Maybe you can try this, which helps you complete the trading plan 24 hours a day, and it's free to try
What's the Best Software to Start Algorithmic Trading?
- Thread starter Tyler Zhou
- Start date
The best software for algo trading is Python. The sheer amount and quality of statistical libraries is beyond mind-boggling. So on a day one you have all the work already cut for you by the best minds in the world. Once you dig into Python you'll understand that all the trading software vendors are just selling you eye candy, not a trading software. Most of quantitative trading firms program in Python, C++ and FPGA.
Only downside to Python is that charting is the world's worst. Saying that, there are video presentation of pro-algo software by proper quantitative trading firms that doesn't have any charts. Just P&L statements.
Apart from Python, you want to stay clear from languages like Easy Language. Its a mind trap. In order to make it easy it imposes so many invisible restrictions that it will severely limit your trading. You want your trading platform to have a proper full blown programming language like C#, Java, C++ or anything like that. In that way limitations of the language will not become your limitations.
Only downside to Python is that charting is the world's worst. Saying that, there are video presentation of pro-algo software by proper quantitative trading firms that doesn't have any charts. Just P&L statements.
Apart from Python, you want to stay clear from languages like Easy Language. Its a mind trap. In order to make it easy it imposes so many invisible restrictions that it will severely limit your trading. You want your trading platform to have a proper full blown programming language like C#, Java, C++ or anything like that. In that way limitations of the language will not become your limitations.
The question was about the best software to start with, not the best overall. Saying one language is better than the rest is just extreme. There are tons of trading products in different languages, each for its own purpose. Python, by the way, isn’t used to write trading platforms. And honestly, all languages are pretty much on the same level now, especially with ChatGPT around.
If you're a beginner, it's smarter to choose something simple so you don't waste time coding. Maybe algo trading won't even be your thing, and then you've just wasted a lot of time. I code myself, but I always tell people to start with a builder or some ready-made code, so you don’t have to bother learning to program. Things like what’s shown in the picture are perfect for getting started.
Mess around with a builder, and you’ll figure out if you want to go deeper and learn a language, or just stop here and not waste any more time.
Value of Python is not in Python but in the work of other 1st class people that you can use for free. Just go to GitHub and download all the stuff you need. Not to mention thousands of free articles with strategy ideas on Medium.com that are all written in Python. You won't get that level of quality and quantity in Easy Language, C# or C++ or any other language.
Python is used for prototyping trading systems, because its quick and easy to learn. That diagram you made would be around x20 lines of code in Python and it wouldn't be much different to natural English language you already speak. Python was specifically designed to be easy to learn. Any average person can pick it up in a week or two.
'Slow' trading systems, that work on x2 minute bars or longer can be written in Python. Only if one is into High Frequency Trading he might need C++ or FPGA.
That diagram you made probably took you a week, including idea creation. If you are human you might have, say x10 such ideas. With Python you can use other people's work to assemble data mining software that will automatically find strategies. So you'll get working and backtested strategies from a firehouse, like x100s of them. You'll never have to worry about finding a new strategy again.
You see, your tool creates mindset limitation. You think that the only way is to grind at manually finding strategies. While with a different tool you can go unlimited and have as many strategies as you like, all backtested to your exact desired criteria.
You can check Jacob Amaral on YouTube. He is using data mining for strategies and currently trades with his own money and money from clients a portfolio of x37 strategies on futures. And he had been doing it for around x5 years, maybe longer. All of these strategies were data mined, he never coded any of them and every months he just replaces 2 - 4 of them. He's using C#, his choice, but Python would be much less work.
Python is used for prototyping trading systems, because its quick and easy to learn. That diagram you made would be around x20 lines of code in Python and it wouldn't be much different to natural English language you already speak. Python was specifically designed to be easy to learn. Any average person can pick it up in a week or two.
'Slow' trading systems, that work on x2 minute bars or longer can be written in Python. Only if one is into High Frequency Trading he might need C++ or FPGA.
That diagram you made probably took you a week, including idea creation. If you are human you might have, say x10 such ideas. With Python you can use other people's work to assemble data mining software that will automatically find strategies. So you'll get working and backtested strategies from a firehouse, like x100s of them. You'll never have to worry about finding a new strategy again.
You see, your tool creates mindset limitation. You think that the only way is to grind at manually finding strategies. While with a different tool you can go unlimited and have as many strategies as you like, all backtested to your exact desired criteria.
You can check Jacob Amaral on YouTube. He is using data mining for strategies and currently trades with his own money and money from clients a portfolio of x37 strategies on futures. And he had been doing it for around x5 years, maybe longer. All of these strategies were data mined, he never coded any of them and every months he just replaces 2 - 4 of them. He's using C#, his choice, but Python would be much less work.
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