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Hello,
There are several misconceptions in what was written here.
AFL is specifically designed to protect the newbie and people without coding experience
from programming stuff like memory allocation/deallocation, pointer manipulation,
declarations, type casting, etc.
So although it looks like C it is way more easy than C.
What is single operator in AFL (like array addition) involves many line of code in C
plus memory allocation/deallocation (and keeping track on all that).
SIMPLICITY OF USE plus compactness of code is the paramount design decision.
That's why arrays in AFL are automatically managed, have size that automatically
refers to "visible" area, so you can simply add arrays with single + operator.
With general purpose C language with "normal" arrays you would need to manage memory for arrays by yourself,
alignment (if size differs which elements to add), looping (you need to perform calculations
on individual elements of array).
(maybe you don't know but in C and there are no built-in dynamic arrays, only fixed compile-time size is supported,
and dynamic array is implemented via pointers and explicit memory allocation malloc/free)
As for "matrix" operations - that this does not belong to the definition of any general purpose language.
There are no "matrix" operations in any popular general purpose language C/C++/Java/JScript/Basic/Pascal.
In C/C++ even scalar trigonometric operations like sin( x) or string concatenation are NOT part of the language.
The language itself defines:
a) syntax
b) basic arithmetic operators + precedence working on primitive types only (scalar integer and/or float)
c) flow control (conditional execution, loops)
d) structural concepts (variables/functions/procedures/structures/objects)
e) some miscellaneous stuff like run-time type info, exception handling etc.
And that's it.
Anything more is supplied by LIBRARIES. In C there is a library for basic string manipulation (such as concatenation
- strcat) or floating point. The same with any high-level stuff like matrices - this is the area which
is implemented by EXTERNAL libraries (not part of the language).
Libraries in AFL can be provided by:
a) #include - the AFL code implementing features via functions
b) AmiBroker Development Kit - allowing to write extensions (functions) as a DLL in any compiled language.
c) JScript/VBScript
d) any external COM object http://www.amibroker.com/guide/a_aflcom.html
This covers any imaginable application and any imaginable need you may have.
Having said that, for anyone needing multiple dimensional arrays in AFL there are several options:
a) use VarGet/VarSet (the 2-dim array is simply array of the array, so for N:M 2-dim array you need N AFL arrays)
b) using embedded JScript parts with AFL
c) using free open source Osaka plugin (you can extend it to your needs since all sources are available)
d) using any external COM object (written in VB for example if you need that)
If anyone is "advanced enough" to need multiple dimensional arrays, it is also "advanced enough" to use these options
without any trouble.
Also with regards to:
> - some of the architecture of AB is quirky also e.g. essentially it is a database, at the binary level, but you can't write
> directly to the native database
That is entirely not true.
The database is exposed in two ways:
First (more general)
full OLE read/write direct access to the database - see Stocks/Stock/Quotations/Quotation objects:
http://www.amibroker.com/guide/objects.html
- and this OLE interface is DIRECTLY available from AFL level.
Second (easier)
AddToComposite/Foreign - gives you easy to use way to STORE and READ from the AmiBroker database.
Best regards,
Tomasz Janeczko
amibroker.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "brian_z111" <brian_z111@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 1:46 AM
Subject: [amibroker] Re: AFL 101
> My perspective as a newcomer to programming when I started into AB/AFL around 2-3 years ago:
>
> - Tomasz says that AB is most like C
> - primarily one has to learn AFL fullstop
> - experienced programmers sometimes have to unlearn somethings and find this hard to do for a while
> - in some ways programming naivity paid off for me as I am at home with array programming
> - in other places I am lost because nothing can fill the missing link of not being familiar with syntax that is common to other
> languages (called experience)
> - AFL is quirky ..... some things that intuitively and logically seem needed are 'missing' and then you have to work around that
> e.g. IMO it is bizarre that AFL has been around for many years but doesn't have dynamic arrays or matrix functions ... the quirky
> aspects of AFL make it extremely difficult for lay people ... every time you get on a roll you find an exception
> - some of the architecture of AB is quirky also e.g. essentially it is a database, at the binary level, but you can't write
> directly to the native database
> - to save you future distress....many in the past have asked for an AFL book...the logic seems compelling to me
> - everyone starts from a different place so some need an 'Intro to AB', book
> - I like Howards contributions overall but IMO it is rather old world to publish in hard copy ... an ebook would be much better
> ... we have to consider that AB/AFL is way beyond the 500 pages allocated to it ib Howard's 2 books.
> - the AFL library is not the place to learn code ... good for sharing code between experienced AFL'ers
> - this forum is a book and contains at least 1000* the code, help, code and trading tips available anywhere else .....
> unfortunately it lacks sections, an index and topics etc .... once again the logic for a better forum (from an educational
> perspective) seems compelling.
>
> (Sorry Rik but Google searching Yahoo doesn't reference threads does it?)
>
> - AB/AFL is huge ... I don't think any layperson will ever cover it all without a big effort to become a programming expert,
> albeit one who specialises in AFL
>
> - AB is not a democracy or an open project
>
> BTW all of the advice given in this thread so far is spot on.
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "louies88" <Louies88@xxx> wrote:
>>
>> I think Amibroker is great, especially its AFL. Although I don't know enough about it to claim that it's superior than most other
>> scripting languages out there, I know for a fact that this is one of the best. That also begs the question of how a person w/
>> virtually no programming background can get started w/ AFL. I followed this forum long enough to note that some of you in here
>> are excellent coders. The codes that I often see are flawless and eloquent, which then makes me think how long does it take a
>> coding newbie such as myself to attain that coding level.
>>
>> I look at it this way. Coding a computer language is pretty similar to learning a foreign language. I remember how my first
>> English class went. I started out by learning a few basic vocabulary words, then use some of it in the form of a noun, then a
>> verb, finally an object. Sentence structures, or in computer language better known as syntax, govern if a sentence is
>> grammatically correct or if it's not. With that in mind, I also started out by looking at the AFL Library in Amibroker. I
>> downloaded all of the functions in the hope of building myself an Amibroker vocabulary and started to put some of the basic
>> vocabulary words together to make a "sentence."
>>
>> However, since there isn't any kind of document FORMALLY teaching the ABC of coding in Amibroker, I'm left w/ a question how does
>> Amibroker syntax work? Some of the experienced coders here often compare AFL syntax to that of C++. But for a person w/ neither
>> background in AFL or C++ or any other computer langugae, the question remains: How do I get start? Where's the square one?
>>
>> Anybody w/ such experience is highly appreciated if he/she's willing to shed a light on this.
>>
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
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