I have a simple mechanical trading method that I've tested to be relatively profitible. It uses one minute bars, the slope of a moving average and moving average channels. It's almost impossible for me to trade manually. To do that I would have to watch the computer constantly for hours on end waiting for the split second that an opportunity arose. I would like to code the system into a charting program and have it send buy/sell signals to NinjaTrader. Then I could leave the program run for a few days sending orders to Ninjatrader in simulation mode. If after a week, everything worked well and it was profitible all I would have to do is to switch Ninjatrader to the real trading mode. I have both Metastock 8.0 and Tradestation 2000i but I'm not sure which one I should try to learn to program. Would anyone recommend either program? I've read that Tradestation is more powerful but it might be a lot easier for me to learn Metastock.
Why don't you try IRT by Linnsoft. I believe they even have a tutorial on automated trading with Ninjatrader. Look at http://www.linnsoft.com/autotrading/index.htm Might be what you are looking for?
I can only say that Metastock is much easier to write code for but doesn't have near the power of the TradeStation 2000i Easy Language. You can use other programming languages by writing in a dll for Metastock, however.
Which data feed are/will you be using for TradeStation? How would a couple of bad *way* off bad ticks affect your system in real time?
I am looking for the right software too. At this stage I can say don't consider MetaStock. We bought it and quickly reached the limit of what you can do. When I started my journey I was convinced that I will buy Trade Station. Now, after doing some intensive research I am looking at other software. From my reading I firmly believe that you need to be able to have a good money management feature and that it would test it on a portfolio. I looked at TradeStation in combination with RINA and I must say I was very disapointed. I just downloaded NeoTicker since I was told it has this feature.
Stay away from Investor RT, you will spend more time managing your database then you will viewing charts.
I would use Interactive Brokers data to feed either Tradestation or Metastock. I have that set up to work with Hyperserver: http://www.hypertrader.it A couple of bad ticks would throw my system off yes but I haven't seen many problems with the feed from IB. I was starting to look now at Ensign Software as well. It would be more expensive initially at $40 a month. I have Tradestation 2000i already but once it became outdated I would have to subscribe to newer versions for $200 a month. I was reading that Easylanguage is really not that easy and I'm not able to register with Tradestation so I can't access the user forums for information. I've found some things about Ensign a little buggy. However last week I found a bug with the beta version of Ensign for IB. I wrote them and that same day they issued a new version with a fix for the bug. I've also read that ESPL from Ensign is similar to some other popular programming languages whereas Easylanguage is a language by itself. So what you learn with Easylanguage can only be used with Tradestation. Metastock looks good but I don't see very much at all about using it for automated trading. I've read about people using Ensign with Futures Trader, Ninja Trader and Bracket Trader for automated trading. Before I spend months learning to program I want to make sure that I make the best choice for software. I'm leaning more and more towards Ensign.
Ensign programming language is pascal, it is very difficult to learn, nothing like metastock. One line of code for metastock, would equal 50 line of code for Ensign pascal language. BTW I am also using Ensign for IB. I keep things very very very simple, and have no need to program.
I stopped using MetaStock RT, most times CPU would be at 100%. Switched to NeoTicker, CPU usage for same charts dropped to 15%. And has incredible scripting/program flexibility.
Sam, If you already have TS2000i and the system is reasonably simple as you say, then I think you should at least give it a try. While some would say that 2000i is "outdated", it is usually by those with an interest in you subscribing to their new product. I use 2000i for everything I do. I have not used IB's data because I use tick based charts and understand that IB does not send out every tick, so I am using IQFeed with the Hyperserver. But if your system is not dependent on that, then why pay more for something if you don't need it? As far as coding goes, it wouldn't be nearly as hard to learn EasyLanguage as it would to learn some of the mutant languages that are out there, unless you come from a programming background. I have not automated anything with NinjaTrader, but I have read through the documentation and it seems simple enough with 2000i. They have some sample code on their website. Let me know if you have any questions about EL and I will help you if I can. Whatever you do, make sure you have thought of every possibility before turning on an auto trade machine. Test, test, and test some more. Good luck.