I'd have to say Pascal is somewhat base of most Trading software languages but the hardest part about programming is not to learn the language itself but to create a logic for a system.
Back when I was at a prop. firm, the guys there asked me to write a system for them. They used a 7-17 Moving Average and 7 Stochastic, they recommended this to the new traders as their training program. These guys were extremely discretionary about how they used the indicators. They would go in with one signal one time and another at another time. They also had no idea about a good trading system.
When I showed them the Tradestation result on what they told me, they start dissing at me telling me they wouldn't go in at this signal because blah blah blah and they would go into the market with no signal because of blah blah blah. They couldn't admit their trading technique and signal was statistically negative.
When the new traders came in, they sworn that the techniques they used are the best without flaws. But once a system trader comes in(me) and they see the results they get over sensitive. It took me 1 whole month just create a profitable system that they liked. They wouldn't let me put money management logic so it made it hard but with a little extra hidden criterias, I made a good system. I made some of the extra criterias to a protected function and DLL so that they can't figure it. Well, extra criteria was a trend capturing setup and I used their signals for timing.
They liked the system and got paid with a casual lunch after market close.(All that work for a $10 Lunch Plate) That's the first and last time I wrote a system for another person. If I were to, I would only do it for someone who understands trading at least. Also, I quit the firm because the guys had no idea about trading in general. I've heard the guys were making a lot of money daytrading in the good ol' days but when everything changed they couldn't make money anymore. So... they decided to open up their own Prop. Firm. They busted out and closed the place 3 month after I left.
This is what I've heard after I left but they also never traded the system I made and lost but the new traders were making money with it. They tried doing it but because they had their losing trading style with them, they would compulsively trade out the system. I guess they had a performance norm to pass when they started the firm to an investor and or because of it, the guys went crazy with their trading.
It's one of my bad experiences in my trading career but it's also one of my best learned lesson about trading that came from another person.
