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hi Brian,,
thank you for your kind words and also thank you to Michael Mann as that one is
also due from me,,
Brian,,,i've now joined premium data and within their
trial period,, and very happy with their very easy to use installation
within amibroker of the data base and history and 1 click update of data,the
cost is very good also compared to other providers and i'm looking at keeping
both ASX and US data for my swing trading.
i think Michael hit the nail on the head with his
comment i'm trying to jump start the language,,,i've found a rose in amongst the
weeds in the library thats more than satisfying to my current trading style so
now i'm going to learn this funny language,
i've watched all the tutorial video's and now into the
other areas of reading about creating own explorations etc and actually
doing the white belt stuff of aping the examples,,,
so i'll put my dummy back in my mouth grab teddy and
chuck him back under my arm after sowing his arms and legs back on and soldier
on,,
considering buying C for Dummy's to get a grip of the array
business but will search around here see if there's something
about,
thank you for your post,,
no doubt i'll be back with more beginner questions
warm regards
Paul
Subject: [amibroker] Re: Amibroker vs.
other software
Hello Paul,
I noticed your opening posts.
I was going to take
them if someone else didn't.
We all have to start somewhere.
One
step at a time.
Unfortunately there are not enough hours in the day for
*the forum*
to answer every single question or give perfect
answers.
There are a lot of us who would like to do that if we
could.
I highly recommend using the search functions to find stuff in
the
group archives.
It is tedious but I have turned up a lot of good
advice from that
source.
I would like to read every one of the 100k
posts but I don't think
anyone will ever do it.
I simply search for
answers to specific questions, especially
searching by function name.
I
usually get my answer.
O.K.
If you don't know Xcel just learn
AFL, full stop, although learning
a little about the basics of Xcel would
be an excellent training
exercise if you want to go that way and you
already own it (just
learn how a row of data is arithmetically manipulated
and how that
flows into the next row (array)).
Compare that to the
array example given in the help manual.
Tomasz is always mega-phoning the
benefits of learning the array
concept, and for good reason.
I think
there is some additional examples of array processing using
trading
signals in the Houston lecture PDF file which is floating
around somewhere
(this is slightly more advanced).
It will take time until it clicks but
believe me it is not rocket
science.
If it was I wouldn't be doing
it.
Know your limitations; I don't try to trade like Fred, he's an
Alpha-
Tech and I am not.
I trade like Brian.z123, end of story.
I
did copy his Polynomial stuff though because one day I might try
to follow
the logic and expand my repertoire or just learn something
that looks like
it is hard for me to do (strengthen my weaknesses).
Top up your AFL
study up with a little background on basic
programming as you need it
(available on the net).
I advise downloading a very small database from
Yahoo, say one month
only, and use that as your training database ( the
DowJones
constituent list provided by Ami is perfect.
I use that for
training.
With only one month of data available I can view everything I am
doing on the chart without scrolling.
For training purposes, try a
function out, or try some code and then
plot everything you can think of
that relates to your code so you
can see what the function/code is
doing.
Use explorer to *print* the results of functions/code and compare
that to what you are seeing in your charts.
That is how I learn and
also how I design systems.
Good luck,
Don't be embarrassed to
ask simple questions....the forum definitely
has a lot of time for
sincere effort.
BrianB2.
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED]ps.com,
"paulradge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]..> wrote:
>
> Graham,,
>
that was a good read,,,for me,,someone with his
head blown apart but i
know nothing of excel,
> P
>
>
>
> Sorry, I
should have checked that I had replied privately about
this AFL
>
The code was prepared for customers
>
> --
>
Cheers
> Graham
> AB-Write >< Professional AFL Writing
Service
> Yes, I write AFL code to your requirements
> http://www.aflwriting.com
>
>
>
>
> On 17/10/06, brian.z123
<brian.z123@...> wrote:
> Hello Jlami11,
>
> The
virtues of AB are often extolled in this forum (along with
the
>
vices) but I don't think I have seen a post that even goes
close
to
> doing it justice.
> Tomasz is too modest to list all the good
points in one place
> himself, although God knows that after 100k posts
it is well
overdue.
> Here is my attempt that will have to suffice
until bettered.
>
>
*******************************************************************
>
Conclusion:
>
> The bad news is that it takes a lot of patience
to master
AmiBroker,
> especially for those who are not seasoned
traders/programmers.
> The good new is that it is worth the
effort.
> If there is a better program out there Tomasz would have known
about
> it a long time ago ;-)
>
> (If you are in a
hurry skip to list at the bottom of the post).
>
>
*******************************************************************
>
> An interesting question.
> As a relatively new Ami user I can
empathise with you.
> Keep in mind that there is no *holy grail* of
software or
anything
> else in trading.
> Also my only
intention is to offer help to you and give credit
to
> AmiBroker
where it is due.
>
> What you are really asking is; "Will
AmiBroker be worth the
time I
> will have to put in to learn it,
will I be capable of learning
it
> and what will I be able to do
with it when I am competent?",
> (that is like looking for your
glasses!).
> Ultimately you are the only one who can answer that.
>
> You need to clarify how serious you are about trading and
clearly
> state your trading objectives to yourself first.
> I
am continually amazed by the number of people who come into
this
>
forum and who, presumably, want to be winning traders, but
obviously
> do not have a winning attitude (I am not suggesting that is
you.
I
> am simply providing some context to my comments).
> If that is
the case they can not blame the software for their
> eventual and
inevitable failure.
>
>
> My experiences may provide some
guideance for you.
>
> I am a non-programmer, non-mathematician
and a self-taught
computer
> layperson.
> I do not have a
tertiary education.
> I am probably of above average intelligence but I
don't know
exactly
> where I am on that line and I have no interest
in finding out.
> Fortunately I do have abilities and talents of some
kind that
get me
> by, althoguh I am not sure exactly what they are
either.
>
> Four years ago I had zero experience in investment of
any kind
when
> I set myself very high investment goals.
> I
will rephrase the last part; I knew specifically what I
wanted to
>
achieve as an investor (if the format would allow it I would
bold
or
> underline specifically, as in, the % return I am going to get
and
> the hours per week I am going to get it in).
> After
the intitial learning phase I also quickly identified
what
>
investment styles I *believed* in and which ones suited my
personal
> characterstics and objectives e.g. I don't want to spend
hours
> reading company reports, financials etc so I went away from
that
> type of trading.
> Once again I would underline
*belief* and *personal
characteristics*.
>
> In short,
when I bought AB I knew why I was buying it.
> At that stage I had
already settled on *trading* as my chosen
> primary investment vehicle
and I also had a definite trading
style.
> I wanted to use AB as the
tool to develop and implement that
on a
> wider scale.
> I am
continually improving and growing so I never say never as
far
> as
trading goes but so far nothing I have learnt in AmiWorld
has
>
changed my view on trading; it has simply confirmed and
enhanced
it.
>
> I didn't know exactly what I was getting with AB but I
did
exchange
> a couple of emails with support in which I discussed
the
capability
> of AB in the key areas of my interest.
> My
questions were somewhat naive, and Tomasz probably
scratched his
>
head a little, but he gave me a professional reply.
> Specifically I
enquired about customising my own stops and one
or
> two other
similar questions, as I do not trade in anything I
don't
>
understand.
> If I can code it myself I definitely understand
it.
>
> I had also found that what passes as folklore in common
investment
> culture more often than not does not stand up to
analysis, so I
> prefer to go my own way; no *canned* anything for
me.
>
> My conclusion was that on the balance of probability AB
would
do the
> job. I also formed a favourable impression of the
CEO/developer i.e.
> he was obviously no dummy with an exceptional
empathy for his
users
> and that is an important thing when buying
and using trading
> software.
> You have to have
confidence.
> (That wasn't too bad an assessment based on two short
emails
was it?
> Time has proven that to be spot on).
>
> Like all products, only long term ownership will provide a
complete
> answer to buyer satisfaction, so I went ahead and
purchased.
> I am quite used to spending money on dead leads etc; that
is
normal
> business practise and I consider it to be a part of
development
> costs.
> I didn't hesitate to spend USD$199 on
Ami.
> Like any business, there was no guarentee that cost would ever
be
> recouped. That is not to mention the intellectual capital
invested
> e.g. my first 2 trading years and $15000 were purely
speculative
> ventures, until I reached a point where I was able to
prove to
> myself that, compared to the majority, I was quite good at
it.
>
> For the record my trading disposition is objective,
mechanical
> system, TA based, but I do keep an open mind and will snap
up
> anything that works.
> I consider myself to be a developing
trader.
> It is not something that can be mastered in a few hundred or
even a
> few thousand hours; not from my background anyway.
>
>
> I could write a book on the subject, and I might one day,
but
to cut
> to the chase.
>
> I have used a lot of
other market programs but my experience is
> lightweight compared to
some in this group.
> I will benchmark my comments against the last
program I used,
which
> was one of the majors.
> I was very
happy with it in every respect until after 1000's of
> hours of
commitment to learning it, I found it couldn't
actually do
> what I
really needed it to.
> The backtester didn't work, at least not the way
I expected it
too,
> and at that time my expectations were not as
high as they are
now.
>
> I managed to jig around that
problem by using the programs
explorer
> as a psuedo-backtester and
exporting the results to Xcel for
> analysis.
> I was proud of
myself, as a non-programmer, for achieving that.
> I set up four older
computers with a KVM switch as my test-
bank and
> reeled off a few
thousand hours of backtesting until I simply
came
> to the end of
the line, fullstop.
> Why stuff around with homemade backtesters when
there are
> professionals writing and maintaining them for a
living?
>
> Hence AmiBroker, which incidentally was recommended
to me by
the
> developer of a quite well known money management
program.
>
> It was very hard to have to start all over again in
a new
program,
> especially after being able to use the old one
fluently.
> The first 3 months of Ami were very de-motivating.
> I
found it to be a hard program to learn and I had to grit my
teeth
>
more than a few times.
> One of the reasons it is hard to learn is that
it has a lot
more
> depth and breadth than my previous
program.
> That automatically demands more learning time.
> It
also has a different business model to what most of us have
come
>
to expect e.g the manual in AB is not a textbook that is
posted in
>
the mail nor is it merely the help files.
> The *manual* in Ami is
dynamic and offers a lot more than help
files
> but it is also less
structured.
> It also leaves out a few bits and pieces here and there
that a
lot
> of beginners would expect to find.
> I am
comfortable with that but some people aren't.
> It is not a good system
for beginners but it is a great system
for
> seasoned
performers.
> Why begrudge them that; they are entitled to their place
in the
> world?
> I guess in a way, that makes Ami a boutique
program, although
I am
> sure Tomasz will correct me if that is
wrong.
> My attitude is; "if you can't beat them join them".
> I
am playing catch-up at a furious rate.
>
>
> My trading
objectives are very high.
> I bought AB in the belief that it was the
program most likely
to
> enable me to meet those
objectives.
> I have had the program approx 6 months and have spent a
lot of
hours
> per week on it.
> I don't have the definitive
answer but so far AB has not
> disappointed.
> The ultimate
responsibility is not on Tomasz's shoulders, it
is on
>
mine.
> Initially Tomasz answered my *buying* questions and provided a
free
> trial.
> It was my decision to buy.
> Let the
buyer beware.
>
>
> I am continually learning and
improving so the things I want
to do
> in the future may well be
different from my current
expectations but
> I am confident Ami will
accommodate my growth.
> I have said that if I don't achieve my trading
goals with Ami
there
> will not be another program, which is my way
of saying that
Ami is
> good enough if I am good enough.
> I
do have a cut off point and I will retire my trading career
if I
>
retire Ami.
>
> I won't look back and list the negatives of other
programs.
> I will not list the negatives of AmiBroker either (I am into
> positivity) although I will say it is not perfect.
>
>
******************************************************************
>
> My list of AB positives (not in any particular order):
>
> 1. price
> 2. *fully* customiseable
> 3. distant horizon
(most traders will never exceed its ability.
> Those who do exceed AB's
limits don't mind sharing their
> knowledge and Tomasz doesn't like
coming second so that should
tell
> you something).
> 4.
transparent and controllable
> 5. honest dialogue
> 6. ethical
company
> 7. allows use with a wide range of data providers
> 8.
cheap and free data options for those who need that
> 9. trading
orientated program (truly for traders by traders)
> 10. trading
friendships
> 11. trading mentorships
> 12. active forum with a
sprinkling of diverse specialists
> 13. quick responses to program
'bugs'
> 14. 24-48 hour support
> 15. rapid pace of
development
> 16. responsive to suggestions
> 17. extensive
support material albeit hard to find at first
> 18. open
architecture
> 19. personal contact with CEO
> 20. CEO accepts and
answers criticism in public
> 21. trading specific programming language
(you don't need to
learn
> C++ etc just learn AFL. If that is your
first language it will
be a
> challenge but I am doing it. I only
read half a dummies book,
> quarter of an online manual on scripting and
a bit of
Wikipedia here
> and there and away I went. My prior
formula language and
backtesting
> experience does help
though).
> 22. the last market software program I will ever have to
master
> 23. challenging
> 24. offers trading opportunities I
hadn't thought of before
> 25. good rapport with and respect for the
developer
> 26. provides easy access to basic fundamental data in
formulas
> 27. provides access to unlimited external database
(especially
> useful for referencing extensive fundamental
databases)
> 28. cheap and reliable *industry standard* charting program
for
> those who just want that
> 29. time efficient (there
are no unneccessary frills anywhere
in
> Amiworld. If anything there
are probably not enough frills
depending
> on who you ask).
>
30. mature program (10+ years)
> 31. extensive library (official and
unofficial) of popular
industry
> indicators etc
> 32.
licenced to use on more than one machine
> 33. speed
> 34. 64 bit
and dual core processors not a future problem?
> 35. backward
compatibility not a problem?
> 36. has trading orientated functions the
others do not have?
> 37. array based processing which is a very
*commonsense*
approach
> for laypeople. Use is analagous to Xcel
spreadsheet rows
except for
> more advanced uses where programming
procedures like looping
come
> into play (when you can see your
code output being written
into Xcel
> rows in your minds eye you are
nearly there).
> I have spent a lot of time in Xcel prior to AB so that
helps
me to
> step into AFL. If you are good with Xcel functions you
will
> definitely be good with AFL.
> 38. industry standard
*canned scans* are easily achievable with
> simple code
> 39. It
is a very pragmatic program e.g I have 5-10 tasks on my
> advanced list
that are industry wide trader breakers. I have
already
> cracked
two or three of those in Ami without even getting out
of
> second
gear and I am optimistic about the rest (Null data
handling,
>
custom indexes and survivor bias are the first three demons to
bite
> the dust).
> 40. readily perform trainging examples
and problem solve using
> explorer.
> 41. ASCII import for the
data masochists
>
> In short it does exactly what the publicity
blurb on the
homepage
> says it will do, and more!
>
>
> There are probably additional postives but a mint tea and a
bowl
of
> muesli is calling.
>
> BrianB2. =8-)
>
>
P.S Tomasz, this doesn't provide you future immunity from my
> withering
critiques.
>
> --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED]ps.com,
"jlami11" <jlami11@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
>
>
> > I just wanted to know how Amibroker compares to other
software.
> >
> > In particular I heard tradingblox was
pretty good and could
do
> alot,
> > while requiring less
programming. Or would programming
required be
> the
> >
same if more advanced functions were needed e.g. dynamic pos
>
sizing,
> > dynamic risk control etc etc.
> >
> >
Has anyone used tradingblox? and if Amibroker and
Tradingblox were
>
the
> > same price, which one would you prefer?
> >
>
> Lastly is Amibroker generally superior to other software? I
ask
> this
> > as I come from a non-programming background and
would not be
easy
> for
> > me to adapt to diff. software
in future.
> >
> > Thanks in advance any help is
appreciated.
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
Please note that this group is for discussion between users
only.
>
> To get support from AmiBroker please send an e-mail directly
to
> SUPPORT {at} amibroker.com
>
> For other support
material please check also:
> http://www.amibroker.com/support.html
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
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