Articles on the MQL5 programming and use of trading robots
Expert Advisors created for the MetaTrader platform perform a variety of functions implemented by their developers. Trading robots can track financial symbols 24 hours a day, copy deals, create and send reports, analyze news and even provide specific custom graphical interface.
The articles describe programming techniques, mathematical ideas for data processing, tips on creating and ordering of trading robots.
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From Novice to Expert: Market Periods Synchronizer
In this discussion, we introduce a Higher-to-Lower Timeframe Synchronizer tool designed to solve the problem of analyzing market patterns that span across higher timeframe periods. The built-in period markers in MetaTrader 5 are often limited, rigid, and not easily customizable for non-standard timeframes. Our solution leverages the MQL5 language to develop an indicator that provides a dynamic and visual way to align higher timeframe structures within lower timeframe charts. This tool can be highly valuable for detailed market analysis. To learn more about its features and implementation, I invite you to join the discussion.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 55): SAC with Prioritized Experience Replay
Replay buffers in Reinforcement Learning are particularly important with off-policy algorithms like DQN or SAC. This then puts the spotlight on the sampling process of this memory-buffer. While default options with SAC, for instance, use random selection from this buffer, Prioritized Experience Replay buffers fine tune this by sampling from the buffer based on a TD-score. We review the importance of Reinforcement Learning, and, as always, examine just this hypothesis (not the cross-validation) in a wizard assembled Expert Advisor.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 63): Using Patterns of DeMarker and Envelope Channels
The DeMarker Oscillator and the Envelope indicator are momentum and support/resistance tools that can be paired when developing an Expert Advisor. We therefore examine on a pattern by pattern basis what could be of use and what potentially avoid. We are using, as always, a wizard assembled Expert Advisor together with the Patterns-Usage functions that are built into the Expert Signal Class.
Neural Networks in Trading: Detecting Anomalies in the Frequency Domain (CATCH)
The CATCH framework combines Fourier transform and frequency patching to accurately identify market anomalies beyond the reach of traditional methods. Let us examine how this approach reveals hidden patterns in financial data.
Neural Networks in Trading: Exploring the Local Structure of Data
Effective identification and preservation of the local structure of market data in noisy conditions is a critical task in trading. The use of the Self-Attention mechanism has shown promising results in processing such data; however, the classical approach does not account for the local characteristics of the underlying structure. In this article, I introduce an algorithm capable of incorporating these structural dependencies.
Neural Networks in Trading: Injection of Global Information into Independent Channels (InjectTST)
Most modern multimodal time series forecasting methods use the independent channels approach. This ignores the natural dependence of different channels of the same time series. Smart use of two approaches (independent and mixed channels) is the key to improving the performance of the models.
Overcoming The Limitation of Machine Learning (Part 1): Lack of Interoperable Metrics
There is a powerful and pervasive force quietly corrupting the collective efforts of our community to build reliable trading strategies that employ AI in any shape or form. This article establishes that part of the problems we face, are rooted in blind adherence to "best practices". By furnishing the reader with simple real-world market-based evidence, we will reason to the reader why we must refrain from such conduct, and rather adopt domain-bound best practices if our community should stand any chance of recovering the latent potential of AI.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 32): Regularization
Regularization is a form of penalizing the loss function in proportion to the discrete weighting applied throughout the various layers of a neural network. We look at the significance, for some of the various regularization forms, this can have in test runs with a wizard assembled Expert Advisor.
Neural Networks in Trading: Memory Augmented Context-Aware Learning for Cryptocurrency Markets (Final Part)
The MacroHFT framework for high-frequency cryptocurrency trading uses context-aware reinforcement learning and memory to adapt to dynamic market conditions. At the end of this article, we will test the implemented approaches on real historical data to assess their effectiveness.
Neural Networks in Trading: Point Cloud Analysis (PointNet)
Direct point cloud analysis avoids unnecessary data growth and improves the performance of models in classification and segmentation tasks. Such approaches demonstrate high performance and robustness to perturbations in the original data.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 39): Relative Strength Index
The RSI is a popular momentum oscillator that measures pace and size of a security’s recent price change to evaluate over-and-under valued situations in the security’s price. These insights in speed and magnitude are key in defining reversal points. We put this oscillator to work in another custom signal class and examine the traits of some of its signals. We start, though, by wrapping up what we started previously on Bollinger Bands.
Forecasting exchange rates using classic machine learning methods: Logit and Probit models
In the article, an attempt is made to build a trading EA for predicting exchange rate quotes. The algorithm is based on classical classification models - logistic and probit regression. The likelihood ratio criterion is used as a filter for trading signals.
Neural Networks in Trading: Piecewise Linear Representation of Time Series
This article is somewhat different from my earlier publications. In this article, we will talk about an alternative representation of time series. Piecewise linear representation of time series is a method of approximating a time series using linear functions over small intervals.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 85): Using Patterns of Stochastic-Oscillator and the FrAMA with Beta VAE Inference Learning
This piece follows up ‘Part-84’, where we introduced the pairing of Stochastic and the Fractal Adaptive Moving Average. We now shift focus to Inference Learning, where we look to see if laggard patterns in the last article could have their fortunes turned around. The Stochastic and FrAMA are a momentum-trend complimentary pairing. For our inference learning, we are revisiting the Beta algorithm of a Variational Auto Encoder. We also, as always, do the implementation of a custom signal class designed for integration with the MQL5 Wizard.
Neural Networks in Trading: Transformer for the Point Cloud (Pointformer)
In this article, we will talk about algorithms for using attention methods in solving problems of detecting objects in a point cloud. Object detection in point clouds is important for many real-world applications.
Developing a Replay System (Part 29): Expert Advisor project — C_Mouse class (III)
After improving the C_Mouse class, we can focus on creating a class designed to create a completely new framework fr our analysis. We will not use inheritance or polymorphism to create this new class. Instead, we will change, or better said, add new objects to the price line. That's what we will do in this article. In the next one, we will look at how to change the analysis. All this will be done without changing the code of the C_Mouse class. Well, actually, it would be easier to achieve this using inheritance or polymorphism. However, there are other methods to achieve the same result.
MQL5 Trading Tools (Part 14): Pixel-Perfect Scrollable Text Canvas with Antialiasing and Rounded Scrollbar
In this article, we enhance the canvas-based price dashboard in MQL5 by adding a pixel-perfect scrollable text panel for usage guides, overcoming native scrolling limitations through custom antialiasing and a rounded scrollbar design with hover-expand functionality. The text panel supports themed backgrounds with opacity, dynamic line wrapping for content like instructions and contacts, and interactive navigation via up/down buttons, slider dragging, and mouse wheel scrolling within the body area.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 70): Using Patterns of SAR and the RVI with a Exponential Kernel Network
We follow up our last article, where we introduced the indicator pair of the SAR and the RVI, by considering how this indicator pairing could be extended with Machine Learning. SAR and RVI are a trend and momentum complimentary pairing. Our machine learning approach uses a convolution neural network that engages the Exponential kernel in sizing its kernels and channels, when fine-tuning the forecasts of this indicator pairing. As always, this is done in a custom signal class file that works with the MQL5 wizard to assemble an Expert Advisor.
Neural Networks in Trading: Hierarchical Dual-Tower Transformer (Hidformer)
We invite you to get acquainted with the Hierarchical Double-Tower Transformer (Hidformer) framework, which was developed for time series forecasting and data analysis. The framework authors proposed several improvements to the Transformer architecture, which resulted in increased forecast accuracy and reduced computational resource consumption.
Feature Engineering With Python And MQL5 (Part III): Angle Of Price (2) Polar Coordinates
In this article, we take our second attempt to convert the changes in price levels on any market, into a corresponding change in angle. This time around, we selected a more mathematically sophisticated approach than we selected in our first attempt, and the results we obtained suggest that our change in approach may have been the right decision. Join us today, as we discuss how we can use Polar coordinates to calculate the angle formed by changes in price levels, in a meaningful way, regardless of which market you are analyzing.
Event-Driven Architecture in MQL5: How to Turn an Expert Advisor into a Full-Fledged Trading System
The article is dedicated to the event-driven architecture in MQL5 and describes the transition from the monolithic OnTick model to distributed processing. We will consider predefined and custom events, services and messaging between programs, as well as common architectural errors. A practical example demonstrates how to organize interactions between indicators and an EA to reduce load, improve readability, and simplify maintenance.
Neural Networks Made Easy (Part 90): Frequency Interpolation of Time Series (FITS)
By studying the FEDformer method, we opened the door to the frequency domain of time series representation. In this new article, we will continue the topic we started. We will consider a method with which we can not only conduct an analysis, but also predict subsequent states in a particular area.
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.
Neural Networks in Trading: Generalized 3D Referring Expression Segmentation
While analyzing the market situation, we divide it into separate segments, identifying key trends. However, traditional analysis methods often focus on one aspect and thus limit the proper perception. In this article, we will learn about a method that enables the selection of multiple objects to ensure a more comprehensive and multi-layered understanding of the situation.
Neural networks are easy (Part 59): Dichotomy of Control (DoC)
In the previous article, we got acquainted with the Decision Transformer. But the complex stochastic environment of the foreign exchange market did not allow us to fully implement the potential of the presented method. In this article, I will introduce an algorithm that is aimed at improving the performance of algorithms in stochastic environments.
Category Theory in MQL5 (Part 17): Functors and Monoids
This article, the final in our series to tackle functors as a subject, revisits monoids as a category. Monoids which we have already introduced in these series are used here to aid in position sizing, together with multi-layer perceptrons.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 52): Accelerator Oscillator
The Accelerator Oscillator is another Bill Williams Indicator that tracks price momentum's acceleration and not just its pace. Although much like the Awesome oscillator we reviewed in a recent article, it seeks to avoid the lagging effects by focusing more on acceleration as opposed to just speed. We examine as always what patterns we can get from this and also what significance each could have in trading via a wizard assembled Expert Advisor.
Neural networks made easy (Part 82): Ordinary Differential Equation models (NeuralODE)
In this article, we will discuss another type of models that are aimed at studying the dynamics of the environmental state.
Data Science and ML (Part 44): Forex OHLC Time series Forecasting using Vector Autoregression (VAR)
Explore how Vector Autoregression (VAR) models can forecast Forex OHLC (Open, High, Low, and Close) time series data. This article covers VAR implementation, model training, and real-time forecasting in MetaTrader 5, helping traders analyze interdependent currency movements and improve their trading strategies.
The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 2): Connecting Library Components
Today, we take an important step toward helping every developer understand how to read class structures and quickly build Expert Advisors using the MQL5 Standard Library. The library is rich and expandable, yet it can feel like being handed a complex toolkit without a manual. Here we share and discuss an alternative integration routine—a concise, repeatable workflow that shows how to connect classes reliably in real projects.
Overcoming The Limitation of Machine Learning (Part 2): Lack of Reproducibility
The article explores why trading results can differ significantly between brokers, even when using the same strategy and financial symbol, due to decentralized pricing and data discrepancies. The piece helps MQL5 developers understand why their products may receive mixed reviews on the MQL5 Marketplace, and urges developers to tailor their approaches to specific brokers to ensure transparent and reproducible outcomes. This could grow to become an important domain-bound best practice that will serve our community well if the practice were to be widely adopted.
Neural Networks in Trading: Hierarchical Dual-Tower Transformer (Final Part)
We continue to build the Hidformer hierarchical dual-tower transformer model designed for analyzing and forecasting complex multivariate time series. In this article, we will bring the work we started earlier to its logical conclusion — we will test the model on real historical data.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques You Should Know (Part 15): Support Vector Machines with Newton's Polynomial
Support Vector Machines classify data based on predefined classes by exploring the effects of increasing its dimensionality. It is a supervised learning method that is fairly complex given its potential to deal with multi-dimensioned data. For this article we consider how it’s very basic implementation of 2-dimensioned data can be done more efficiently with Newton’s Polynomial when classifying price-action.
Developing a Multi-Currency Advisor (Part 27): Component for Displaying Multi-Line Text
If there is a need to display text on a chart, we can use the Comment() function. But its capabilities are quite limited. Therefore, in this article, we will create our own component - a full-screen dialog window capable of displaying multi-line text with flexible font settings and scrolling support.
Formulating Dynamic Multi-Pair EA (Part 8): Time-of-Day Capital Rotation Approach
This article presents a Time-of-Day capital rotation engine for MQL5 that allocates risk by trading session instead of using uniform exposure. We detail session budgets within a daily risk cap, dynamic lot sizing from remaining session risk, and automatic daily resets. Execution uses session-specific breakout and fade logic with ATR-based volatility confirmation. Readers gain a practical template to deploy capital where session conditions are statistically strongest while keeping exposure controlled throughout the day.
Using the MQL5 Economic Calendar for News Filter (Part 3): Surviving Terminal Restarts During News Window
The article introduces a restart-safe storage model for news-time stop removal. Suspension state and original SL/TP per position are written to terminal global variables, reconstructed on OnInit, and cleaned after restoration. This lets the EA resume an active suspension window after recompiles or restarts and restore stops only when the news window ends.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 68): Using Patterns of TRIX and the Williams Percent Range with a Cosine Kernel Network
We follow up our last article, where we introduced the indicator pair of TRIX and Williams Percent Range, by considering how this indicator pairing could be extended with Machine Learning. TRIX and William’s Percent are a trend and support/ resistance complimentary pairing. Our machine learning approach uses a convolution neural network that engages the cosine kernel in its architecture when fine-tuning the forecasts of this indicator pairing. As always, this is done in a custom signal class file that works with the MQL5 wizard to assemble an Expert Advisor.
Feature Engineering for ML (Part 1): Fractional Differentiation — Stationarity Without Memory Loss
Integer differentiation forces a binary choice between stationarity and memory: returns (d=1) are stationary but discard all price-level information; raw prices (d=0) preserve memory but violate ML stationarity assumptions. We implement the fixed-width fractional differentiation (FFD) method from AFML Chapter 5, covering get_weights_ffd (iterative recurrence with threshold cutoff), frac_diff_ffd (bounded dot product per bar), and fracdiff_optimal (binary search for minimum stationary d*).
The Power of MetaTrader 5: From Step-by-Step Debugging to EX5 Protection in a Unified Environment
This article examines a comprehensive approach to developing trading algorithms: from project setup and logic debugging to protecting the finished product. We will explore MetaEditor's built-in tools, including step-by-step debugging using real ticks, performance profiling, and direct integration with C++ DLLs to speed up calculations. The article also explains how to protect intellectual property using MQL5 Cloud Protector. The application of the described techniques will transform Expert Advisor development from a chaotic search for solutions into a systematic process, significantly reducing the time required to develop a strategy.
The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 8) : The Hybrid Trades Journal Logging with CFile
In this article, we explore the File Operations classes of the MQL5 Standard Library to build a robust reporting module that automatically generates Excel-ready CSV files. Along the way, we clearly distinguish between manually executed trades and algorithmically executed orders, laying the groundwork for reliable, auditable trade reporting.