Generationally challenged, looking to program

N

nravo

K, let's say your pushing 50, trade a bit on your own for yourself a a few friends. But you want to learn programming a bit or even VBA Excel. What programming would be useful for a beginner in this area. I use IB. Trade everything but bonds. C++? VBA? Java? How long and how hard a process. I looked at Tradestation and Easy Language. Is that a better path? Would like to be able to automate trades and track in a spreadsheet live. Thoughts?
 
Software engineering is a high-level profession.
It takes 10 years of dedication to be any good at any high level profession.

That's said...
All you really need...
Is to become proficient at Excel + VBA + IB API.

Look at the VBA code in TwsDDE.xls in your c:\Jts\Excel directory...
But make sure it's May 2006 version or later.
Rewriting and expanding that VBA code...
Would be viewed as an easy job by a professional programmer.
 
Thanks. I understand what you say and am not surprised. As for Excel VBA. I know a bit about generic Excel. What is the best way to upgrade to VBA? Classes at a local college?
 
why make your own software program when you can buy it.

software is a very complex piece of work to make and maintain.

Bill Gates bought his D.O.S. instead of making his own operating system he was using BASIC....DOS is derived from linux based the unix operating developed from the 70's or core programming codes..

Quote from nravo:

K, let's say your pushing 50, trade a bit on your own for yourself a a few friends. But you want to learn programming a bit or even VBA Excel. What programming would be useful for a beginner in this area. I use IB. Trade everything but bonds. C++? VBA? Java? How long and how hard a process. I looked at Tradestation and Easy Language. Is that a better path? Would like to be able to automate trades and track in a spreadsheet live. Thoughts?
More...
 
I would start out with the simplest to understand language that allows you to do things quickly and intuitively. In my opinion that would be a language like Visual Basic, Python, or Ruby. If you are familiar with Excel already, I would go with it.
 
I would take the computer science major at the local junior college actually... but personally, I'm able to do everything I need to with either Tradestation or Multicharts and am self taught Easy Language starting at about your age...
 
Quote from sprstpd:

I would start out with the simplest to understand language that allows you to do things quickly and intuitively. In my opinion that would be a language like Visual Basic, Python, or Ruby. If you are familiar with Excel already, I would go with it.
More...

Meaning expanding my Excel and learn VBA knowledge?
 
It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. A lot of the tools out there allow you do build trading systems without programming, but then you can go into the code the tools create and look at it, modify it etc. Ninjatrander and Wealth-lab are 2 examples but there are lots more.

You can build a simple system via their interfaces, look at the code, try to understand what it's doing etc.

Any general programming class you can take will help even it it's not the language you end up using.
 
I looked at Tradestation and Easy Language. Is that a better path?
More...

That would probably be your fastest path to actually being able to do something useful. The second fastest would probably be the VBA/Excel route. Although, I've never used either of those 2, I'd bet it's not even a close second.
 
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