Sierra Chart Programmers??

[ash_s_83 10]

Hi,

 

I have a trading strategy that needs to be programmed in Sierra Chart. If you have some experience with coding in Sierra Chart platform, please email me and we can discuss the details. This project has several stages, each with its own remuneration.

 

Thanks,

Ash

[Tams 20]

Hi,

 

I have a trading strategy that needs to be programmed in Sierra Chart. If you have some experience with coding in Sierra Chart platform, please email me and we can discuss the details. This project has several stages, each with its own remuneration.

 

Thanks,

Ash

 

sierra charts is one of the most difficult to program.

 

for the long run, it is better to ditch the program now and get something easier.

 

don't wait until you have lots of time and money invested in it to change.

[Kiwi 16]

Pay no attention to Tams.

 

He claims to come (physically or spiritually, who knows) from Geelong. As such his posture of certainty is to be expected even though he usually speaks with little or no knowledge or wisdom.

 

You are right of course to wonder why one would reply to any of his posts. Think of this as an aberration in a good cause.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2012 by Kiwi

[ash_s_83 10]

Kiwi/Tams,

 

Which charting platform do you suggest for backtesting and ultimately automating a renko chart strategy?

[Kiwi 16]

It probably depends a lot on how well the platform does what you want initially.

 

I have developed strategies on tradestation, Amibroker and Sierra Chart. Amibroker and Sierra Chart are very similar in their language (you can write code for one and move it to the other with very few changes) and Amibroker is much loved by testers. Actually esignal also has a lot of code structure similarity as well. What I don't know is how good their renko is and that might make starting with Sierra easier.

 

Amibroker is fantastic for fast backtesting but Sierra is much better at providing a reliable interface for real time trading, and with a lot of brokers.

 

Some platforms have programing languages that were designed for the platform (metastock and tradestation) and some have more general languages. Generally the "easier" ones to start with achieve it by restricting what you can do - so you get easier learning but may lose flexibility and depth. The trick tends to be like Microsoft Office - don't try to learn everything, just learn what you need for your job, extending later if you want to do more.

 

A friend of mine does all his testing and strategy development in R. He uses a couple of routines in Sierra Chart to export/import data and entry/export information between the two environments and swears by the ease of testing with R which is an interpreted environment much loved in academic and statistical testing fields. And damned if he isn't faster to do tests than anything I've ever seen. I've stuck with the C(++) environment of Sierra Chart because, once you invest time in learning something it becomes a lot easier to do what you want within it.

 

So, does the platform do renko the way you want, how well does it manage trades, can it support a range of brokers and is it reliable in interacting with them, does it not only let you do what you think you want to do today but what you might need in future, what are its lifetime costs like, does it seem well supported, etc etc. Like most of the important questions in life the answers are not likely to be simplistic.

[SIUYA 11]

adding to what Kiwi says - I use Sierra Charts as well and find it is a comprehensive great value for money system.

I would say, the advantage to testing in the program you will use for trading is that you can then use the program to then actually apply the test. You dont want to spend a lot of time testing an idea only to find that it might not necessarily be able to easily be applied by a system or a lot of modifications are needed. (this would apply to any system)

If what you need is not too complicated you can also pay other programmers via the SC site, and I have found this to be a very good value method of doing things. A lot depends on complexity and maintenance.

[onesmith 10]

sierra charts is one of the most difficult to program.

 

for the long run, it is better to ditch the program now and get something easier.

 

don't wait until you have lots of time and money invested in it to change.

 

I agree with Tams.

 

Dump Sierra and get TradeStation or Multi-Charts. Learn how to program. Renko and other synthetic pricebars require some personal passion and effort to code around the obstacles.

 

It's unrealistic to think it's possible to obtain a profitable strategy by hiring someone to program your ideas.

[SIUYA 11]

It's unrealistic to think it's possible to obtain a profitable strategy by hiring someone to program your ideas.

 

I assume this was partially directed to what I said.....except that as Tams often reminds us, if you can think logically through your system and explain it to a computer, then why not?

Additionally as a trading system is generally made up of many components, position sizing, adjusting stops, adjusting targets, adding units, etc; why not? You could have different people do different sections.

the hard part is explaining exactly what you want, and having a reasonably rudimentary understanding of how programs work would help regardless of the system.

 

difficult yes, getting expensive maybe, but not unrealistic unless you have so much discretion , and even then you can automate aspects of it......

 

A lot will depend on what you are trying to do, and then maybe some systems are overkill, or some retail systems will not provide enough. The more comprehensive the system the more options I would have thought the better if what you are trying to do is going to be extensive, otherwise any system might just do. The other advantage SC has is that it has a simple method of auto trading from spreadsheets, and its even easier than using easylanguage.....all depends on what you need.

[onesmith 10]

...trading strategy that needs to be programmed ...

 

This project has several stages, each with its own remuneration.

 

SIUYA, my note was not based on your comment and I apologize for not making that clear.

 

Programming can be successfully outsourced.

 

but when defining viable strategy models the odds are against non-coders because they aren't aware of the nuances programmers learn everytime they fail. The idea somone can subscribe to a platform and outsource the creation of viable strategies is a myth.

[Kiwi 16]

The idea somone can subscribe to a platform and outsource the creation of viable strategies is a myth.

 

 

What is it about people attached to tradestation and its copy? Why this rigidity of thought?

 

The statement that something is a myth can be overturned by only one example. So take any number of organizations where the generators and managers of trading strategy are not the programmers (most hedge funds for example). Find one that is successful.

 

Myth overturned.

[onesmith 10]

The important truth is the odds favor those who know how to code. To suggest otherwise is inappropriate.

 

I'm aware that wasn't your intent and I respect your effort to sharpen your eloquent logic skills. May their force be with you on the day you have an important message to convey.

[4EverMaAT 10]

We all would love to keep our trading machine ideas completely in-house, but the reality is that for most people it does take a steep learning curve to incorporate all of the "if-then" aspects of a strategy into a programming language. It's not just machine translation, but requires interpreting the essence of what the system is trying to accomplish, and using the correct functions so that [your ideal charting package here] can display and autotrade your strategy successfully.

 

Even if I can explain the problem accurately (logically), do I have the technical expertise and time to physically code bug-free? If it is a hobby, and I have loads of free time on my hands, fair enough. But as a business?

 

Outsourcing can be wonderful, but it is NOT drag/drop operation. It takes the patience of Job to ensure that what you say - what the programmer understands = flawless execution. Initially, it can take many long days of back and forth deliberation, proof of concept, etc to get on the same page. What if the person bails? What if they run off with your project, etc. (think Facebook). This is not unusual when outsourcing to emerging economies, or your own backyard as was the case with Facebook. That's the risk that you take to save a few dollars. vWorker acknowledged this problem (entrepreneurs not having technical expertise to properly supervise project) and came up with Tech Sharpra.

 

As someone who has gone through the process with MetaTrader 4/5, I can tell you, then end was rewarding....but it was quite a ride. You have a greater appreciation for finished products in every industry; most people never see the back-of-the-house stuff.

 

edit: sierra chart has its own programming language? Wow, things have changed. They used to insist on using Excel to do the heavy lifting. If they still offer free historical tick data (or 1 min data), with some of their packages.....its hard to beat for a new trader. But i do agree with another poster that it may be worth it to invest in a more comprehensive charting package (maybe multicharts?) that has the proper backtesting/debugging modules, plus the charts should do what you want them to do. Hard to say which package is "best"; you just have to trial them all and experience which one(s) fit well.

Edited May 22, 2012 by 4EverMaAT

[fajim2004 10]

I have from time to time considered setting up my trading strategy for autotrading.

Problem is that I am really not interested in starting from scratch to attempt this myself ?

 

Would rather hire someone to do it. The question is, Are there any reputable programmers

available for hire ? If so where would I look ?

 

TIA

[4EverMaAT 10]

I have from time to time considered setting up my trading strategy for autotrading.

Problem is that I am really not interested in starting from scratch to attempt this myself ?

 

Would rather hire someone to do it. The question is, Are there any reputable programmers

available for hire ? If so where would I look ?

 

TIA

I know how you feel. I'm not a programmer myself. vWorker.com is your best bet. I know a few people and can provide contacts if you'd like.