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You can add my vote to this list!
Lionel Issen
lissen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: "John R" <jrdrp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2001 5:18 PM
Subject: Re: new user questions
> With TA software packages, as with virtually all software packages, it is
> unusual to find a single product which excels in all areas. IMO it is
really
> a case of "horses for courses". I use Metastock, AIQ and several other
> products.
>
> Metastock is excellent for charting, the best in the business IMO.
Therefore
> if your personal trading style relies on eyeballing charts and patterns
etc.
> then MS is probably a good choice. AIQ charting facilities are much less
> sophisticated than MS but facilities for analysing and exploring market
data
> are good. If your trading revolves round sector rotation, spotting
relative
> strengths/weaknesses of industry groups etc. then AIQ has much to offer.
For
> realtime daytraders Tradestation seems very popular so it is reasonable to
> assume it does the job (I don't use TS).
>
> My favourite TA product is Metastock (I'm just a sucker for charts!). I
> would however make the following commnets (all IMHO).
>
> 1. Formula Language
> (Yes I'm in the "it ain't brilliant camp"). The MS Formula Language is
> essentially a set of powerful functions specifically designed for
> manipulating time series data. What it lacks is any real programming
> constructions and this prevents you developing even relatively simple
custom
> indicators requiring basic iteration or conditional logic. It is
surprising
> however to see what some users manage to achieve with the MS formula
> lanaguage but the trying to read and understand long formulas is not
easy -
> I think of the language like a scientific calculator with lots of
brackets.
>
> While it is true that by using the Developers Add-On you could probably
> write almost anything IMO this is not what most MS users would want. In
my
> experience users today expect all functionality to be in a single
integrated
> product e.g. charts, data download & management, system development,
system
> test, portfolio management.... Once you get into relying on add-ons there
> will be user resistance due to concerns about learning another different
> product, future compatability issues (keeping products/versions aligned)
> etc.
>
> IMO Equis could greatly improve the usefulness of the MS formula language
as
> it stands by simply removing some of the needless restrictions which are
> currently built in:-
>
> Remove max 20 variables limit
> Remove max formula size/complexity limit
> Allow formulas to take variables as parameters (not just fixed values)
> Allow parameters in calls to custom formulas (instead of forcing defaults)
>
> 2. System Tester
> The MS System Tester can only test a single issue at a time. To develop
> robust trading strategies you need the facility to test out on multiple
> selected issues at a time. This is a big omission - one of the main
reasons
> I use other products in addition to MS.
>
> 3. Portfolio Manager
> There isn't one!
>
> 4. General
> IMO Equis seems to have taken its eye off the ball in recent times.
> Competitor products such as AIQ have made rapid advances into the market
and
> their products are improving significantly with each release. In contrast
> development of the Metastock product seems to have stalled. Personally I
> thought the last upgrade from 6.52 to 7.03 offered very little of
> substance - in particular no enhancements to Formula Language or System
> Tester - surely the areas most requested by users. I hope Equis will
> address these issues urgently for the next MS release.
>
> John
>
> .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Allan Havemose <havemose@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2001 5:10 PM
> Subject: RE: new user questions
>
>
> > I agree with Michael. There are only a handful of features that I feel
> > metastock needs that really are outside of what can be implemented
> > using MSX:
> >
> > 1. Entry and Exit on stops, where the entry/exit price accurately
> > reflect the stop order
> > 2. Same for limit orders
> > 3. A BarsInTrade() function. This can be done in MSX, but I feel it
> > should be a basic system function
> > 5. A OpenTradeProfit() function.
> > 6. Ability to share calculations and variables across "Long Entry",
> > "Long Exit", "Short Entry" and "Short Exit"
> > 7. Ability to run systems with multiple dataseries where the
> > base-periodicity of the dataseries/securities are different.
> >
> > For simple tests and experimentation, I find the formula language
> > sufficient.
> >
> > Allan
> >
> > --- michael <mslist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > "The only way to use complex indicators in MS is to have them built
> > > into the
> > > program. MS would be a very powerful program if it had a more
> > > functional
> > > "formula language". Something like visual basic or a subset of C++
> > > or
> > > visual C would do it."
> > >
> > >
> > > MS has a the ability to build anything through the DLL function and
> > > MSX
> > > add-on. Why do you need a subset of C++ when you can use full C++,
> > > Delphi,
> > > or any other DLL capable lanquage to build anything you want? You
> > > could
> > > even build a separate program that uses MetaStock Data and builds the
> > > Price
> > > by Volume that's being talked about in a separate window.
> > >
> > > I think the people who are complaining about the MS formula language
> > > want
> > > something that does not exist anywhere. They want the easy to use,
> > > simple
> > > function commands to do incredibly complex stuff. If you want
> > > complex stuff
> > > it takes a complex programming language. If you want ease of use,
> > > then you
> > > want a simple set of function commands. MS has both. So I don't
> > > know what
> > > people are complaining about.
> > >
> > > Michael
> > >
> >
> >
> > =====
> > ---
> > Allan Havemose, Ph.D.
> > havemose@xxxxxxxxxx
> > havemose@xxxxxxxxx
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35
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>
>
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