Adaptive Spread Monitoring and Order Gating in MQL5
This article presents a distribution-adaptive spread monitor for MQL5 that replaces fixed thresholds with a rolling histogram of each symbol's recent spread. It explains percentile estimation from bins, a four-state GREEN/YELLOW/RED/WARMING classification, and a CCanvas dashboard rendered from real histogram data. You will get a ready workflow for per-symbol order gating and controlled alerting via arm/disarm hysteresis plus cooldown, with a verification script and clear calibration and resolution limits.
Bonobo Optimizer (BO)
The article presents the implementation and analysis of the Bonobo Optimizer algorithm, which is based on the unique behavioral characteristics of bonobos — their dynamic fission-fusion social structure and three mating strategies. What interesting features does this method have?
MCMC Sampling Methods — The Metropolis-Hastings Algorithm
The Metropolis-Hastings algorithm is a fundamental Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method that is widely used to approximate posterior distributions in Bayesian inference. This article describes the theoretical foundations of the algorithm, the implementation of the MHSampler class in MQL5, and examples of its application, including an analysis of the resulting samples.
Market Microstructure in MQL5 (Part 8): Micro-Trend Strength
Part 8 adds bar-by-bar micro-trend scoring for NQ M1. GetMicroTrendStrength() builds a continuous [-1, +1] composite from EMA alignment, ATR‑normalized price position, slope consistency, and volume, with a contradiction penalty to suppress alignment/price conflicts. Session-adaptive thresholds scale by Part 7 confidence to modulate signal frequency across regimes. Outputs include a seven-state label, a binary signal, and a persistence check, calibrated on 514 New York sessions (May 2024–May 2026).
Building a Hidden Risk of Ruin Auditor in MQL5
Aggregate metrics alone do not reveal how a trade sequence manages risk. This MQL5 tool analyzes closed positions to flag four structural patterns: post-loss volume escalation, overlapping same-direction entries, asymmetric payoffs, and a classical risk-of-ruin figure. The results are merged into a configurable A-F grade with concise recommendations to guide further review.
Porting the Canonical Catch22 Time-Series Feature Set and Testing It on Volatility Regimes
We present a native MQL5 implementation of the catch22 feature set: all 22 canonical time-series characteristics in a reusable class validated against pycatch22. Using a leak-free pipeline (chronological split, purging, embargo), we run a three-arm ablation—classic indicators, catch22, and combined—for volatility-regime classification. Finally, we deploy the combined model as a Strategy Tester regime filter to quantify its impact on a simple baseline strategy.
Measuring Market Efficiency with Lempel-Ziv Complexity
This article presents a compact MQL5 library for market-complexity analysis: LZ76 complexity and Normalized Compression Distance built on a SAX symbolizer, exposed through a simple facade and an efficiency indicator. It explains the discretization choices, normalization, and distance formulation, and validates the code with unit checks and an independent cross-check. You get a ready-to-use library and indicator, plus a disciplined way to interpret readings with a shuffle null and a direction check.
Market Microstructure in MQL5 (Part 7): Regime Classification
We integrate eleven one-minute microstructure measurements from Parts 2–6 into a composite regime label with confidence and direction. A rule-based RegimeClassifier() assigns one of six regimes—Normal, Stressed, Noisy, Informed, Trending, Mean-Reverting—using empirically derived thresholds from 514 NQ M1 sessions (May 2024–May 2026). The deliverable includes MARKET_REGIME, RegimeAnalysis, and PopulateRegimeAnalysis(), enabling position sizing, stop placement, and signal filtering from a single call.
MQL5 Trading Tools (Part 36): Adding Shape and Annotation Tools with In-Place Label Editing to the Canvas Drawing Layer
We add eight shape tools and nine annotation tools to the canvas and implement a full in-place label-editing system. The article walks through geometry, AA rendering, shared word-wrap and supersampled text helpers, and the caret-driven state machine for typing, navigation, and selection. This yields a complete, consistent annotation toolkit with editable labels that plugs into the prior interaction pipeline.
Entropy-Based Market Efficiency Indicator in MQL5: Measuring Randomness in Price Returns Using Approximate Entropy
A rolling-window Approximate Entropy oscillator for MQL5, built without external dependencies. Covers the full mathematics of template matching, Chebyshev distance, and the Phi-function derivation before presenting a reusable CApEnCalculator class and a color-zoned subwindow indicator. Includes a synthetic-data verification script and an honest discussion of bias, parameter sensitivity, and computational cost.
Recurrence Network Analysis (RNA) in MQL5: From Recurrence Matrices to Complex Networks
The article extends the MQL5 recurrence library to Recurrence Network Analysis (RNA) by treating recurrence matrices as adjacency matrices of undirected graphs. It implements core network metrics—clustering, transitivity, average path length, betweenness, assortativity, and density—and applies them in rolling windows for single-series RNA and Joint RNA (JRNA). A modular metrics engine and two indicators visualize the evolving network structure on MetaTrader 5 charts for practical time-series analysis.
Machine Learning Under Constraint (Part 1): A Configurable Rule Set for Prop-Firm Position Sizing
Hardcoded prop-firm rules lock the sizer to one program. This article factors those rules into a PropFirmRuleSet and refactors PropFirmAccountState and the sizing modifiers to consume it, including dynamic versus fixed daily limits and the news-window profit-credit haircut. Parity against the original FundedNext behavior is validated on a simulated equity path, so you can retarget sizing by configuration instead of rewriting code.
Creating a Profit Concentration Analyzer in MQL5
Net profit and win rate tell you how much a strategy made, not how the result is distributed. This article builds a native MQL5 script that reads your closed trades and measures profit concentration: the top-N trade share, the Gini coefficient of the winners, an outlier-dependence stress test that removes the best few winners, and the largest day against a prop-firm consistency limit. It combines these into one A+ to F score with recommendations, running inside MetaTrader 5.
Analysis of the Impact of Solar and Lunar Cycles on Currency Exchange Rates
What if lunar cycles and seasonal patterns influence the foreign exchange markets? This article shows how to translate astrological concepts into the language of mathematics and machine learning. I built a Python system with 88 features based on astronomical cycles, trained CatBoost on 15 years of EURUSD data, and obtained some intriguing results. The code is open-source, the methods are verifiable, and the conclusions are unexpected — ancient wisdom meets gradient boosting.
Market Simulation (Part 23): Getting Started with SQL (VI)
In this article, we will see how to visualize a database and, from that, understand how it is structured. This is done by analyzing the database’s internal structure. Although this may seem unnecessary at first, it is fully justified if we really want to become database administrators. After all, some people make a living maintaining and designing databases.
Eco-inspired Evolutionary Algorithm (ECO)
The article discusses the ECO optimization algorithm, which is based on ecological concepts: populations are grouped into habitats based on territorial proximity, exchange genetic material within habitats, and migrate between them. Despite its wide range of operators and elegant biological metaphor, the algorithm produced a certain result discussed below.
A Symbol Metadata and Trading Hours Cache in MQL5: Eliminating Redundant SymbolInfo Calls in Multi-Symbol EAs
This article presents CSymbolMetaCache, an MQL5 layer that preloads contract specifications and trading-session schedules for monitored symbols at EA startup and then serves typed getters from memory. It explains which properties are safe to cache versus dynamic ones, including the semi-dynamic tick value on cross-currency pairs, and implements an in-memory IsMarketOpen() evaluator. A benchmark quantifies latency reduction across a set of twenty symbols.
Overcoming Accessibility Problems in MQL5 Trading Tools (Part V): Gesture-Based Trading With Computer Vision
This article shows how to build a hands-free trading workflow for MetaTrader 5 by translating webcam-tracked hand gestures into MQL5 trade commands. We cover the architecture (MediaPipe/OpenCV in Python plus an MQL5 EA), gesture-to-action mapping, and interprocess communication via Global Variables or HTTP polling. You will implement the EA, execute BUY/SELL/CLOSE actions, and validate latency and reliability under real‑time conditions.
Elite Crystal Evolution Algorithm (CEO-inspired): Practical Implementation
Experimental evaluation on standard benchmark functions reveals the advantages and limitations of directly adapting combinatorial algorithms. The article provides a detailed description of the ECEA algorithm's mechanisms and test results.
Measuring What Matters (Part 2): Building the Covariance Matrix: Eigenvalue Decomposition and Risk Factor Analysis in MQL5
In Part 2, we introduce a reusable CCovarianceMatrix class that computes and stores a covariance matrix from raw return series using MQL5's native Cov() method. We verify symmetry, print a labeled matrix grid, and call Eig() to obtain eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Readers see how symbols co-move and which factors drive variance, enabling clearer portfolio diagnostics and reuse in scripts or EAs.
From Cloud to Complex: The Vietoris-Rips Filtration in MQL5
We turn a price-embedded point cloud into a Vietoris–Rips filtration and its boundary matrix. The article enumerates vertices, edges, and triangles with filtration values, sorts them in entry order, and builds O(1) vertex/edge lookups. You get MQL5 classes CTDARips and CTDABoundary and a sparse Z/2 boundary suitable for the next-step persistence reduction.
Dendritic Cell Algorithm (DCA)
The Dendritic Cell Algorithm (DCA) is a metaheuristic inspired by the mechanisms of the innate immune system. Dendritic cells patrol the search space, accumulate signals about the quality of positions, and reach a collective decision: whether to exploit what they have found or to continue exploration. Let's take a look at how a biological model for detecting pathogens is transformed into an optimization algorithm.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 91): Using Skip Lists and a Hopfield Network in a Custom Trailing Class
For our next Exploration on notions that are testable with the MQL5 Wizard we examine if Skip Lists and the Hopfield Network can give us a profit-guarding trailing strategy. Trailing Stop Management, as already argued, can be overlooked in most trading systems at the expense of Entry Signals or even Money Management. Trailing stops can make all the difference in certain situations such as trending markets, and thus we test this out with GBPJPY.
Detecting and Visualizing Outlier Bars in MQL5 Using Modified Z-Score on OHLCV Features
Abnormal bars inflate mean and standard deviation estimates, distorting ATR, Bollinger Bands, and moving averages. We implement a native MQL5 indicator that detects such bars with the Modified Z-Score applied to four features: body, upper wick, lower wick, and tick volume. The indicator marks flagged bars on the chart and plots a composite score in a separate subwindow, helping you diagnose contamination in rolling-window indicators.
Implementing a Continuous LLM Adaptation System for Algorithmic Trading
SEAL (Self-Evolving Adaptive Learning) is a system for the continuous adaptation of large language models (LLMs) for algorithmic trading, designed to address the problem of rapid model degradation in changing markets. Instead of periodic retraining, which takes hours and erases old patterns, SEAL learns from every closed trade, maintains priority memory for important examples, and automatically initiates incremental fine-tuning when accuracy drops or a market regime change occurs.
Market Simulation: Position View (IX)
In this turning-point article, we will begin to explore in greater depth the interaction between the applications we are developing to ensure full support for the replay/simulation system. Here we will analyze a problem that, on the one hand, is quite unpleasant, but on the other hand, is very interesting to explain and solve. The problem is this: how can we restore the take-profit and stop-loss lines after they have been deleted, and do so without using the terminal by performing the operation directly on the chart? At first glance, it seems simple. However, there are several obstacles that must be overcome.
Market Simulation: Getting Started with SQL in MQL5 (V)
In the previous article, I showed how to proceed in order to add a query mechanism. This was needed so that, inside MQL5 code, you could fully use SQL and retrieve results using an SQL SELECT query. But there is still one last function we need to implement. This is the DatabaseReadBind function. Since understanding it properly requires a slightly more detailed explanation, it was decided to cover it not in the previous article, but in today's article. So, since the topic will be fairly extensive, let us proceed directly to the next section.
Market Simulation: Position View (XII)
In this article, you will learn how to create a visual signal on your trading platform so you can determine directly on the chart whether a position is long or short, without having to open the Terminal. In addition, the article also explains how to implement a feature that improves the display when moving Take Profit and Stop Loss lines by hiding the horizontal line that follows the mouse cursor while these lines are being moved, to avoid confusion. The article provides practical insight into setting up market simulation systems.
Comparing Trade Return Distributions with Mann-Whitney U in MQL5
A native, dependency-free MQL5 implementation of the Mann-Whitney U test for comparing trade returns across two market regimes. It details rank calculation, tie correction, and a normal-approximation p-value, and pairs the test with a CCanvas box-and-whisker chart and a trade-history extraction script. A verification script is included, and the limits of the normal approximation and independence assumptions are clearly stated for informed use.
CSV Data Analysis (Part 1): CSV Export Engine for MQL5 Multi-Core Optimizations
Multi-core optimization in MetaTrader 5 can silently drop results when parallel agents contend for the same CSV file. A reusable MQL5 export engine applies an iteration-based spin-lock to acquire the file handle reliably and append rows without loss. It persists custom metrics such as the Sortino Ratio, average trade duration, and signal-quality measures (lag and whipsaws) into a consolidated CSV for downstream analysis.
Dandelion Optimizer (DO)
The Dandelion Optimizer (DO) turns the simple flight of a seed carried by the wind into a mathematical search strategy. The three phases — vortex rising, drift toward the center of the population, and landing along a Lévy-flight trajectory — form an elegant metaphor that yields interesting results in practice.
Persistent Homology in MQL5: The Reduction Algorithm and the Persistence Diagram
We complete persistent homology for MQL5 by reducing the Vietoris–Rips boundary matrix to a persistence diagram. The article implements Z/2 column reduction (CTDAReduction), a diagram container with analytics (CTDADiagram), and a facade that runs the six-stage pipeline in one call (CTDA). Outputs are cross-checked against Ripser to numerical agreement, enabling reliable diagram-based metrics.
Network Momentum for MetaTrader5: Trading the Lead-Lag Graph Between Markets
This article builds a trend-following Expert Advisor that trades momentum spillover across markets, implemented fully in MQL5 without external solvers. It detects leaders with Derivative Dynamic Time Warping, learns a sparse weighted network by convex optimization, and propagates momentum through it with a reverting response. Readers get a step-by-step, reproducible pipeline and a working EA ready to run in the Strategy Tester.
Building a Compile-Time Unit Testing Framework in MQL5 Using Preprocessor Assertions
MQL5 lacks native unit testing, so utility bugs in lot sizing, pip value, and normalization often slip into production. This article presents a zero‑dependency framework built from preprocessor assertion macros, interface‑based suites, and a central runner/formatter. It runs as a script in OnStart, executes deterministic tests, and prints pass/fail summaries to the Experts tab to catch rounding, boundary, and error-handling defects before deployment.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 96): Using Wavelet Thresholding and LSTM Network in a Custom Money Management Class
In this article we consider a custom MQL5 Wizard class that processes Money Management. Our custom class is labelled ‘CMoneyWaveletLSTM’, and is developed by combining the Wavelet Thresholding algorithm with an LSTM network. As has been the case throughout these series, the developed model is testable with MQL5 Wizard-Assembled Expert Advisors that can be tuned with different trailing stops and entry Signals classes. We maintain our entry Signal, as in past articles as the built-in 'Envelopes' class and the RSI class.
Learnable Curves, Not Weights: A Kolmogorov-Arnold Network from Scratch
This article builds a Kolmogorov–Arnold Network (KAN) in MQL5, where every edge carries a learnable B‑spline curve rather than a scalar weight. We construct the spline basis, assemble edges and a layer, and fit all coefficients by ridge‑regularized least‑squares in a single solve. The model is delivered as an indicator that visualizes the learned curves and an Expert Advisor that acts on the prediction, providing an interpretable, reusable codebase.
From Option Chain to 3D Volatility Surface in MetaTrader 5
This article walks through creating an MT5 indicator that ingests option chains from native symbols or CSV, inverts prices to implied volatility via a hybrid Newton–Raphson/bisection method, and assembles a clean strike–expiry grid. It then renders a shaded, rotatable 3D surface with the platform's DirectX layer, enabling clear, in-terminal analysis of skew and term structure using live or file-based data.
Persistent Key-Value Store in MQL5: Using Flat Files as a Lightweight Database for EA State
A lightweight persistence design lets EAs retain counters, flags, and timestamps between terminal restarts. Using only MQL5, CPersistentStore writes a human-readable key=value file in MQL5/Files and serves reads from a CHashMap write-through cache via a typed API. The article analyzes O(1)/O(n) operations, partial‑write risks, and lack of locking, compares with GlobalVariables/SQLite, and provides a demo that reloads state deterministically.
Exponentially Weighted Covariance Matrix in MQL5: Building an Adaptive Correlation Monitor for Multi-Symbol EAs
This article builds a constant-memory EW covariance engine and a chart heatmap for monitoring cross-symbol correlations in MQL5. CEWCovariance updates in O(N²) time per bar and exposes covariance/correlation accessors; CHeatmapRenderer shows a five‑symbol matrix with values and colors. You will learn λ-to‑window mapping, how to set a meaningful min_obs warm‑up, and how to size the variance guard epsilon for real FX M1 data.
Beyond GARCH (Part V): Fitting the Multifractal Spectrum in MQL5
This article builds the Spectrum Fitter: from tau(q) we compute f(alpha) with a discrete Legendre transform, then fit Normal, Binomial, Poisson, and Gamma spectra under box constraints using BLEIC. The best model by SSE is selected, and its parameters (eg, alpha min, alpha max or alpha_0, gamma) become the cascade inputs for multifractal simulation.