[QUESTION] - Backtesting Advice For a Beginner With No Coding Experience

[TradeTune]

"You can become a best programmer or coder, but still doesn't matter if you have no idea what to code for your strategy ...It's worthless even you know C++, C# , whatever ..."

Yeah, this is always true. But we are assuming, for the sake of discussion, that someone knows how to, at least, start coding their strategy. Otherwise, there's nothing to talk about if someone is totally clueless.

The easier a script language is, the less complete it is. Think about it.

C# is a complete, general purpose language; and is therefore, more difficult (less easy) than easy language.

Ninjascript is a great subset of C#. It is therefore easier than C#, but less "complete" than C#.

You can't have it both ways. If a language is easy, it is necessarily, less powerful.

Ninjatrader allows the newbie to transition from;
knowing nothing: English like script;
to knowing more: NinjaScript;
to knowing the most: C#;

all in one platform.

In fact, once/if someone knows/learns C#, they no longer "need" platforms like Ninja. They can code their algo from scratch.

Can a machine learning trading system be implemented with easy language? It can with Ninjascript/C#.

Why learn a language that becomes worthless once you outgrow it? Instead, learn a script that is a subset of a real language, imo.

Note: I have no affiliation with Ninjatrader. I do use them though.

Without Knowing C# , can Ninja Script + Ninja Trader do more than Easylanguage +TS ?
Can Ninja Trader find live opportunities based on your studies and fields on multi time frames and multi symboles ?

If answer to both above is yes, can you show me how to do it, i will switch to Ninja trader today. Per my information Ninja Trader has just 60,000 Customers only and it has been around more than 2 decades.

 

[userque]

Without Knowing C# , can Ninja Script + Ninja Trader do more than Easylanguage +TS ?
Can Ninja Trader find live opportunities based on your studies and fields on multi time frames and multi symboles ?

If answer to both above is yes, can you can show me how to do it, i will switch to Ninja trader today.

You don't have to "know" C#. You have to know ninjascript, just as you have to know easylanguage. Ninjascript is based on, and a simple subset of C#, easylanguage is a custom language.

Yes, NT can operate on multiple time frames and on multiple instruments. You can google for more info.

Here was my point:

When you outgrow scripting languages, your knowledge of ninjascript can be fully applied to a real language: C#.

Whereas Easylanguage is not useful anywhere towards a real programming language.

If you already know Easylanguage, then stay with it. If you are trying to decide what to learn, consider the recent posts in this thread.

 

[TradeTune]

You don't have to "know" C#. You have to know ninjascript, just as you have to know easylanguage. Ninjascript is based on, and a simple subset of C#, easylanguage is a custom language.

Yes, NT can operate on multiple time frames and on multiple instruments. You can google for more info.

Here was my point:

When you outgrow scripting languages, your knowledge of ninjascript can be fully applied to a real language: C#.

Whereas Easylanguage is not useful anywhere towards a real programming language.

If you already know Easylanguage, then stay with it. If you are trying to decide what to learn, consider the recent posts in this thread.

I'm open to ideas. But per my understanding C# is very hard to learn if you never had programming background. Does Ninja script has a converter to C# langugage.
Since learning Scripting langugage , even simple VBA is too difficult for avarage Joe like me, you don't want spending you time how to code your Idea. Coming up with ideas itself is one big task. I hope i could express my thoughts clearly

 

[userque]

I'm open to ideas. But per my understanding C# is very hard to learn if you never had programming background. Does Ninja script has a converter to C# langugage.
Since learning Scripting langugage , even simple VBA is too difficult for avarage Joe like me, you don't want spending you time how to code your Idea. Coming up with ideas itself is one big task. I hope i could express my thoughts clearly

Ninjascript just means that you don't have to deal with the 'hard' parts of C#.

I just looked up a loop in Easylanguage:

For Counter = IValue To FValue
Begin
Instruction1;
Instruction2;
End;

Here is a Ninjascript for loop:

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
  Instruction1;
  Instruction2;
}

It is equivalent to:
0 being the IValue, and 4 being the FValue

 

[Nakesha]

If you're not a developer, then ArcadeTrader is the simplest way to backtest your data by using a sort of visual language for patterns (they name visual language but it's just a pipeline of Javascript conditions) and a simplified Javascript for strategies. Most of the indicators are already there, check this tutorial in 2 parts: .

I was able to implement my custom indicators in Javascript with a few line of code, but there is no a concept of library of user functions, so every time I have to copy & paste my functions in all my strategies. Not big deal...

I wish somebody can implement a visual language to do something like this (example using Scratch language, by MIT):

 

[TradeTune]

If you're not a developer, then ArcadeTrader is the simplest way to backtest your data by using a sort of visual language for patterns (they name visual language but it's just a pipeline of Javascript conditions) and a simplified Javascript for strategies. Most of the indicators are already there, check this tutorial in 2 parts: .

I was able to implement my custom indicators in Javascript with a few line of code, but there is no a concept of library of user functions, so every time I have to copy & paste my functions in all my strategies. Not big deal...

I wish somebody can implement a visual language to do something like this (example using Scratch language, by MIT):

View attachment 231797

It would be smarter to go with a compnay that offer combined brokerage/ data / large support team behind it.
If you encounter any problems in developing your strategy, you have so many users and 3rd party developer to seek help from.

There are tons of trading strategy apps there who trying to copycat each other, but just few of them are good Like Mutilchart software, TOS from TD ..ect who have customer base and will be around for very long time.

 

[Tradex]

even if some of it returns a positive outcome, deciding whether that's a result of backfitting/overfitting, a one-time accident, or a result of cheating

Backtesting software have mathematical algos that can determine very quickly if the excellent trading results are statistically valid or just optimized garbage.

 

[Tall Mike]

Maybe checkout BuildAlpha.

Any idea on how much something like this costs?

On the site, it says I need to reach out to somebody for pricing (which I have not heard back from yet).

 

[Nakesha]

Backtesting software have mathematical algos that can determine very quickly if the excellent trading results are statistically valid or just optimized garbage.

What SW has that? I'm interested.

 

[BlueWaterSailor]

Backtesting software have mathematical algos that can determine very quickly if the excellent trading results are statistically valid or just optimized garbage.

Wrong.

You're obviously neither a programmer, a statistician, or a mathematician, and you keep digging an ever-deeper hole by making statements that are utterly ludicrous wherever they involve any of those disciplines. I suggest you stop before you make yourself look even worse than you already have.