We Need A Linux Distro For Trading

[dcraig]

Quote from phoenix_rising:

Yeah. I can do that for the things I watch all the time, but sometimes I need to pull up a chart I haven't been collecting for (or if for some reason I miss a day of data, etc.). That's when I need backfill. The option for it has to exist and work well.

It seems from the API release notes that you can get up to 6 months of data. If you request 1 min bars you get 1 day's worth per request. For five minute bars, you get 1 week of data per request. For each request you specify the end date for the requested data. By making multiple requests with appropriate end dates, you can have 6 months worth.

 

[Sparohok]

Quote from science_trader:

In my opinion, the flexibility of Linux is nowadays completely hidden to the user who doesn't care about it.

Go to Fry's, buy two of the cheapest sound card you can find, put one in a Windows PC and the other in a Linux PC, get them both working. Then come back and tell me that Linux is easier to use than Windows!

Martin

 

[science_trader]

Quote from Sparohok:

Go to Fry's, buy two of the cheapest sound card you can find, put one in a Windows PC and the other in a Linux PC, get them both working. Then come back and tell me that Linux is easier to use than Windows!

Martin

1) I don't know what " Fry's " is
2) I don't know what is the type of "cheapest sound card" you have choosen
3) If sound card makers do not release drivers for linux, then don't buy their sound cards. It's a clear and obvious sign of a monopoly by M$, which must be fighted.
4) This is one thing you have to do before buying any hardware while using linux : check the hardware database. But I repeat it, this is not a linux problem, this is an industry problem. If linux was used by 95% of people, I would like to see how many drivers are released for windows...

 

[Holmes]

As far as I can see is that Amibroker does not support R/T tick bars which is mandatory for me.

Have started to investigate VMware 5.0 on Linux after I noticed that MSN recently insisted on "validating" the OS and at the same time installed activation code (meaning they can also disable your machine......) MSN has been wanting to do this for a long time but the present US government is condoning this.

Sherlock

 

[science_trader]

Quote from Holmes:

As far as I can see is that Amibroker does not support R/T tick bars which is mandatory for me.

Have started to investigate VMware 5.0 on Linux after I noticed that MSN recently insisted on "validating" the OS and at the same time installed activation code (meaning they can also disable your machine......) MSN has been wanting to do this for a long time but the present US government is condoning this.

Sherlock

VMware is a great soft, but be prepared to have a lot of memory in your PC

 

[Holmes]

Quote from phoenix_rising:

If only a major consumer data feed company were to support it (one that had an API), I'd switch. Easy enough to trade IB on Linux, but custom charts?

What about using IQfeed to download backfill under Windows (VMware?) and RT from IB? This is what I presently do under windows but am investigating that route for Linux.

Sherlock

 

[Holmes]

Quote from science_trader:

VMware is a great soft, but be prepared to have a lot of memory in your PC

Memory is cheap these days and I find it runs fine with 768Mb on a 1.8Ghz Pentium M

Sherlock

 

[science_trader]

Quote from Holmes:

Memory is cheap these days and I find it runs fine with 768Mb on a 1.8Ghz Pentium M

Sherlock

I don't think 768Mo of RAM is really enough. I would consider a minimum of 512Mo for each OS running. If you notice that speed becomes an issue, you better be prepared to upgrade your RAM.

 

[Holmes]

Quote from james_bond_3rd:

Try QtStalker. You can find it here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/qtstalker
In addition to charts, it has a pretty good backtest engine with customizable rules. The only thing lacking is the scripting capability. It would probably be good enough for 90% of the people.

1) scripting ability: does this mean we cannot make our own indicators? (no need to create systems /strategy as I trade "visual" which I consider a form of discretionary trading)
2) does it support tick data?

Thanks
Sherlock

 

[Holmes]

Quote from science_trader:

I don't think 768Mo of RAM is really enough. I would consider a minimum of 512Mo for each OS running. If you notice that speed becomes an issue, you better be prepared to upgrade your RAM.

My machine can take up to 2Gb but have not found it necessary to increase (yet). Still experimenting. Thanks for sharing your experiences, which version of VMware do you use?

Sherlock