How to backtest if you do not know how to code

Is it possible to backtest without knowing how to code

  • Yes

    Votes: 13 65.0%

  • No

    Votes: 5 25.0%

  • I don't know

    Votes: 2 10.0%
  • Total voters
    20
I

Iwilldoit

Hi there,

I am currently backtesting manually using excel, I look at the setup on the chart and visually see if it will either hit my target order or stop order and then manually enter it in my excel sheet.

I have zero experience/knowledge on programming...

So my question to you guys (and gals) is how would you recommend I perform my backtesting without knowing how to code ?

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No it's not doable.
You need to code a minimum.
Think about EasyLanguage, NinjaScript ...
There may be ways to backtest without programing.
But there are trade off like lack of flexibility & Co.
You can ask a programmer to do it for you ...
But it ain't leverage it as its best.
Maybe one day Siri will do it.
Or you can test manually.
Keep records ...
 
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Coding not so hard.
If you were above average at Maths at school then you should be able to learn enough coding to do backtesting.
You do not need advanced coding skills to write a backtesting program.
Just get that bar data into memory and iterate over it.
 
K-Pia said:
No it's not doable.
You need to code a minimum.
Think about EasyLanguage, NinjaScript ...
There may be ways to backtest without programing.
But there are trade off like lack of flexibility & Co.
You can ask a programmer to do it for you ...
But it ain't leverage it as its best.
Maybe one day Siri will do it.
Or you can test manually.
Keep records ...
More...


???

Ninjascript is C# right?

If I studied for two hours a day............how long would it take to learn C#?

What is easier to learn C# or Ninjascript?



@K-Pia
 
southall said:
Coding not so hard.
If you were above average at Maths at school then you should be able to learn enough coding to do backtesting.
You do not need advanced coding skills to write a backtesting program.
Just get that bar data into memory and iterate over it.
More...


@southall

Are you aware that I am not coding simple MA crossovers? my models are a bit more complex than that... ;)
 
Regarding the comments suggesting some start reading thick books and/or taking long courses in programming (youtube videos alone won't cut it).

Anyone can learn to make mortar and stick bricks together. Not everyone can be a quality architect.

Anyone can buy Legos and stick them together. Not everyone can build something awesome with Legos.

Anyone can draw lines, curves, and brush colors on a canvas. Not everyone can paint something worth money.

Anyone can write a "Hello World!" program. Not everyone can code something extremely useful.

I hope this goes without saying, but just in case: Before willy-nilly investing a lot of time and money into doing something; first investigate whether you will "like" doing it, and whether you are capable of doing it.

But to answer your question, if you don't know how to do it manually, then you won't know how to do it with code either. Code just automates and speeds up what could be a slow, laborious, manual process. Yes, you can backtest manually.
 
userque said:
Not everyone can code something extremely useful.
More...

A backtesting program is 1 or 2K lines of FOR loops and IF statements over an array of bar data, it is not 100K lines of distributed multi threaded OO code using many different 3rd party libraries.

The OP could probably pay a gifted teenager or computer science student to write it for them if he can't afford a professional programmer.
 
southall said:
A backtesting program is 1 or 2K lines of FOR loops and IF statements over an array of bar data, it is not 100K lines of distributed multi threaded OO code using many different 3rd party libraries.

The OP could probably pay a gifted teenager or computer science student to write it for them if he can't afford a professional programmer.
More...

I never said it would be 100K lines. And you seem to agree with the crux of my post as you are [now] suggesting that the OP contract the work out.
 
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