Which "conventional" programming language is the closest to MQL

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Hi,


I'm new to this forum, and have decided to learn how to write EA's. I was thinking of ordering some books on programming, and I was wondering what programming language it would be best to learn before starting on MQL4.


Thanks in advance! :)

 

if you know any of the major languages, you are able to code mql4 also.

C is very hard for beginners, if you know C mql4 is easy.

perl is very powerful but also easy to start with, lots of libraries, a good package avaiable www.activestate.com,

general purpose language - but especially if you want to analyze large amounts of data, like history charts, very powerful

php is very similar to perl.

if you want to start, i recommend quickphp, its a little webserver with php, no large installation. docs for php and perl are avaiable for download, lots of examples.


google for "hello world" and you find all avaible programming languages.

look for one that fits your needs at the moment. after some time coding in any major language you will soon get familiar with mql4


i am coding since 1981 (sinclair zx81), started with basic, visual basic with win31, later perl and php, sometimes C/C++ (aweful language, but very fast code)



in general, if you have not yet started coding, mql4 is an option to start with, ok, the docs are very few.

google "hello world" ;-)

 

Hi!


Just want to follow up TS with a similar question; Do you have any concrete advices on what literature may be a good start and what field/topics that are more relevant/important than others?

I have been trying to understand MQL language by reading up on the forums and such, but I found these usually too unstructured and not as easy to follow. Especially if it is poorly translated.


- The Shark.

 

mostly important is that you start programming and let them run and then debug the bullshit you have coded ;-)

all other is irrelevant.

learning by doing.

have you ever heard, that henry ford has become a great car-constructor, because he has read many books about that ?

 

The mql4 is a subset of the C language. mql4 has the same syntax. If you have no programming experience then I would recommend starting with mql4 and use the info given in the book at this site. Also get a "getting started" book about the C language to read more. Do not bother about pointers in C, you will not need that. I use the info on this site frequently and in my opinion it is well written and has good examples. You should NOT study C++, Java or C# because these are object oriented languages and mql4 is NOT that.

Good Luck!

 

For MQL tutorials Try starting here https://forum.mql4.com/5101

Remember that MQL5 is almost here so you need to learn MQL4 and MQL5 which are different. You may want to try a code generator / graphical environment as well. Look here https://forum.mql4.com/28351

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