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Re: [amibroker] Re: Amibroker vs. other software



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 Graham,,
               that was a good read,,,for me,,someone with his head blown apart but i know nothing of excel,
P
                                            


  Sorry, I should have checked that I had replied privately about this AFL
  The code was prepared for customers

  -- 
  Cheers
  Graham
  AB-Write >< Professional AFL Writing Service
  Yes, I write AFL code to your requirements 
  http://www.aflwriting.com 




  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.
    >





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