Getting Started Developing and Trading System

[Gyles]

The point of optimization was as follows:

All the MetaStock has its own underlying internal database wherein data is stored for future reference. Hence, when they get filled up with the data, the product becomes instable on a very large number of combination runs. Many users have mentioned the above problem to me.

I knew they only had full searches but the main point was not the searching process. It is regarding the fact that the database used by the software has a size of 2 Gigabyte (GB) i.e. a 2 GB limit.

Since, the 2 GB database gets filled up and it is not clear between the optimization, therefore causing a crash in the software. One of my friend who had owned the MetaStock, informed me of this problem.

 

[bankei]

I did not know of this problem in MetaStock.

I am a big fan of using genetic algorithms to navigate a search space. There are a few add-on products that I know of for TradeStation. I'm not sure about MetaStock. When I finally figure out the area I want to search I use the Full Search in TradeStation, just so I don't get fooled into thinking I have a flatter surface area.

Mr. Ruggerio's product looks interesting in this regard. I also saw that a 'surface chart' is now available in Ami Broker. Pretty cool.

It is possible to do this in Excel or another spreadsheet (and probably better in 'R', which does better graphics than Excel, imo). Still, I think this should be something that any 'optimization' tool provides.

 

[Gyles]

Sincere thanks, Bankei, Kuran47 and Murray for your feedback and interesting information regarding the "C-Trader and TradingSolutions RT", "Trading Recipes" and "TradersStudios".

Moreover, with reference to the following:

Quote from bankei:
......It is really the 3rd party code via books, like Perry Kaufman's 'New Trading Systems and Methods' or Stridsman's "Trading Systems that Work" that I think make a real difference............

The above books are good, moreover there is another book “Murray's Cybernetic Trading” as it contains a lot of TradeStation code. Although, it was published in 1997, it still has many relevant ideas

Right now, am simply aiming to test each piece of the software on the list mentioned earlier and would like the feedback, help, and insights from all of you. Thanks!

By the way, at the moment, I have started reviewing Trading Blox. I had applied for its version and am testing it. Moreover, I am a member of the Trading Blox forum and am asking questions regarding the difference between the Demo and the actual Trading Blox Builder (3000.00) product.

 

[Murray Ruggiero]

Quote from bankei:

I did not know of this problem in MetaStock.

I am a big fan of using genetic algorithms to navigate a search space. There are a few add-on products that I know of for TradeStation. I'm not sure about MetaStock. When I finally figure out the area I want to search I use the Full Search in TradeStation, just so I don't get fooled into thinking I have a flatter surface area.

Mr. Ruggerio's product looks interesting in this regard. I also saw that a 'surface chart' is now available in Ami Broker. Pretty cool.

It is possible to do this in Excel or another spreadsheet (and probably better in 'R', which does better graphics than Excel, imo). Still, I think this should be something that any 'optimization' tool provides.

Our 3D Surface chart for TradersStudio is done using a Excel Addin. You save the optimization report to disk and then load it in excel. The addin adds menu items in Excel which do the charting as well as some other robustness analysis which I have developed.

 

[Gyles]

Are there no users out there who are using Trading Blox? If anyone is using Trading Blox, please give some inputs, feedback or/and insights. Thanks.

 

[Gyles]

Review of Trading Blox

I had downloaded and tried out the demo version of Trading Blox. Firstly, it is a top flight back-testing package wherein you can either test a single system on one market or a portfolio of markets. Moreover, you can test a portfolio of systems also. The graphic programming interface “Bloxs” is a useful concept for the programmers.

However, there was a drawback (a big one), is that there is not any large libraries of public domain code for this product like you see with “Wealth Labs” had earlier before Fedility purchased the product or TradeStation. The backtesting capabilities and control over the backtesting is well designed and though out. These features are top shelf. One drawback is that the product is somewhat slow, and the speed of both the demo and the real-time version is the same (as confirmed by Trading Blox support staff).

Another issue is that you need to run the orders for tomorrow and back-test the result separately. This is for your kind information only as you might forget to do it.

Regarding their reports, they are one big HTML like page! Although, you can disable and enable what you wish to see in the reports, it is a big page and to scroll through it is inconvenient. Moreover, they are not organized in a workbook or in different windows, which makes the navigation and reading inconvenient and time-consuming.

Moreover, their charting does not seem to be up to the standard and seems to be behind the present times and requirements. It is there to just show you the trading arrows. Although, you can plot indicators but they need to be coded within the system. The same is true for some of the other products selected for the test of suitable back-test software. Moreover, I have found out that only the TradeStation and TradersStudio have separate indicators which can be added to the charts.

Moreover, the charts have no drawing tools, special features like the Paintbars, Showme and expert commentary present in TradeStation. Another thing was that I was unable to figure as to how to create the charts and indicators without having a system. It is in my humble view, that for a product selling at $3000.00, they should have at least had the charting like the TradeStation, even if not that good. Their charting does not seem to match the good performance of the other functionalities provided by the Trading Blox.

If you are interested in just back-testing, this product is good choice, a top flight product, although it can not replace TradeStation or other platform that provides good charts. This product is good to have, but not a one-stop product as there are some issues as mentioned above. However, if you can afford to spend $3000.00 for just a back-testing tool, then it is okay.

The question remains, “Are there any other products available that offer similar features and the complete solution like back-testing such as Trading Blox, but at a lower price?”

Now, the next step is to test out the products “AmiBroker” and “TradersStudio” (which are at a much lower price) and compare their features to Trading Blox.

 

[Gyles]

Are there any users out there who are using AmiBroker and TradersStudio? If anyone is using them, please give some inputs, feedback or/and insights. Thanks.

 

[Trvlwanderer]

Good reviews so far. Thanks for the time and energy.

 

[fundjunkie]

Quote from Gyles:

Are there any users out there who are using AmiBroker and TradersStudio? If anyone is using them, please give some inputs, feedback or/and insights. Thanks.

What are your review criteria? What are the benchmarks against which you're trying to evaluate these products?

 

[thetrendfollowe]

Quote from Gyles:

After reading Perry's book and the Murray Stuff, I have decided to get into trading mechanical trading strategies.

This thread is to address how traders should start down this path.

Do you mean Perry Kaufman?
Its a good book.

There are several other books you should read before you start.

I have a blog where I have documented all the stages required for systems development and design and testing.

As for the software I use metastock and tradesim.
TradeSim is first class.

http://thetrendfollower.blogspot.com/

Nizar.