Re: [amibroker] Re: AFL 101, AmiBroker Email List Archive

Thanks Keith

I'll be looking into that.

Thanks so much for sharing

From: Keith McCombs <kmccombs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 11:26:36 PM
Subject: Re: [amibroker] Re: AFL 101

Louies --
I read your recent question regarding IQ feed and your wanting to view different time frames. So, let's kill two birds with one stone.

1. Download AB User Guide in .pdf format, and go to page 178 for "Multiple Time Frame support in AFL". Read the first page and copy the first example code.

2. Open AB's editor and paste the code into it. Click on the check mark in upper right corner of Editor for AFL to check it for you.

3. Save the code in the custom folder.

4. Using either menu Tools>Insert_Chart or similar icon thingy in upper right corner of Editor, and see the results in a new chart. MAGIC?

5. Now the fun begins. Make some changes to the code, one change at a time. After each change use the checker from step 2 above and if no error message appears click the save icon.

6. Notice the change in your chart. Was it what you expected? If so, you haven't learned anything yet. So keep on changing things till the unexpected happens. Then figure out why it happened, what you did wrong and how to fix it. Now you're starting to learn and having fun.

7. Once you've worn out 6 above, go back and read the next page and grab the next example and repeat the process all over again.

If you are like me you will want to print out the whole 5 or 6 page section and put it in a 3 ring binder for later reference and marking up and underlining.

Remember how much fun the dog paddle was before you learned the Australian Crawl. You can't learn to swim without getting some water up your nose.

Now, in response to your email below. "I can safely say that the majority of traders severely lack the programming skills to express their trading ideas, and/or testing them ADEQUATELY in a trading platform."

Can you safely say that these same traders can express precisely and unambiguously, in there own language, their trading ideas?

Quite a few years ago, a US Supreme Court justice wrote, "I cannot define pornography, but I know it when I see it". That may be good enough for judges. But its not good enough for programming computers, in any language.

Sorry, I digress. Enjoy!!!!
-- Keith

louies88 wrote:

Hello Keith

Thanks for the info. I've read both books of Howard. Like you, I was disappointed w/ the first book. I'm not an entirely new guy to trading. I've been around the blocks a few times, working for several big firms before start trading for myself. Prior to that, I've used TradeStation since 1995. As far as Technical Analysis goes, I know a thing or two about it. What draws me to Amibroker and away from TradeStation is its AFL. Although I don't know much about it yet, I can tell that this language is better than most. And if I spend the energy learning it now, that would probably be the only one I'll ever need.

Anyway, what I'm looking for in the market these days is a book simple enough to teach traders w/ some trading experience under their belt, but lack the coding know-hows to express their ideas in terms of a programming language. I can safely say that the majority of traders severely lack the programming skills to express their trading ideas, and/or testing them ADEQUATELY in a trading platform. My wish is that if someone in here or else where who is fluent in AFL to write a book about coding AFL in ENGLISH (please) with plenty of examples and lots of explanations. The examples illustrated the concept while the explanations drive home the points being made. I find out that the best learning technique is imitation. If I can follow what's being coded and replicated them on my own, I'll remember it longer. I'm sure that if somebody comes out w/ a book like that in any scripting language whether that is EasyLanguage of TradeStation or AFL of Amibroker, it would sell like hot cakes . In today's market, there is no such a book exists.

s, "Introduction to
> Amibroker" or "Quantitative Trading Systems".
>
> "Introduction to Amibroker" is mostly a rehash of the User Guide, and
> therefore I personally don't recommend it. I may stand alone with this
> opinion -- many others rave about it. I bought this book, was a bit
> disappointed, but am not complaining because the one below is worth more
> (to me) than the cost of the two combined.
>
> "Quantitative Trading Systems", is more advanced. But it contains many
> more examples and the code for them is available to buyers of the book
> on the book's web site. Each of examples focuses on a single topic and
> is very well documented. Going through these examples on your computer
> (and modifying them as you wish) will keep you focused as well.
>
> Howard is writing a third book and I will order it as soon as he lets me.
> -- Keith
>