Anyone use the new socket-based DDE API? Thoughts?

The old DDE API + Excel gave me a ton of headaches, but I was stuck using it because the RTD API proved completely unusable for other reasons.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that IB rolled out a new socket-based DDE API earlier this year (since I'd always been told by IB that DDE was an old technology they were sunsetting and no longer providing support for.) Was wondering if anyone's used it and what your thoughts are...is it heads-and-shoulders better performance-wise than the prior DDE? I asked support reps just what had been added/improved in the new version, but they were unable to give me specifics, so thought I'd ask here.

Link to IB knowledge base article on the new DDE here:
https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/dde_intro.html

 

This is interesting. How do they do this?

 

Anyone? Guess not? Strange, figured a lot of folks would use the DDE API and have been eager to try this new update, but guess not(?)

 

I've been using the DDE socket bridge API for a few months. I believe it has some advantages. You are not limited to running 32 bit TWS. You can also have multiple connections (client IDs) via the Gateway; e.g. you can have the DDE socket bridge and NinjaTrader running simultaneously from the Gateway socket port. Last time I tried I was not able to do that from the TWS socket port. Performance wise, running DDE socket bridge from the Gateway has been noticeably faster and more reliable than running it from 64 bit TWS, or using 32 bit TWS for direct DDE. But this is probably just because TWS is such a hog (relative to the Gateway) as opposed to any difference in the DDE connection itself.

 

Thanks for reply; was surprised there hadn't been any responses, since I'd have thought that plenty of DDE users would have been clamoring to try the new one -- only reason I hadn't is because of how complex my workbook is and I wanted a sense of whether it would be worth the week+ it would take me to convert it. (Their documentation states that it's fully backwards-compatible with prior DDE formulas, but would still take me quite a bit of time.)

Yes, I'm stuck with 32-bit TWS (required for legacy DDE), and not sure whether there'd be a noticeable difference based solely on ability to use 64-bit TWS. Support reps have suggested there probably wouldn't be (but they're often un-informed.)

As for the TWS vs Gateway distinction, FWIW when I tested it in the past, I found absolutely no performance difference in my Excel workbook between using the full-fledged (32-bit) TWS and using the much smaller Gateway; hardly conclusive, but it didn't seem to do much for me.