Re: [amibroker] AmiBroker 4.64.0 BETA released, AmiBroker Email List Archive

AmiBroker 4.64.0 Beta Read Me

November 21, 2004 20:07

THIS IS A BETA VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE. EXPECT BUGS !!!

Backup your data files and entire AmiBroker folder first!
IMPORTANT NOTE: This version uses new system to store indicators (in separate files), so old versions will not automatically "see" indicators created with new version.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

IMPORTANT: This archive is update-only. You have to install full version 4.60 first.

Just run the installer and follow the instructions.

Then run AmiBroker. You should see "AmiBroker 4.64.0 beta" written in the About box.

Many thanks to all providing detailed descriptions how to reproduce given bug.

See CHANGE LOG below for detailed list of changes.

CHANGE LOG

CHANGES FOR VERSION 4.64.0 (as compared to 4.63.1)

QuickAFL is turned ON always
(it does not affect regular AFL code, only may affect some loops and/or plugins but a graceful period of almost 2 years was given to every user to get used to it and adjust the code if necessary, note: if particular formula needs all bars use SetBarsRequired function)
Quick built-in charts is turned ON always
Y-axis drag area is now thinner (to make de-selecting date easier)
resizing dialogs remember not only size but also position
time&sales windows remember size and positions separately for each symbol
time&sales window now uses TimeShift setting from "Intraday Settings" screen
max. trade drawdown stat figure is now also updated at exit price of the max. loss stop
on startup all formulas (built-in and custom) that were stored in broker.charts / broker.bcharts files are now automatically converted to individual AFL files and stored under: Formulas\Old\Built-in
and Formulas\Old\Custom
found and fixed few byte memory leak when using #include
#include can now read from registry using @ character
#include @LastBacktestFormula
will include the formula that was used in last backtest run (useful for custom equity formulas)
Workspace tab control now sizes down without displaying tab scroll bar
all TimeFrame* AFL functions extended to work with N-tick bars too. N-tick intervals are specified by NEGATIVE numbers passed in 'interval' parameter.
So for example:
TimeFrameSet( -10 ); // switch to 10-tick interval
Workspace -> Charts tree now supports file deletion, renaming, creation of new files and folders plus more via Right-mouse button (RMMB) menu. Options available from RMB menu:
- Insert - creates a copy of the selected file, insert _SECTIONS if necessary and inserts charts into new pane
- Insert Linked - just inserts chart into new pane - the pane links directly to selected formula (so if you have more than one pane using the same formula, modifying it will modify the chart in all panes linked to it)
- Overlay - overlays selected formula onto "active" pane. Active pane is the pane you have clicked on recently
- Edit - opens Formula Editor and loads selected file for editing
- Rename - allows to rename formula file
- Delete - deletes the formula (permanently !) - charts panes linked to it will become black
- New->Formula - creates new formula file
- New->Folder - creates new folder
- Refresh - refreshes directory/file tree
Indicator builder removed and replaced by "Formula Editor"
you can now control axis and grid settings from "Parameters" dialog
"Main" chart, "Indicators" and "Other indicators" preference pages removed. Now all charts use new drag & drop system

CHANGES FOR VERSION 4.63.1 (as compared to 4.63.0)

fixed one more multiple-monitor problem with color popup control
Parameters dialog works again in Automatic-Analysis window
new AFL function: ParamTrigger

ParamTrigger( "Name", "Button text")
- to be used in indicator builder - to create triggers (buttons).

If you place ParamTrigger in the indicator code it will create a "button" in Parameter dialog that can be pressed.
Normally ParamTrigger will return zero (0) but when button in the param window is pressed then it will refresh the chart and ParamTrigger will return 1 (one) for this single execution (further refreshes will return zero, until the button is pressed again)

Example:

trigger = ParamTrigger("Place Order", "Click here to place order"); if( trigger ) { // your one-shot code here }
new AFL function: ParamList

ParamList( "Name", "Values", default = 0 )
- generates the parameter that consist of the list of choices (specified in "values" parameter - | or comma separated). default parameter defines ordinal position of the default string value specified in "values" parameter.
Returned value is a STRING representing choosen item.

Example:

OrderType = ParamList("Order Type", "MKT|LMT|STP" );

CHANGES FOR VERSION 4.63.0 (as compared to 4.62.1)

6th parameter for the Param() - sincr - now has correct default value of zero.
trading arrows are correctly aligned again - there was a problem introduced in 4.62.1 with arrows alignment
fixed redraw problem of layers list
new AFL function added:
GetTradingInterface("Name")
- retrieves OLE automation object to automatic trading interface. "Name" is the interface name. You have to have trading interface installed separately to make it work otherwise you will get the error message attempting to use this function. Trading interface for Interactive Brokers will be released separately.
layer list item width is adjusted automatically now when sizing the workspace pane
colour-popup is aware of multiple-monitor configurations now and opens up on correct monitor.
'Arrange' works properly now after 'pane maximize'
added warning message when dropping files to AFL formula window.
added realtime Time&Sales window (View->Time & Sales, or right click over real time quote window)
Standard Edition: only one time & sales window open
Professional Edition: no limits on simultaneously open Time & Sales windows
Note that Time & Sales window requires true tick-by-tick streaming data source (like eSignal) to operate properly. Certain feeds may not provide enough information to allow time&sales window operation. eSignal has been tested and it works fine, as for the others - there will be 'compatibility guide' published soon.
added automatic marking on "show arrows" flag for old-style Price chart
new AFL function (advanced users only)
SetChartOptions( Mode = 0, Flags = 0, gridFlags = chartGridMiddle )
allows to set/clear/overwrite/set defaults for chart pane options
- Mode - specifies how options are set:
  - 0 - set only the DEFAULT values for new chart. Defaults are applied only once when chart is inserted in a new pane, so later you can modify any option using Indicator Builder
  - 1 - overwrite - the values specified in 2nd and 3rd argument overwrite any previously set values
  - 2 - set flag - flags specified in 2nd and 3rd parameter are binary-ORed with the current values, so effectively these options are set while remaining are unchanged
  - 3 - reset flag - flags specified in 3nd and 3rd parameter are cleared while the others remain unchanged.
- Flags - allowable flags are:
  chartShowDates, chartLogarithmic, chartShowArrow
- gridFlags - (for internal AmiBroker use - do not use it in your own coding as this parameter will be eventually removed) allowable values are: chartGridDiv100, chartGridPercent, chartGridDiv1000, chartGridMargins
  chartGridMiddle, chartGrid0, chartGrid30, chartGrid70, chartGrid10, chartGrid90,
  chartGrid50,chartGrid100,chartGrid20,chartGrid80,chartGrid1
  
  Example:
  to mark "Show arrows" by default in a new chart use
  SetChartOptions( 0, chartShowArrows );

CHANGES FOR VERSION 4.62.1 (as compared to 4.62.0)

new AFL function
ParamStyle("name", default = styleLine, mask = maskDefault ) - allows to select the styles applied to plot
new constants:
styleHidden - a combination of styleNoDraw | styleNoRescale
styleDashed - dashed line
to be used with ParamStyle
maskDefault - show thick, dashed, hidden, own scale styles (this is default mask for ParamStyle)
maskAll - show all style flags
maskPrice - show thick, hidden, own scale, candle, bar
maskHistogram - show histogram, thick, hidden, own scale, area
colorCycle - accepted only by ParamColor function as default value, causes that default color cycles through red, blue, green, turquoise, gold, violet, bright green, dark yellow
added new setting in Preferences->Charting "Ask for parameters of newly inserted indicators"
(default = TRUE) ensures that AmiBroker displays parameter dialog when inserting or dropping new indicators
removed obsolete "max number of custom indicators" setting
Param() function accepts 6 parameters now
Param("name", defvalue, min = 0, max = 100, step = 1, sincr = 0 );
(Only for advanced users)
a new parameter sincr is defines the increase of default value when more than one section of the same kind is inserted (dropped) onto the chart
For example:
Periods = Param("Periods", 15, 2, 200, 1, 10 );
Plot( MA( P, Periods ), _DEFAULT_NAME(), ParamColor( "Color", colorCycle ), ParamStyle("Style") );

now when more than one moving average is dropped onto the chart then subsequent moving averages default to 15, 25, 35, 45, ... and so on (starting value is 15, increase per new section is 10)

CHANGES FOR VERSION 4.62.0 (as compared to 4.61.0)

implemented indicator drag and drop mechanism. See video tutorial: http://www.amibroker.net/video/dragdrop1.html
new "Chart" tab in the workspace window (lists all AFL files and directories from "Formulas" subfolder)
Automatic Analysis formula window is now drag&drop target too (you can drag formulas and AFL files onto it)
new AFL special functions used to automatically create formulas from code snipplets dragged onto the the indicator pane.
_SECTION_BEGIN, _SECTION_END, _SECTION_NAME, _DEFAULT_NAME, _PARAM_VALUES
new styleNoTitle causing that given Plot name and values are not included in the title bar of the indicator
new ParamField function allowing to pick price field
new ParamToggle function allowing for boolean (Yes/No) parameters
In Tools->Preferences , Keyboard you can how define single key shortcut for maximizing and restoring chart pane via View : PaneToggle
"Allow mixed EOD/intraday data" switch does not affect N-day bars anymore
Parameters are not reset to default values when changing the formula- user-edited values are kept
new parameters dialog allowing using sections (for example from drag&drop generated code)
parameters dialog displays the items in the order as they appear in the formula
fixed Y-axis scale shrinking problem occuring when styleOwnScale was used for all plots
Insert->Standard Charts, Insert->Custom Indicators menu options removed (now everything is handled by drag & drop) (You can still insert old indicators from Indicator Builder dialog though)

CHANGES FOR VERSION 4.61.0 (as compared to 4.60.4)

custom time interval support extended to N-day bars.

Now you can define N-day bars in Preferences (Intraday tab) as well as you can use N-day bars via TimeFrame functions. For example
TimeFrameSet( 3 * inDaily ); // switch to 3-day time frame

VERY IMPORTANT:
inWeekly constant is now 432001 ( 5*inDaily + 1 ) - in previous version it was 432000
inMonthly constant is now 2160001 ( 25*inDaily + 1 ) - in previous version it was 2160000

It is changed because now N-day custom intervals are supported and they will interfere with weekly/monthly.
Note that 5*inDaily is now DIFFERENT than inWeekly. 5*inDaily creates 5-day bars that DO NOT necesarily cover Monday-Friday
while inWeekly ALWAYS creates bars that begin on Monday and end on Friday. Also 25*inDaily creates 25-day bars that DO NOT necesarily represent full month, while inMonthly always begins with first day of the month and ends at the last day of the month

CAVEAT:
if your code uses hard-coded numbers like 432000 for weekly and 2160000 for monthly then you MUST change your code to use inWeekly constant and inMonthly constant instead.
Study properties dialog has now new checkbox
"Lock position" - when checked study can not be moved or re-sized
ExitAtStop has a new meaning for N-BAR stop type.
If ExitAtStop = 0 then N-bar stop has the lowest priority (so if for example profit target stop is hit on the same bar then profit target is evaluated first)
If ExitAtStop = 1 then N-bar stop has highest priority and it is evaluated before all other stops.
The same effect is obtained by checking "Has priority" box in AA Settings window.
new maximizing/restoring chart pane functionality available via:
View->Pane->Maximize
View->Pane->Restore
as well as via right click menu.

Remember that you can assign your own keyboard shortcuts for that using Tools->Preferences->Keyboard
New drawing tool: Arrow
- draws a line that ends with an arrow
New drawing tool: zig-zag line
draws a series of connected trend lines (Hint: press ESC key to finish the series)
new File functions in AFL:
- fdelete( "filename" ) - deletes file
  "filename" is path to the file name (relative or full path).
  If just file name without path is specified then AmiBroker directory is used, returns TRUE if file successfully deleted, FALSE otherwise
- fmkdir( "dirname" ) - creates (makes) a directory
  "dirname" specifies path of the directory to be created. Please note that this function creates only ONE directory at a time.
  So if you want to create nested directory tree you have to call it multiple times, for example to create C:\MyDirectory\MySubDirectory folder you have to call it twice:
  
  fmkdir( "C:\\MyDirectory" ); fmkdir( "C:\\MyDirectory\\MySubDirectory" );
  
  Note also that it is safe to call it even if directory already exists (then no change to file system is applied)
  Returns TRUE if directory successfully created, FALSE otherwise
- frmdir( "dirname" ) - removes a directory
  "dirname" specifies path of the directory to be removed. Please note that this function removes only ONE directory at a time.
  So if you want to remove nested directory tree you have to call it multiple times, for example:
  
  fmkdir( "C:\\MyDirectory\\MySubDirectory" ); // delete nested subdir first fmkdir( "C:\\MyDirectory" );
  
  Note that directory must be empty before removing it otherwise it will not be possible to remove it.
  Returns TRUE if directory successfully removed, FALSE otherwise

HOW TO REPORT BUGS

If you experience any problem with this beta version please send detailed description of the problem (especially the steps needed to reproduce it) to bugs at amibroker.com