i have tradestation mainly for the data they provide to multicharts also ts has a good forum where there are many examples of code and capable programmers who actually contribute to anything that seems worth while. this same code can for the most part be used directly into multicharts whos forum is mostly growing pains from untested updated releases.
multicharts has many features and hooks into many more data feeds than any other platform i can think of so there is great flexibility. this is super important to be able to jump around to any vendor you want for data feeds, broker services and 3rd party programs etc. plus the wealth of ts code available all over the internet.
amibroker is the most powerful program you will ever own. it is stable has a great forum a great creator who is super active since the start. it's a very serious heavy duty program that can get the job done in ways that are only limited to your abilities and imagination. amibroker is also very multi vendor friendly and growing everyday. i know for a fact some huge trading firms are using amibroker to manage billions. to have amibroker is just an investment in the future a serious trader can not afford to do without. the learning curve is slow but worth the investment as it has the grunt to handle anything.
so when looking at software and i have tried them all, think freedom to select data sources, technical accuracy of optimization etc., group support and level of expertise of the users as a whole, available library of code and illustrations etc.
