Backtesting software

D

dandxg

I have a real specific question, and yes I have used search and read many threads.

What backtesting software is user friendly and gives you full functionality for the trial period? Any of them?

I download Amibroker, went to close and it pops a window saying in demo nothing is saved. What a waste of my time? Seriously don't tease me with a 30 day trial and then pull the pug at the end of every session. Cmon that's cheesy. That's like when software companies says free trial, then you get there and they say sorry can't use that function until you register. Which is a deceptive way of saying purchasing it outright. Ok enough of my whinning :p
 
I have been using AmiBroker for approx 3 years. So long that I had forgotten its inability to save results in the Demo version. That's too bad for both you and AmiBroker if you decide not to buy it for that reason.

AmiBroker is a Fantastic product and worth many times its price. It takes a bit of time to learn how to use, especially for non programmers. With some effort on your part, you should be able to back test almost any strategy you can think of.

Product support is excellent, as is a very helpfull user community.
 
Amibroker's free trial is at the generous end of the spectrum, and they receive high praise consistently. Maybe they should not be written off so quickly.

Regarding your question, Stratasearch (www.stratasearch.com) has a fully functional trial version.
 
Thanks for the feeback folks. Ironically, I have considered other products because, as I recall, Amibroker only offers e-mail support, which isn't great support IMO. I have never backtested ever, and I spent 2 hours, trying to get up to speed on how to just use the program. That was just to get the data from E Signal imported! :D I guess it would be nice if they had videos, as I am visually oriented person, to watch like Sierra Chart and Ninja Trader do.

This is by no means a slam on Amibroker, as I have heard alot of positive things. I am considering AIQ as well, because they have phone support and my friend/mentor could help me write the code, since he has it.

I guess it would be nice to know exactly what I need, but that's hard since this is phase 1 for me. There are so many products that claim to backtest from linsoft to now Ninja Trader ( in a limited fashion). I guess it's trial and error, just like trading. :)
 
Quote from pan2004:

Hello,

1. Actually the trial version saves everything (your formulas, layouts, backtest results, chart images, etc, etc) except one thing: quotation data. If you are using eSignal it is not an obstacle because it will re-backfill automatically so you don't need to worry.
So we don't see this as any practical disadvantage when it comes to *evaluating* the product.

2. We have lots of videos, including one how to setup with eSignal. http://www.amibroker.com/guide/video.html

3. We don't offer phone support because it costs lots of $$$ (you need to hire people dedicated for answering calls who will sit busy waiting for your enquiries). E-mail offers so much more effective (cheaper) way to manage human resources.
And these $$$ are paid not by vendor, but by the customer. So if you are willing to go for software that is 2x or 3x more expensive just to be able to call them once or twice - it is your choice. We prefer to offer cost-effective solution.

Best regards,
Tomasz Janeczko
amibroker.com
More...

Thanks for the post. I did follow the instructions for getting started and saw no mention of videos. I agree e-mail is more cost effective, but communication is sometimes lost in e-mail.
 
Just in case you didn't know it, Tomasz Janeczko, who posted a reply above, is the author and owner of AmiBroker. It is not unusual to receive a reply directly from him in very short time after you post a question on the AmiBroker Yahoo forum at:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/

Because it is an open forum (you only have to register to post messages) many other users will try to answer your questions before TJ does. They do this because: 1. They are very nice and knowledgeable, 2. This gives TJ more time to improve AmiBroker, 3. They were begineers themselves at one time and are sensitive to beginners problems. 4. Did I mention that they are nice.

BTW, TJ is always making improvements to AmiBroker. There are on average 2 major revs per year and perhaps 10 minor revs per major rev. A very small percentage of revs are for bug fixes (rarely any bugs) while a very large percentage are for special user requested features.
 
Quote from keithm:

Just in case you didn't know it, Tomasz Janeczko, who posted a reply above, is the author and owner of AmiBroker. It is not unusual to receive a reply directly from him in very short time after you post a question on the AmiBroker Yahoo forum at:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/

Because it is an open forum (you only have to register to post messages) many other users will try to answer your questions before TJ does. They do this because: 1. They are very nice and knowledgeable, 2. This gives TJ more time to improve AmiBroker, 3. They were begineers themselves at one time and are sensitive to beginners problems. 4. Did I mention that they are nice.

BTW, TJ is always making improvements to AmiBroker. There are on average 2 major revs per year and perhaps 10 minor revs per major rev. A very small percentage of revs are for bug fixes (rarely any bugs) while a very large percentage are for special user requested features.
More...

I did figure TJ must be the "guy" for Amibroker. In all fairness I would probably have some similar complaints of any back testing software as I have a steep learning curve just starting out. Can you post in yahoo and get help coding? I have a rather complicated set of rules for a setup I want to back test. Maybe it's not so complicated, I am not sure?
 
There is all kinds of help groups for Amibroker . Yahoo for one . Tech support or any other support for and from AB has never been a problem for me , to receive . As far as I'm concerned there is no better software which keeps getting better and better in my opinion . I dont work for AB but purchased it a few yrs ago and have no regrets for doing so .
 
dandxy --
Do you have any programming experience? If so what languages?

Yes other users are glad to help, if they sense that you are making an effort to learn. Most are reluctant to do all the work for you though.
 
Quote from keithm:

dandxy --
Do you have any programming experience? If so what languages?

Yes other users are glad to help, if they sense that you are making an effort to learn. Most are reluctant to do all the work for you though.
More...

No I don't have any programming experience at all. I have had some minor issues with my Esignal so I haven't had a chance to use Amibroker in the last couple of days.
 
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