Jian Dong Tang / Profile

The new version of the programming language for trading strategy development, MQL [MQL5], provides more powerful and effective features as compared with the previous version [MQL4]. The advantage essentially lies in the object-oriented programming features. This article looks into the possibility of using complex custom data types, such as nodes and lists. It also provides an example of using lists in practical programming in MQL5.

The article describes a method of automated creation of neural network EAs using MQL5 Wizard and Hlaiman EA Generator. It shows you how you can easily start working with neural networks, without having to learn the entire body of theoretical information and writing your own code.

This article suggests a variant of an adaptive system that consists of many strategies, each of which performs its own "virtual" trade operations. Real trading is performed in accordance with the signals of a most profitable strategy at the moment. Thanks to using of the object-oriented approach, classes for working with data and trade classes of the Standard library, the architecture of the system appeared to be simple and scalable; now you can easily create and analyze the adaptive systems that include hundreds of trade strategies.

By default, all objects in MQL5 are passed by reference, but there is a possibility to use the object pointers. However it's necessary to perform the pointer checking, because the object may be not initialized. In this case, the MQL5 program will be terminated with critical error and unloaded. The objects, created automatically, doesn't cause such an error, so in this sence, they are quite safe. In this article, we will try to understand the difference between the object reference and object pointer, and consider how to write secure code, that uses the pointers.

There are lots of chart types that provide information on the current market situation. Many of them, such as Point and Figure chart, are the legacy of the remote past. The article describes an example of Point and Figure charting using a real time indicator.

This article is intended primarily for the programmers who have already learned the language but have not fully mastered the program development yet. It reveals some debugging techniques and presents a combined experience of the author and many other programmers.

The article focuses on standard MQL5 functions for working with time, as well as programming techniques and practically useful functions for working with time that are required when creating Expert Advisors and indicators. Particular attention is paid to the general theory of time measurement. This article should be of interest primarily to novice MQL5 programmers.

The Expert Advisors programming in MQL5 is simple, and you can learn it easy. In this step by step guide, you will see the basic steps required in writing a simple Expert Advisor based on a developed trading strategy. The structure of an Expert Advisor, the use of built-in technical indicators and trading functions, the details of the Debug mode and use of the Strategy Tester are presented.