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Sorry, I should have checked that I had replied privately about this AFL
The code was prepared for customers
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Graham
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On 17/10/06, brian.z123 <brian.z123@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Hello Jlami11,
>
> The virtues of AB are often extolled in this forum (along with the
> vices) but I don't think I have seen a post that even goes close to
> doing it justice.
> Tomasz is too modest to list all the good points in one place
> himself, although God knows that after 100k posts it is well overdue.
> Here is my attempt that will have to suffice until bettered.
>
> *******************************************************************
> Conclusion:
>
> The bad news is that it takes a lot of patience to master AmiBroker,
> especially for those who are not seasoned traders/programmers.
> The good new is that it is worth the effort.
> If there is a better program out there Tomasz would have known about
> it a long time ago ;-)
>
> (If you are in a hurry skip to list at the bottom of the post).
>
> *******************************************************************
>
> An interesting question.
> As a relatively new Ami user I can empathise with you.
> Keep in mind that there is no *holy grail* of software or anything
> else in trading.
> Also my only intention is to offer help to you and give credit to
> AmiBroker where it is due.
>
> What you are really asking is; "Will AmiBroker be worth the time I
> will have to put in to learn it, will I be capable of learning it
> and what will I be able to do with it when I am competent?",
> (that is like looking for your glasses!).
> Ultimately you are the only one who can answer that.
>
> You need to clarify how serious you are about trading and clearly
> state your trading objectives to yourself first.
> I am continually amazed by the number of people who come into this
> forum and who, presumably, want to be winning traders, but obviously
> do not have a winning attitude (I am not suggesting that is you. I
> am simply providing some context to my comments).
> If that is the case they can not blame the software for their
> eventual and inevitable failure.
>
>
> My experiences may provide some guideance for you.
>
> I am a non-programmer, non-mathematician and a self-taught computer
> layperson.
> I do not have a tertiary education.
> I am probably of above average intelligence but I don't know exactly
> where I am on that line and I have no interest in finding out.
> Fortunately I do have abilities and talents of some kind that get me
> by, althoguh I am not sure exactly what they are either.
>
> Four years ago I had zero experience in investment of any kind when
> I set myself very high investment goals.
> I will rephrase the last part; I knew specifically what I wanted to
> achieve as an investor (if the format would allow it I would bold or
> underline specifically, as in, the % return I am going to get and
> the hours per week I am going to get it in).
> After the intitial learning phase I also quickly identified what
> investment styles I *believed* in and which ones suited my personal
> characterstics and objectives e.g. I don't want to spend hours
> reading company reports, financials etc so I went away from that
> type of trading.
> Once again I would underline *belief* and *personal characteristics*.
>
> In short, when I bought AB I knew why I was buying it.
> At that stage I had already settled on *trading* as my chosen
> primary investment vehicle and I also had a definite trading style.
> I wanted to use AB as the tool to develop and implement that on a
> wider scale.
> I am continually improving and growing so I never say never as far
> as trading goes but so far nothing I have learnt in AmiWorld has
> changed my view on trading; it has simply confirmed and enhanced it.
>
> I didn't know exactly what I was getting with AB but I did exchange
> a couple of emails with support in which I discussed the capability
> of AB in the key areas of my interest.
> My questions were somewhat naive, and Tomasz probably scratched his
> head a little, but he gave me a professional reply.
> Specifically I enquired about customising my own stops and one or
> two other similar questions, as I do not trade in anything I don't
> understand.
> If I can code it myself I definitely understand it.
>
> I had also found that what passes as folklore in common investment
> culture more often than not does not stand up to analysis, so I
> prefer to go my own way; no *canned* anything for me.
>
> My conclusion was that on the balance of probability AB would do the
> job. I also formed a favourable impression of the CEO/developer i.e.
> he was obviously no dummy with an exceptional empathy for his users
> and that is an important thing when buying and using trading
> software.
> You have to have confidence.
> (That wasn't too bad an assessment based on two short emails was it?
> Time has proven that to be spot on).
>
> Like all products, only long term ownership will provide a complete
> answer to buyer satisfaction, so I went ahead and purchased.
> I am quite used to spending money on dead leads etc; that is normal
> business practise and I consider it to be a part of development
> costs.
> I didn't hesitate to spend USD$199 on Ami.
> Like any business, there was no guarentee that cost would ever be
> recouped. That is not to mention the intellectual capital invested
> e.g. my first 2 trading years and $15000 were purely speculative
> ventures, until I reached a point where I was able to prove to
> myself that, compared to the majority, I was quite good at it.
>
> For the record my trading disposition is objective, mechanical
> system, TA based, but I do keep an open mind and will snap up
> anything that works.
> I consider myself to be a developing trader.
> It is not something that can be mastered in a few hundred or even a
> few thousand hours; not from my background anyway.
>
>
> I could write a book on the subject, and I might one day, but to cut
> to the chase.
>
> I have used a lot of other market programs but my experience is
> lightweight compared to some in this group.
> I will benchmark my comments against the last program I used, which
> was one of the majors.
> I was very happy with it in every respect until after 1000's of
> hours of commitment to learning it, I found it couldn't actually do
> what I really needed it to.
> The backtester didn't work, at least not the way I expected it too,
> and at that time my expectations were not as high as they are now.
>
> I managed to jig around that problem by using the programs explorer
> as a psuedo-backtester and exporting the results to Xcel for
> analysis.
> I was proud of myself, as a non-programmer, for achieving that.
> I set up four older computers with a KVM switch as my test-bank and
> reeled off a few thousand hours of backtesting until I simply came
> to the end of the line, fullstop.
> Why stuff around with homemade backtesters when there are
> professionals writing and maintaining them for a living?
>
> Hence AmiBroker, which incidentally was recommended to me by the
> developer of a quite well known money management program.
>
> It was very hard to have to start all over again in a new program,
> especially after being able to use the old one fluently.
> The first 3 months of Ami were very de-motivating.
> I found it to be a hard program to learn and I had to grit my teeth
> more than a few times.
> One of the reasons it is hard to learn is that it has a lot more
> depth and breadth than my previous program.
> That automatically demands more learning time.
> It also has a different business model to what most of us have come
> to expect e.g the manual in AB is not a textbook that is posted in
> the mail nor is it merely the help files.
> The *manual* in Ami is dynamic and offers a lot more than help files
> but it is also less structured.
> It also leaves out a few bits and pieces here and there that a lot
> of beginners would expect to find.
> I am comfortable with that but some people aren't.
> It is not a good system for beginners but it is a great system for
> seasoned performers.
> Why begrudge them that; they are entitled to their place in the
> world?
> I guess in a way, that makes Ami a boutique program, although I am
> sure Tomasz will correct me if that is wrong.
> My attitude is; "if you can't beat them join them".
> I am playing catch-up at a furious rate.
>
>
> My trading objectives are very high.
> I bought AB in the belief that it was the program most likely to
> enable me to meet those objectives.
> I have had the program approx 6 months and have spent a lot of hours
> per week on it.
> I don't have the definitive answer but so far AB has not
> disappointed.
> The ultimate responsibility is not on Tomasz's shoulders, it is on
> mine.
> Initially Tomasz answered my *buying* questions and provided a free
> trial.
> It was my decision to buy.
> Let the buyer beware.
>
>
> I am continually learning and improving so the things I want to do
> in the future may well be different from my current expectations but
> I am confident Ami will accommodate my growth.
> I have said that if I don't achieve my trading goals with Ami there
> will not be another program, which is my way of saying that Ami is
> good enough if I am good enough.
> I do have a cut off point and I will retire my trading career if I
> retire Ami.
>
> I won't look back and list the negatives of other programs.
> I will not list the negatives of AmiBroker either (I am into
> positivity) although I will say it is not perfect.
>
> ******************************************************************
>
> My list of AB positives (not in any particular order):
>
> 1. price
> 2. *fully* customiseable
> 3. distant horizon (most traders will never exceed its ability.
> Those who do exceed AB's limits don't mind sharing their
> knowledge and Tomasz doesn't like coming second so that should tell
> you something).
> 4. transparent and controllable
> 5. honest dialogue
> 6. ethical company
> 7. allows use with a wide range of data providers
> 8. cheap and free data options for those who need that
> 9. trading orientated program (truly for traders by traders)
> 10. trading friendships
> 11. trading mentorships
> 12. active forum with a sprinkling of diverse specialists
> 13. quick responses to program 'bugs'
> 14. 24-48 hour support
> 15. rapid pace of development
> 16. responsive to suggestions
> 17. extensive support material albeit hard to find at first
> 18. open architecture
> 19. personal contact with CEO
> 20. CEO accepts and answers criticism in public
> 21. trading specific programming language (you don't need to learn
> C++ etc just learn AFL. If that is your first language it will be a
> challenge but I am doing it. I only read half a dummies book,
> quarter of an online manual on scripting and a bit of Wikipedia here
> and there and away I went. My prior formula language and backtesting
> experience does help though).
> 22. the last market software program I will ever have to master
> 23. challenging
> 24. offers trading opportunities I hadn't thought of before
> 25. good rapport with and respect for the developer
> 26. provides easy access to basic fundamental data in formulas
> 27. provides access to unlimited external database (especially
> useful for referencing extensive fundamental databases)
> 28. cheap and reliable *industry standard* charting program for
> those who just want that
> 29. time efficient (there are no unneccessary frills anywhere in
> Amiworld. If anything there are probably not enough frills depending
> on who you ask).
> 30. mature program (10+ years)
> 31. extensive library (official and unofficial) of popular industry
> indicators etc
> 32. licenced to use on more than one machine
> 33. speed
> 34. 64 bit and dual core processors not a future problem?
> 35. backward compatibility not a problem?
> 36. has trading orientated functions the others do not have?
> 37. array based processing which is a very *commonsense* approach
> for laypeople. Use is analagous to Xcel spreadsheet rows except for
> more advanced uses where programming procedures like looping come
> into play (when you can see your code output being written into Xcel
> rows in your minds eye you are nearly there).
> I have spent a lot of time in Xcel prior to AB so that helps me to
> step into AFL. If you are good with Xcel functions you will
> definitely be good with AFL.
> 38. industry standard *canned scans* are easily achievable with
> simple code
> 39. It is a very pragmatic program e.g I have 5-10 tasks on my
> advanced list that are industry wide trader breakers. I have already
> cracked two or three of those in Ami without even getting out of
> second gear and I am optimistic about the rest (Null data handling,
> custom indexes and survivor bias are the first three demons to bite
> the dust).
> 40. readily perform trainging examples and problem solve using
> explorer.
> 41. ASCII import for the data masochists
>
> In short it does exactly what the publicity blurb on the homepage
> says it will do, and more!
>
>
> There are probably additional postives but a mint tea and a bowl of
> muesli is calling.
>
> BrianB2. =8-)
>
> P.S Tomasz, this doesn't provide you future immunity from my
> withering critiques.
>
> --- In amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "jlami11" <jlami11@xxx> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I just wanted to know how Amibroker compares to other software.
> >
> > In particular I heard tradingblox was pretty good and could do
> alot,
> > while requiring less programming. Or would programming required be
> the
> > same if more advanced functions were needed e.g. dynamic pos
> sizing,
> > dynamic risk control etc etc.
> >
> > Has anyone used tradingblox? and if Amibroker and Tradingblox were
> the
> > same price, which one would you prefer?
> >
> > Lastly is Amibroker generally superior to other software? I ask
> this
> > as I come from a non-programming background and would not be easy
> for
> > me to adapt to diff. software in future.
> >
> > Thanks in advance any help is appreciated.
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> Please note that this group is for discussion between users only.
>
> To get support from AmiBroker please send an e-mail directly to
> SUPPORT {at} amibroker.com
>
> For other support material please check also:
> http://www.amibroker.com/support.html
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
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