I'd just like to pull an anal, and point out that an API is an Application Programming Interface, and not what this poll is about. Y'all are discussing User Interfaces (UIs), AKA Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), AKA front ends. It's just me, but I keep clicking on these threads looking for a discussion about DDE vs ActiveX. The easy way to understand is to realize that an application uses the Application Programming Interface (API). So if you are not creating an application, you are not dealing with the API. It's probably just me that this bugs, so carry on.
I am in the process of transferring funds to an IB account to trade the E-minis with. I was researching their website and re-learning their platform....years ago when daytrading stocks I used IB. I would like to post this IB link. This link is a listing of the freelance addons (front ends, API or whatever its called) http://www.interactivebrokers.com/i...r.html~top.body I hope this adds a positive addition to this thread. There are other freelance products available other than the popular ones listed here. I voted for NinjaTrader and if I had another handle on ET I would also vote for Buttontrader. It's a toss up for me. Ninja Trader might be getting an influx of traders from Investor R/T Charting program. They recently have cooperated together to intregrate the charting power of I R/T and Ninjatrader together. This would be E-sig powered or any of the other main stream datafeeds. Now I suppose if Buttontrader were to do that with I R/T...the "volume tick presssure thing" might be improved. Has anybody used traderguard Japanese Candlestick Pattern recognition/signal program? Michael B.
Thank you for your detailed explaination on these two products. You convinced me to go for ninja trader at least for the beginning.
Yes, your right. after looking at Button trader, its not easy to figure it out, but looks like somthing unique.May be i don't need it for this moment Thanks again
Look Scientist - I'm not talking about the refresh rate. It's irrelevant whwther it's 0.7 or 0.5 or whatever it is. What I'm talking about is the fact that IB does not distribute a streaming datafeed. That's not false information. It's a FACT and it's not controversial. Snapshot & streaming are two totally different beasts. Whenever IB have been questioned about this, they usually reply that they are in the brokerage business not the datafeed business. Fair enough. The bottom line is that none of these products are receiving 100% of the data coming out of an exchange because they use IB's snapshot datafeed. Se be it - that's the deal when working with IB. However, but some of these products (Button comes to mind) are touted as being highly beneficial because you can do things like tick volume pressure analysis. MY point is this ...how can that be useful if you are missing 20% of the ticks that the exchange are sending out?!! Facts like: - the number of people following the support boards - what kind of datafeed is feeding these products - what kind of developer attitude exists behind each product
TGregg, I am glad you bring this up again. In fact I posted about this right at the start of this thread. I think that it is very important to keep terminology clean. Otherwise we may have to extinguish a state of hopeless confusion at ET later on. nononsense
Bronks, if you're happy with TWS, check out this: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15587
I agree that there is a quickly growing number of so-called Advisor Accounts out there (trading more than one account) and none of these platforms seem to be serving their needs (API 7.3 and implementing the Advisor-messages). Opportunity is knocking!
I agree. The subject of this thread is misleading. The poster wanted to discuss the merits of the different front-end products to IB, not the API itself. It would be helpful if a moderator changed the name of the thread's subject. In fact, I think the original poster can request that it be edited if he sends an email to Lord Baron requesting so. Call it something like: "Which is the best order management program for IB?". That header should get more people who use these products onto the thread and voting. Just one thing though ...could someone please tell the Buttontrader guys that they are only allowed to vote ONCE(!) and that its developer can't register more than 3 usernames a day!!