The MasterWindows Library - library for MetaTrader 4

The "MQL5 for "Dummies": How to Design and Construct Object Classes" articles describes how you can create a user-friendly interface for your programs. Implementation of interactive windows is based on the use of the MasterWindows class library.

Fig. 1. Example of the MasterWindows library use

The MasterWindows library consists of three base classes:

• the base CCell class:

  //+------------------------------------------------------------------+
  //| The base CELL class CCell                                        |
  //+------------------------------------------------------------------+
  class CCell
    {
  private:
  protected:
     bool              on_event;      // Event handling flag
     ENUM_OBJECT       type;          // Cell type
  public:
     WinCell           Property;      // Cell properties
     string            name;          // Cell name
     //+---------------------------------------------------------------+
     // Class constructor
     void              CCell();
     virtual     // Method: draw an object
     void              Draw(string m_name,
                            int m_xdelta,
                            int m_ydelta,
                            int m_bsize);
     virtual     // The OnChartEvent event handling method
     void              OnEvent(const int id,
                               const long &lparam,
                               const double &dparam,
                               const string &sparam);
    };
  

• the base CRow class, consists of cells of the CCell class:

  //+------------------------------------------------------------------+
  //| The base ROW class CRow                                          |
  //+------------------------------------------------------------------+
  class CRow
    {
  protected:
     bool              on_event;      // Event handling flag
  public:
     string            name;          // Row name
     WinCell           Property;      // Row properties
     //+---------------------------------------------------------------+
     // Class constructor
     void              CRow();
     virtual     // Method: draw a row
     void              Draw(string m_name,
                            int m_xdelta,
                            int m_ydelta,
                            int m_bsize);
     virtual     // The OnChartEvent event handling method
     void              OnEvent(const int id,
                               const long &lparam,
                               const double &dparam,
                               const string &sparam);
    };
  

• the base CWin class, consists of rows of the CRow class:

  //+------------------------------------------------------------------+
  //| The base Window class CWin                                       |
  //+------------------------------------------------------------------+
  class CWin
    {
  private:
     void              SetXY(int m_corner);// The method for calculating coordinates
  protected:
     bool              on_event;   // Event handling flag
  public:
     string            name;       // Window name
     int               w_corner;   // Anchor corner
     int               w_xdelta;   // Vertical indent
     int               w_ydelta;   // Horizontal indent
     int               w_xpos;     // The X coordinate of the anchor point
     int               w_ypos;     // The Y coordinate of the anchor point
     int               w_bsize;    // The width of the window
     int               w_hsize;    // The height of the window
     int               w_h_corner; // The anchor corner of the HIDE mode
     WinCell           Property;   // Window properties
     u//---
     CRowType1         STR1;       // Declaring the class row
     CRowType2         STR2;       // Declaring the class row
     CRowType3         STR3;       // Declaring the class row
     CRowType4         STR4;       // Declaring the class row
     CRowType5         STR5;       // Declaring the class row
     CRowType6         STR6;       // Declaring the class row
     //+---------------------------------------------------------------+
     // Class constructor
     void              CWin();
     // Data obtaining method
     void              SetWin(string m_name,
                              int m_xdelta,
                              int m_ydelta,
                              int m_bsize,
                              int m_corner);
     virtual     // Method: draw a window
     void              Draw(int &MMint[][3],
                            string &MMstr[][3],
                            int count);
     virtual     // The OnEventTick event processing method
     void              OnEventTick();
     virtual     // The OnChartEvent event handling method
     void              OnEvent(const int id,
                               const long &lparam,
                               const double &dparam,
                               const string &sparam);
    };
  

and 10 descendants.

The attachment contains template and code sample where the MasterWindows library is used. The code has been generated using the visual window constructor MasterWindows for MQL5. Test program is a model, i.e. it has no functionality (except for close window function).

You can use any number and combination of rows in a window. The figure shows the basic versions of rows and the window header:

Fig. 2. Basic options and possibilities of the library

For example, for the "Testing Performance of Moving Averages Calculation in MQL5" article, we have created the following interface using the proposed library.

Fig. 3. An example of using the MasterWindows library

Gallery:

Fig. 4. An example of using the library in trade panel

Fig. 5. An example of using the library in a game panel

Fig. 6. An example of using the library in trade panel

Fig. 7. An example of using the library in multi-currency trade panel

Recommendations:

• For a better display of created interface windows, use graphical schemes with a black background.