MQL5 Programming Articles

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Study the MQL5 language for programming trading strategies in numerous published articles mostly written by you - the community members. The articles are grouped into categories to help you quicker find answers to any questions related to programming: Integration, Tester, Trading Strategies, etc.

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CCI indicator. Three transformation steps
CCI indicator. Three transformation steps

CCI indicator. Three transformation steps

In this article, I will make additional changes to the CCI affecting the very logic of this indicator. Moreover, we will be able to see it in the main chart window.
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Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 13): Minimizing The Lag in Moving Average Cross-Overs

Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 13): Minimizing The Lag in Moving Average Cross-Overs

Moving average cross-overs are widely known by traders in our community, and yet the core of the strategy has changed very little since its inception. In this discussion, we will present you with a slight adjustment to the original strategy, that aims to minimize the lag present in the trading strategy. All fans of the original strategy, could consider revising the strategy in accordance with the insights we will discuss today. By using 2 moving averages with the same period, we reduce the lag in the trading strategy considerably, without violating the foundational principles of the strategy.
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Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 22): New order system (V)

Developing a trading Expert Advisor from scratch (Part 22): New order system (V)

Today we will continue to develop the new order system. It is not that easy to implement a new system as we often encounter problems which greatly complicate the process. When these problems appear, we have to stop and re-analyze the direction in which we are moving.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 48): Bill Williams Alligator

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 48): Bill Williams Alligator

The Alligator Indicator, which was the brain child of Bill Williams, is a versatile trend identification indicator that yields clear signals and is often combined with other indicators. The MQL5 wizard classes and assembly allow us to test a variety of signals on a pattern basis, and so we consider this indicator as well.
Electronic Tables in MQL5
Electronic Tables in MQL5

Electronic Tables in MQL5

The article describes a class of dynamic two-dimensional array that contains data of different types in its first dimension. Storing data in the form of a table is convenient for solving a wide range of problems of arrangement, storing and operation with bound information of different types. The source code of the class that implements the functionality of working with tables is attached to the article.
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Category Theory in MQL5 (Part 1)

Category Theory in MQL5 (Part 1)

Category Theory is a diverse and expanding branch of Mathematics which as of yet is relatively uncovered in the MQL community. These series of articles look to introduce and examine some of its concepts with the overall goal of establishing an open library that attracts comments and discussion while hopefully furthering the use of this remarkable field in Traders' strategy development.
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The Kalman Filter for Forex Mean-Reversion Strategies

The Kalman Filter for Forex Mean-Reversion Strategies

The Kalman filter is a recursive algorithm used in algorithmic trading to estimate the true state of a financial time series by filtering out noise from price movements. It dynamically updates predictions based on new market data, making it valuable for adaptive strategies like mean reversion. This article first introduces the Kalman filter, covering its calculation and implementation. Next, we apply the filter to a classic mean-reversion forex strategy as an example. Finally, we conduct various statistical analyses by comparing the filter with a moving average across different forex pairs.
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Implementing the Deus EA: Automated Trading with RSI and Moving Averages in MQL5

Implementing the Deus EA: Automated Trading with RSI and Moving Averages in MQL5

This article outlines the steps to implement the Deus EA based on the RSI and Moving Average indicators for guiding automated trading.
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Building a Trading System (Part 1): A Quantitative Approach

Building a Trading System (Part 1): A Quantitative Approach

Many traders evaluate strategies based on short-term performance, often abandoning profitable systems too early. Long-term profitability, however, depends on positive expectancy through optimized win rate and risk-reward ratio, along with disciplined position sizing. These principles can be validated using Monte Carlo simulation in Python with back-tested metrics to assess whether a strategy is robust or likely to fail over time.
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How to Create an Interactive MQL5 Dashboard/Panel Using the Controls Class (Part 2): Adding Button Responsiveness

How to Create an Interactive MQL5 Dashboard/Panel Using the Controls Class (Part 2): Adding Button Responsiveness

In this article, we focus on transforming our static MQL5 dashboard panel into an interactive tool by enabling button responsiveness. We explore how to automate the functionality of the GUI components, ensuring they react appropriately to user clicks. By the end of the article, we establish a dynamic interface that enhances user engagement and trading experience.
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DoEasy. Controls (Part 13): Optimizing interaction of WinForms objects with the mouse, starting the development of the TabControl WinForms object

DoEasy. Controls (Part 13): Optimizing interaction of WinForms objects with the mouse, starting the development of the TabControl WinForms object

In this article, I will fix and optimize handling the appearance of WinForms objects after moving the mouse cursor away from the object, as well as start the development of the TabControl WinForms object.
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Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 13): RSI Sentinel Tool

Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 13): RSI Sentinel Tool

Price action can be effectively analyzed by identifying divergences, with technical indicators such as the RSI providing crucial confirmation signals. In the article below, we explain how automated RSI divergence analysis can identify trend continuations and reversals, thereby offering valuable insights into market sentiment.
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From Novice to Expert: Trading the RSI with Market Structure Awareness

From Novice to Expert: Trading the RSI with Market Structure Awareness

In this article, we will explore practical techniques for trading the Relative Strength Index (RSI) oscillator with market structure. Our focus will be on channel price action patterns, how they are typically traded, and how MQL5 can be leveraged to enhance this process. By the end, you will have a rule-based, automated channel-trading system designed to capture trend continuation opportunities with greater precision and consistency.
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Deep Learning GRU model with Python to ONNX  with EA, and GRU vs LSTM models

Deep Learning GRU model with Python to ONNX with EA, and GRU vs LSTM models

We will guide you through the entire process of DL with python to make a GRU ONNX model, culminating in the creation of an Expert Advisor (EA) designed for trading, and subsequently comparing GRU model with LSTM model.
Marvel Your MQL5 Customers with a Usable Cocktail of Technologies!
Marvel Your MQL5 Customers with a Usable Cocktail of Technologies!

Marvel Your MQL5 Customers with a Usable Cocktail of Technologies!

MQL5 provides programmers with a very complete set of functions and object-oriented API thanks to which they can do everything they want within the MetaTrader environment. However, Web Technology is an extremely versatile tool nowadays that may come to the rescue in some situations when you need to do something very specific, want to marvel your customers with something different or simply you do not have enough time to master a specific part of MT5 Standard Library. Today's exercise walks you through a practical example about how you can manage your development time at the same time as you also create an amazing tech cocktail.
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Data Science and Machine Learning (Part 12): Can Self-Training Neural Networks Help You Outsmart the Stock Market?

Data Science and Machine Learning (Part 12): Can Self-Training Neural Networks Help You Outsmart the Stock Market?

Are you tired of constantly trying to predict the stock market? Do you wish you had a crystal ball to help you make more informed investment decisions? Self-trained neural networks might be the solution you've been looking for. In this article, we explore whether these powerful algorithms can help you "ride the wave" and outsmart the stock market. By analyzing vast amounts of data and identifying patterns, self-trained neural networks can make predictions that are often more accurate than human traders. Discover how you can use this cutting-edge technology to maximize your profits and make smarter investment decisions.
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Experiments with neural networks (Part 5): Normalizing inputs for passing to a neural network

Experiments with neural networks (Part 5): Normalizing inputs for passing to a neural network

Neural networks are an ultimate tool in traders' toolkit. Let's check if this assumption is true. MetaTrader 5 is approached as a self-sufficient medium for using neural networks in trading. A simple explanation is provided.
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MQL5 Wizard techniques you should know (Part 03): Shannon's Entropy

MQL5 Wizard techniques you should know (Part 03): Shannon's Entropy

Todays trader is a philomath who is almost always looking up new ideas, trying them out, choosing to modify them or discard them; an exploratory process that should cost a fair amount of diligence. These series of articles will proposition that the MQL5 wizard should be a mainstay for traders.
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Automating Trading Strategies in MQL5 (Part 30): Creating a Price Action AB-CD Harmonic Pattern with Visual Feedback

Automating Trading Strategies in MQL5 (Part 30): Creating a Price Action AB-CD Harmonic Pattern with Visual Feedback

In this article, we develop an AB=CD Pattern EA in MQL5 that identifies bullish and bearish AB=CD harmonic patterns using pivot points and Fibonacci ratios, executing trades with precise entry, stop loss, and take-profit levels. We enhance trader insight with visual feedback through chart objects.
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How to add Trailing Stop using Parabolic SAR

How to add Trailing Stop using Parabolic SAR

When creating a trading strategy, we need to test a variety of protective stop options. Here is where a dynamic pulling up of the Stop Loss level following the price comes to mind. The best candidate for this is the Parabolic SAR indicator. It is difficult to think of anything simpler and visually clearer.
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Build Self Optimizing Expert Advisors With MQL5 And Python

Build Self Optimizing Expert Advisors With MQL5 And Python

In this article, we will discuss how we can build Expert Advisors capable of autonomously selecting and changing trading strategies based on prevailing market conditions. We will learn about Markov Chains and how they can be helpful to us as algorithmic traders.
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Creating an MQL5-Telegram Integrated Expert Advisor (Part 5): Sending Commands from Telegram to MQL5 and Receiving Real-Time Responses

Creating an MQL5-Telegram Integrated Expert Advisor (Part 5): Sending Commands from Telegram to MQL5 and Receiving Real-Time Responses

In this article, we create several classes to facilitate real-time communication between MQL5 and Telegram. We focus on retrieving commands from Telegram, decoding and interpreting them, and sending appropriate responses back. By the end, we ensure that these interactions are effectively tested and operational within the trading environment
Using Assertions in MQL5 Programs
Using Assertions in MQL5 Programs

Using Assertions in MQL5 Programs

This article covers the use of assertions in MQL5 language. It provides two examples of the assertion mechanism and some general guidance for implementing assertions.
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Multiple indicators on one chart (Part 03): Developing definitions for users

Multiple indicators on one chart (Part 03): Developing definitions for users

Today we will update the functionality of the indicator system for the first time. In the previous article within the "Multiple indicators on one chart" we considered the basic code which allows using more than one indicator in a chart subwindow. But what was presented was just the starting base of a much larger system.
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Mastering Fair Value Gaps: Formation, Logic, and Automated Trading with Breakers and Market Structure Shifts

Mastering Fair Value Gaps: Formation, Logic, and Automated Trading with Breakers and Market Structure Shifts

This is an article that I have written aimed to expound and explain Fair Value Gaps, their formation logic for occurring, and automated trading with breakers and market structure shifts.
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Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 02): First experiments (II)

Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 02): First experiments (II)

This time, let's try a different approach to achieve the 1 minute goal. However, this task is not as simple as one might think.
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Automating The Market Sentiment Indicator

Automating The Market Sentiment Indicator

In this article, we automate a custom market sentiment indicator that classifies market conditions into bullish, bearish, risk-on, risk-off, and neutral. The Expert Advisor delivers real-time insights into prevailing sentiment while streamlining the analysis process for current market trends or direction.
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Data Science and Machine Learning (Part 07): Polynomial Regression

Data Science and Machine Learning (Part 07): Polynomial Regression

Unlike linear regression, polynomial regression is a flexible model aimed to perform better at tasks the linear regression model could not handle, Let's find out how to make polynomial models in MQL5 and make something positive out of it.
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Improve Your Trading Charts With Interactive GUI's in MQL5 (Part I): Movable GUI (I)

Improve Your Trading Charts With Interactive GUI's in MQL5 (Part I): Movable GUI (I)

Unleash the power of dynamic data representation in your trading strategies or utilities with our comprehensive guide on creating movable GUI in MQL5. Dive into the core concept of chart events and learn how to design and implement simple and multiple movable GUI on the same chart. This article also explores the process of adding elements to your GUI, enhancing their functionality and aesthetic appeal.
Better Programmer (Part 03): Give Up doing these 5 things to become a successful MQL5 Programmer
Better Programmer (Part 03): Give Up doing these 5 things to become a successful MQL5 Programmer

Better Programmer (Part 03): Give Up doing these 5 things to become a successful MQL5 Programmer

This is the must-read article for anyone wanting to improve their programming career. This article series is aimed at making you the best programmer you can possibly be, no matter how experienced you are. The discussed ideas work for MQL5 programming newbies as well as professionals.
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Trend strength and direction indicator on 3D bars

Trend strength and direction indicator on 3D bars

We will consider a new approach to market trend analysis based on three-dimensional visualization and tensor analysis of the market microstructure.
Prices in DoEasy library (part 59): Object to store data of one tick
Prices in DoEasy library (part 59): Object to store data of one tick

Prices in DoEasy library (part 59): Object to store data of one tick

From this article on, start creating library functionality to work with price data. Today, create an object class which will store all price data which arrived with yet another tick.
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Building AI-Powered Trading Systems in MQL5 (Part 2): Developing a ChatGPT-Integrated Program with User Interface

Building AI-Powered Trading Systems in MQL5 (Part 2): Developing a ChatGPT-Integrated Program with User Interface

In this article, we develop a ChatGPT-integrated program in MQL5 with a user interface, leveraging the JSON parsing framework from Part 1 to send prompts to OpenAI’s API and display responses on a MetaTrader 5 chart. We implement a dashboard with an input field, submit button, and response display, handling API communication and text wrapping for user interaction.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 16): Practical use of clustering

Neural networks made easy (Part 16): Practical use of clustering

In the previous article, we have created a class for data clustering. In this article, I want to share variants of the possible application of obtained results in solving practical trading tasks.
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Moral expectation in trading

Moral expectation in trading

This article is about moral expectation. We will look at several examples of its use in trading, as well as the results that can be achieved with its help.
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Data Science and Machine Learning (Part 06): Gradient Descent

Data Science and Machine Learning (Part 06): Gradient Descent

The gradient descent plays a significant role in training neural networks and many machine learning algorithms. It is a quick and intelligent algorithm despite its impressive work it is still misunderstood by a lot of data scientists let's see what it is all about.
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Parallel Particle Swarm Optimization

Parallel Particle Swarm Optimization

The article describes a method of fast optimization using the particle swarm algorithm. It also presents the method implementation in MQL, which is ready for use both in single-threaded mode inside an Expert Advisor and in a parallel multi-threaded mode as an add-on that runs on local tester agents.
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Neural networks made easy (Part 67): Using past experience to solve new tasks

Neural networks made easy (Part 67): Using past experience to solve new tasks

In this article, we continue discussing methods for collecting data into a training set. Obviously, the learning process requires constant interaction with the environment. However, situations can be different.
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Data label for time series  mining(Part 1):Make a dataset with trend markers through the EA operation chart

Data label for time series mining(Part 1):Make a dataset with trend markers through the EA operation chart

This series of articles introduces several time series labeling methods, which can create data that meets most artificial intelligence models, and targeted data labeling according to needs can make the trained artificial intelligence model more in line with the expected design, improve the accuracy of our model, and even help the model make a qualitative leap!
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Classification models in the Scikit-Learn library and their export to ONNX

Classification models in the Scikit-Learn library and their export to ONNX

In this article, we will explore the application of all classification models available in the Scikit-Learn library to solve the classification task of Fisher's Iris dataset. We will attempt to convert these models into ONNX format and utilize the resulting models in MQL5 programs. Additionally, we will compare the accuracy of the original models with their ONNX versions on the full Iris dataset.