I will program any kind of trading-related Java project. I focused on the Java language since its release and have a 5+ years experience in Java programming. Before moving to trading, I worked as a Java developer and was involved in many Java projects, some in the financial field, including some massively multithreaded (simultaneously executing) code, which can be very useful in trading. Recently, I've done my own integrated backtesting/optimization/automated trading program (a 28000+ lines Java project) which can generate and trade many systems simultaneously on the Forex. However, I'm undercapitalized for my strategy so I'm temporarily offering Java programming skills until I have solved that problem. Concerning automation : for sophisticated trading systems, the productive, safe and open Java language is a lot better than some proprietary, cryptic, poorly designed language. Then you can freely run your program anywhere without being locked in a single company's environment. Many brokers offer a Java API (notably, IB with their TWS or Oanda for currencies) and any imaginable system and features can be implemented in Java to trade anything on any market in any way, be it automated, semi-automated or as a custom indicator/interface for discretionary trading.
For cost-related questions : here it would rather be fixed per project rather than hourly I think. Anyone interested plz send me an email to fxbot@hush.com (or PM) with a few details about your project so I can have a rough idea of the type, environment, complexity, etc and time required. Java can interact with C++ via the JNI mechanism (Java Native Interface) but it's not a straightforward process and breaks Java's portability. It would be a lot better to use your broker's Java API, if he has one... As an IDE I mostly use Eclipse 3.1. Usually with Java, the IDE is not an issue as it's not specific to any environment. But if needed, I can move to an other IDE, that's not a problem.