symbols. The EA dynamically adapts its symbol selection by enabling or disabling trading based on spread efficiency rather than fixed rules. This approach allows high-frequency multi-pair systems to prioritize cost-effective symbols.
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Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 18): Ticks and more ticks (II)

Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 18): Ticks and more ticks (II)

Obviously the current metrics are very far from the ideal time for creating a 1-minute bar. That's the first thing we are going to fix. Fixing the synchronization problem is not difficult. This may seem hard, but it's actually quite simple. We did not make the required correction in the previous article since its purpose was to explain how to transfer the tick data that was used to create the 1-minute bars on the chart into the Market Watch window.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 77): New Chart Trade (IV)

Developing a Replay System (Part 77): New Chart Trade (IV)

In this article, we will cover some of the measures and precautions to consider when creating a communication protocol. These are pretty simple and straightforward things, so we won't go into too much detail in this article. But to understand what will happen, you need to understand the content of the article.
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Feature Engineering With Python And MQL5 (Part II): Angle Of Price

Feature Engineering With Python And MQL5 (Part II): Angle Of Price

There are many posts in the MQL5 Forum asking for help calculating the slope of price changes. This article will demonstrate one possible way of calculating the angle formed by the changes in price in any market you wish to trade. Additionally, we will answer if engineering this new feature is worth the extra effort and time invested. We will explore if the slope of the price can improve any of our AI model's accuracy when forecasting the USDZAR pair on the M1.
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The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 4): Custom Signal Library

The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 4): Custom Signal Library

Today, we use the MQL5 Standard Library to build custom signal classes and let the MQL5 Wizard assemble a professional Expert Advisor for us. This approach simplifies development so that even beginner programmers can create robust EAs without in-depth coding knowledge, focusing instead on tuning inputs and optimizing performance. Join this discussion as we explore the process step by step.
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Larry Williams Market Secrets (Part 3): Proving Non-Random Market Behavior with MQL5

Larry Williams Market Secrets (Part 3): Proving Non-Random Market Behavior with MQL5

Explore whether financial markets are truly random by recreating Larry Williams’ market behavior experiments using MQL5. This article demonstrates how simple price-action tests can reveal statistical market biases using a custom Expert Advisor.
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Building A Candlestick Trend Constraint Model (Part 6): All in one integration

Building A Candlestick Trend Constraint Model (Part 6): All in one integration

One major challenge is managing multiple chart windows of the same pair running the same program with different features. Let's discuss how to consolidate several integrations into one main program. Additionally, we will share insights on configuring the program to print to a journal and commenting on the successful signal broadcast on the chart interface. Find more information in this article as we progress the article series.
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Dialectic Search (DA)

Dialectic Search (DA)

The article introduces the dialectical algorithm (DA), a new global optimization method inspired by the philosophical concept of dialectics. The algorithm exploits a unique division of the population into speculative and practical thinkers. Testing shows impressive performance of up to 98% on low-dimensional problems and overall efficiency of 57.95%. The article explains these metrics and presents a detailed description of the algorithm and the results of experiments on different types of functions.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 31): Selecting the Loss Function

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 31): Selecting the Loss Function

Loss Function is the key metric of machine learning algorithms that provides feedback to the training process by quantifying how well a given set of parameters are performing when compared to their intended target. We explore the various formats of this function in an MQL5 custom wizard class.
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Chaos Game Optimization (CGO)

Chaos Game Optimization (CGO)

The article presents a new metaheuristic algorithm, Chaos Game Optimization (CGO), which demonstrates a unique ability to maintain high efficiency when dealing with high-dimensional problems. Unlike most optimization algorithms, CGO not only does not lose, but sometimes even increases performance when scaling a problem, which is its key feature.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 58): Reinforcement Learning (DDPG) with Moving Average and Stochastic Oscillator Patterns

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 58): Reinforcement Learning (DDPG) with Moving Average and Stochastic Oscillator Patterns

Moving Average and Stochastic Oscillator are very common indicators whose collective patterns we explored in the prior article, via a supervised learning network, to see which “patterns-would-stick”. We take our analyses from that article, a step further by considering the effects' reinforcement learning, when used with this trained network, would have on performance. Readers should note our testing is over a very limited time window. Nonetheless, we continue to harness the minimal coding requirements afforded by the MQL5 wizard in showcasing this.
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From Novice to Expert:  Extending a Liquidity Strategy with Trend Filters

From Novice to Expert: Extending a Liquidity Strategy with Trend Filters

The article extends a liquidity-based strategy with a simple trend constraint: trade liquidity zones only in the direction of the EMA(50). It explains filtering rules, presents a reusable TrendFilter.mqh class and EA integration in MQL5, and compares baseline versus filtered tests. Readers gain a clear directional bias, reduced overtrading in countertrend phases, and ready-to-use source files.
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Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 18): Introducing Quarters Theory (III) — Quarters Board

Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 18): Introducing Quarters Theory (III) — Quarters Board

In this article, we enhance the original Quarters Script by introducing the Quarters Board, a tool that lets you toggle quarter levels directly on the chart without needing to revisit the code. You can easily activate or deactivate specific levels, and the EA also provides trend direction commentary to help you better understand market movements.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Hierarchical Vector Transformer (Final Part)

Neural Networks in Trading: Hierarchical Vector Transformer (Final Part)

We continue studying the Hierarchical Vector Transformer method. In this article, we will complete the construction of the model. We will also train and test it on real historical data.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 59): Reinforcement Learning (DDPG) with Moving Average and Stochastic Oscillator Patterns

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 59): Reinforcement Learning (DDPG) with Moving Average and Stochastic Oscillator Patterns

We continue our last article on DDPG with MA and stochastic indicators by examining other key Reinforcement Learning classes crucial for implementing DDPG. Though we are mostly coding in python, the final product, of a trained network will be exported to as an ONNX to MQL5 where we integrate it as a resource in a wizard assembled Expert Advisor.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Integrating Chaos Theory into Time Series Forecasting (Final Part)

Neural Networks in Trading: Integrating Chaos Theory into Time Series Forecasting (Final Part)

We continue to integrate methods proposed by the authors of the Attraos framework into trading models. Let me remind you that this framework uses concepts of chaos theory to solve time series forecasting problems, interpreting them as projections of multidimensional chaotic dynamic systems.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Contrastive Pattern Transformer (Final Part)

Neural Networks in Trading: Contrastive Pattern Transformer (Final Part)

In the previous last article within this series, we looked at the Atom-Motif Contrastive Transformer (AMCT) framework, which uses contrastive learning to discover key patterns at all levels, from basic elements to complex structures. In this article, we continue implementing AMCT approaches using MQL5.
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Big Bang - Big Crunch (BBBC) algorithm

Big Bang - Big Crunch (BBBC) algorithm

The article presents the Big Bang - Big Crunch method, which has two key phases: cyclic generation of random points and their compression to the optimal solution. This approach combines exploration and refinement, allowing us to gradually find better solutions and open up new optimization opportunities.
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Sending Messages from MQL5 to Discord, Creating a Discord-MetaTrader 5 Bot

Sending Messages from MQL5 to Discord, Creating a Discord-MetaTrader 5 Bot

Similar to Telegram, Discord is capable of receiving information and messages in JSON format using it's communication API's, In this article, we are going to explore how you can use discord API's to send trading signals and updates from MetaTrader 5 to your Discord trading community.
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Quantitative Analysis of Trends: Collecting Statistics in Python

Quantitative Analysis of Trends: Collecting Statistics in Python

What is quantitative trend analysis in the Forex market? We collect statistics on trends, their magnitude and distribution across the EURUSD currency pair. How quantitative trend analysis can help you create a profitable trading expert advisor.
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Balancing risk when trading multiple instruments simultaneously

Balancing risk when trading multiple instruments simultaneously

This article will allow a beginner to write an implementation of a script from scratch for balancing risks when trading multiple instruments simultaneously. Besides, it may give experienced users new ideas for implementing their solutions in relation to the options proposed in this article.
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Data Science and ML (Part 34): Time series decomposition, Breaking the stock market down to the core

Data Science and ML (Part 34): Time series decomposition, Breaking the stock market down to the core

In a world overflowing with noisy and unpredictable data, identifying meaningful patterns can be challenging. In this article, we'll explore seasonal decomposition, a powerful analytical technique that helps separate data into its key components: trend, seasonal patterns, and noise. By breaking data down this way, we can uncover hidden insights and work with cleaner, more interpretable information.
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Royal Flush Optimization (RFO)

Royal Flush Optimization (RFO)

The original Royal Flush Optimization algorithm offers a new approach to solving optimization problems, replacing the classic binary coding of genetic algorithms with a sector-based approach inspired by poker principles. RFO demonstrates how simplifying basic principles can lead to an efficient and practical optimization method. The article presents a detailed analysis of the algorithm and test results.
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From Basic to Intermediate: Structs (II)

From Basic to Intermediate: Structs (II)

In this article, we will try to understand why programming languages like MQL5 have structures, and why in some cases structures are the ideal way to pass values between functions and procedures, while in other cases they may not be the best way to do it.
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From Basic to Intermediate: Indicator (II)

From Basic to Intermediate: Indicator (II)

In this article, we will examine how to implement a moving average calculation and what precautions should be taken when performing this calculation. We will also discuss overloading the OnCalculate function to know when and how to work with one model or another.
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Larry Williams Market Secrets (Part 10): Automating Smash Day Reversal Patterns

Larry Williams Market Secrets (Part 10): Automating Smash Day Reversal Patterns

We implement Larry Williams’ Smash Day reversal patterns in MQL5 by building a rule-based Expert Advisor with dynamic risk management, breakout confirmation logic, and one trade at a time execution. Readers can backtest, reproduce, and study parameter effects using the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester and the provided source.
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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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Developing an MQTT client for Metatrader 5: a TDD approach — Part 4

Developing an MQTT client for Metatrader 5: a TDD approach — Part 4

This article is the fourth part of a series describing our development steps of a native MQL5 client for the MQTT protocol. In this part, we describe what MQTT v5.0 Properties are, their semantics, how we are reading some of them, and provide a brief example of how Properties can be used to extend the protocol.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 36): Making Adjustments (II)

Developing a Replay System (Part 36): Making Adjustments (II)

One of the things that can make our lives as programmers difficult is assumptions. In this article, I will show you how dangerous it is to make assumptions: both in MQL5 programming, where you assume that the type will have a certain value, and in MetaTrader 5, where you assume that different servers work the same.
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Coral Reefs Optimization (CRO)

Coral Reefs Optimization (CRO)

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the Coral Reef Optimization (CRO) algorithm, a metaheuristic method inspired by the biological processes of coral reef formation and development. The algorithm models key aspects of coral evolution: broadcast spawning, brooding, larval settlement, asexual reproduction, and competition for limited reef space. Particular attention is paid to the improved version of the algorithm.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 53): Market Facilitation Index

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 53): Market Facilitation Index

The Market Facilitation Index is another Bill Williams Indicator that is intended to measure the efficiency of price movement in tandem with volume. As always, we look at the various patterns of this indicator within the confines of a wizard assembly signal class, and present a variety of test reports and analyses for the various patterns.
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Integrating MQL5 with data processing packages (Part 4): Big Data Handling

Integrating MQL5 with data processing packages (Part 4): Big Data Handling

Exploring advanced techniques to integrate MQL5 with powerful data processing tools, this part focuses on efficient handling of big data to enhance trading analysis and decision-making.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 36): Q-Learning with Markov Chains

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 36): Q-Learning with Markov Chains

Reinforcement Learning is one of the three main tenets in machine learning, alongside supervised learning and unsupervised learning. It is therefore concerned with optimal control, or learning the best long-term policy that will best suit the objective function. It is with this back-drop, that we explore its possible role in informing the learning-process to an MLP of a wizard assembled Expert Advisor.
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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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Larry Williams Market Secrets (Part 12): Context Based Trading of Smash Day Reversals

Larry Williams Market Secrets (Part 12): Context Based Trading of Smash Day Reversals

This article shows how to automate Larry Williams Smash Day reversal patterns in MQL5 within a structured context. We implement an Expert Advisor that validates setups over a limited window, aligns entries with Supertrend-based trend direction and day-of-week filters, and supports entry on level cross or bar close. The code enforces one position at a time and risk-based or fixed sizing. Step-by-step development, backtesting procedure, and reproducible settings are provided.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 79): Feature Aggregated Queries (FAQ) in the context of state

Neural networks made easy (Part 79): Feature Aggregated Queries (FAQ) in the context of state

In the previous article, we got acquainted with one of the methods for detecting objects in an image. However, processing a static image is somewhat different from working with dynamic time series, such as the dynamics of the prices we analyze. In this article, we will consider the method of detecting objects in video, which is somewhat closer to the problem we are solving.
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Artificial Ecosystem-based Optimization (AEO) algorithm

Artificial Ecosystem-based Optimization (AEO) algorithm

The article considers a metaheuristic Artificial Ecosystem-based Optimization (AEO) algorithm, which simulates interactions between ecosystem components by creating an initial population of solutions and applying adaptive update strategies, and describes in detail the stages of AEO operation, including the consumption and decomposition phases, as well as different agent behavior strategies. The article introduces the features and advantages of this algorithm.