Im currently trading certain strategies where I stream quotes into Open Office Calculator and then trade on given signals that I generate from the program. Simple example: If C3 > 2% = BUY. I wanna step up in volume, so I want to learn how to convert my signals in Open Office Calc (or similar program) to actual limit orders that goes to my broker. Is it a waste of time trying to automate if I dont have a programming background, or is it something that I can learn if I give it some time? In that case. Where do I start? What books/articles should I read? What program is most convenient to use? etc.
The answer depends somewhat on what you trade. If it is stocks, forex or futures, then you could give NinjaTrader a try. The programming capabilites of their language - NinjaScript - are pretty good, and it comes with a wizard for creating a NinjaScript program that lets you automate trading without writing a line of code - if your algorithms are not too sophisticated. Also, NT is free for simulated trading.
Although pretty elementary compared to what major players use, Ninjatrader is what I use. Your advantage if you are still small is that you can get in and out of a trade in an instant without any major adverse effect to your position. Big money cannot. Creating an automated strat is not a walk in the park . It's a walk through hell before you finally get to some realistic and satisfactory results
most people give up trying to program within a couple days. If you actually try and do not give up within a week then you will become at least an OK programmer. Once you get the basics of programming down... loops, if/else, variables; you can pretty much automate a lot.
What broker/platform do you use? What operating system do you run? Since you're already using Open Office Calc, using macros in excel might be a good place to start depending on the broker.
Firstly you have to check what automation tools provides your broker. it is waste of time to automate if you don't knwo if your broker can run your automation tools.