Need Advice: Tool for 'semi-algom.' Trading

[hpak 10]

Hi!

I found this forum by accident when I looked for comment on Dr. Tharp and I am thankful for finding this.

 

But upfront: I am no trader in the sense of trading multiple positions a week. So please don't be annoyed at my request for advice/help.

 

My idea:

I do have several excellent newsletter that fit my line of thinking that do the boots-on the ground work. Their recommendation most often turn out to be great though often with a time lag.

 

I want to create a system where I can input the recommended stocks (>100) and get an alert when certain criteria get fulfilled, e.g. certain moving average above a threshhold, R-multiples below buying price (part of the position sizing) etc. (but actually I don't have many criteria )

 

Now here I need help:

What system, ready-made software, programming language do you recommend. Ah, and btw, I use Interactive brokers.

 

I tried my way through R, python and a little bit mathematica. And though I learned programming during my physics studies this is more than 15 years away

 

Thank you for your feedback.

 

Andreas

[zdo 20]

Andreas,

 

If you haven't tried it yet maybe get a demo of TradeStation. Their RadarScreen is amenable to this stack size of instruments and can handle the conditions you mentioned. In general, more of the front end work is already set up for you than in most trading suites.

These days EasyLanguage sort of a hybrid of pascal and C#. It's not necessarily 'easy' for everyone. But there are plenty of existing source code templates to get you started and if you present it correctly, the TS support staff and other users will help you through the rough spots in completing your screener...

 

hth

[Tams 20]

Interactivebroker is good as a broker,

but not suitable as a data provider for what you are doing.

 

like zdo recommends, tradestation is a good candidate because of the all around broker/datafeed/software combination.

 

there are better brokers,

there are better datafeeds,

there are better software,

but there are no better combination for a small retail trader to do what you have in mind.

[BlueHorseshoe 10]

Andreas,

 

If you haven't tried it yet maybe get a demo of TradeStation. Their RadarScreen is amenable to this stack size of instruments and can handle the conditions you mentioned. In general, more of the front end work is already set up for you than in most trading suites.

These days EasyLanguage sort of a hybrid of pascal and C#. It's not necessarily 'easy' for everyone. But there are plenty of existing source code templates to get you started and if you present it correctly, the TS support staff and other users will help you through the rough spots in completing your screener...

 

hth

 

Tradestation is great, but I don't think any kind of demo is available, is it?

 

On a side note, why do you say EL is a combo of Pascal and C#? I'm not challenging you - I just didn't know that . . .

 

BlueHorseshoe

[zdo 20]

Tradestation is great, but I don't think any kind of demo is available, is it?

 

 

They serially run promo's. Also, across the years, most of the people I suggested to just call TS and ask for a demo got one.

fwiw, the opening account size is not an issue and with a modicum of turns per month the whole platform (but not the exchange data feeds) is 'free'

 

On a side note, why do you say EL is a combo of Pascal and C#? I'm not challenging you - I just didn't know that . . .

 

BlueHorseshoe

 

Just my take follows…ie programming professionals could tell you more accurately:

Old EL was a ‘proprietary’ facsimile of Pascal with their ‘easy’ / trading keywords added.

New OO EL, still has different keywords than C#, etc.... and still uses different code ‘blocking’ syntax and other formatting conventions, etc . etc.

...and it does not yet fully implement true OO capabilities… (real 'reuse' / inheritance,etc stuff )

But, if you set aside those differences, the structure of OOEL code looks a lot like C# programming – particularly in the way Methods are used, etc.

I got started in OOEL by studying ‘ basic’ C# books. etc.

 

 

 

btw no OOEL is necessary to accomplish what the OP is after...

[hpak 10]

Hi!

Thanks for the input.

 

Tradestation seems impressive. After some more research on the net I stumbled across Amibroker.

May I hear your opinions on that. Seems versatile and allows to use external datafeed and is much less expensive than Tradestation.

 

And regarding datafeeds: I do need datafeeds mainly for the TSX, Australian Exch., Frankfurt and NYSE. Mongolian Stockexchange would be great, too.

Any recommendations for external EOD datafeeds?

 

Bye

Andreas