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Kut2k2, it seems that you've missed the gist of my post.
Your intense diatribe seems typical of someone that is well entrenched
in his/her attachment to a particular idea or piece of software.
> Face it, Jose, you have more than an emotional investment, you have
> a financial investment in MS as well.
Unlike yourself, I don't have an emotional investment in any software
all - I just happen to use what works best for me at the time.
Linux is far superior to Windows, yet the latter is more useful and
productive for me at the moment. The same applies to any AB vs MS
argument - you will find none from me.
I'm not interested in either being a software groupie, nor defending a
piece of code to the death.
My investment is on life. Time is shorter and much more valuable than
most people believe.
When it comes to trading, I just can't find the time nor the patience
to dedicate my life and energy to purely intellectual pursuits.
I certainly don't have the freely available time & patience to turn
charting into a geeky hobby.
My "financial investment" in MetaStock happens to be a side-effect of
trading. I enjoy helping others that are prepared to help themselves,
and will continue to do so for as long as I can.
Furthermore, I feel that I have a responsibility to not only help
others, but to point out the traps and mistakes which I have already
been through myself.
> Basic building blocks don't mean squat if you can't apply them in
> innovative ways.
Innovation comes from within, not from charting software.
> That, plus all the nightmares I keep hearing about the system tester
> make me glad I never upgraded my MS and pushes me more and more
> towards AB.
The system tester is the most overrated and useless tool in both MS &
AB, for different reasons. Optimizing/curve-fitting system parameters
& backtesting without realistic expectations, no matter how
impressively complex it may seem, are the biggest enemies of a true
system developer.
If you want real backtesting without associated distractions, try
TradeSim.
> One security at a time. Not real appealing for people who want to
> trade a portfolio. Think about it.
Trading a portfolio and developing strategies that involve other
correlated instruments, is simply not the same process. Think about
it. ;)
> Ever want to try fixed-fractional position sizing your trades? Good
> luck doing that with MS.
I can do this without any problem in MS.
> Did Equis ever correct the code for vhf()? Just morbidly curious.
Just morbidly curious - would you happen to know what to do with the
Vertical Horizontal Filter? If so, how would you use it in your
trading strategy? Ask yourself: could this perhaps be another
intellectual pursuit that has little or no relevance to real trading?
>...given that I KNOW the BHI is garbage,
My advice here is: don't get caught-up on jargon and processes that
have little or no relevance to real-world trading. Use the tools that
you are most comfortable with, which can extend and realize your
potential without bogging you down with unproductive pursuits.
> If you can't implement those thoughts because of a limited MFL, what
> good is it?
You see, a limited formula language can have some unexpected
usefulness - it can help prevent a potential trader from turning the
whole system development process into a complex intellectual pastime
that has little or no relevance to the real trading world. One only
has to look at the thousands of useless indicators available, to
understand this.
Let's face it: if you are really interested in developing a successful
trading strategy, you certainly don't want to spend a great proportion
of your life with coding bits and pieces that have little or no
relevance to the real markets. A degree in rocket science is not a
prerequisite here.
> For those of us who don't, some of your points don't make
> a lot of sense.
Take a deep breath, a step or two back, and you may catch a glimpse of
the bigger picture.
Attachment to any specific idea, guru, or piece of software, is deadly
in this game. A warning sign is a lack of humor, and taking offense
(even if none was intended) when one's favourite software seems to be
attacked. Let go, and you'll become both a better trader and human
being.
All the power of modern hardware & software, is not really necessary
to become a good trader: by all means, look for help out there, but
search for the answers within.
jose '-)
http://www.metastocktools.com
--- In Metastockusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "kut2k2" <kut2k2@xxxx> wrote:
>
> --- In Metastockusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Jose" <josesilva22@xxxx>
> wrote:
>
> There seems to be a lot of recent discontent building up with
> regards to the lack of MetaStock development from Equis/Reuters.
> It is indeed true that other charting programs have overtaken MS in
> a major way.
>
> For example, AmiBroker (AB) can plot a composite system equity curve
> based on hundreds of securities, and allows the changing of
> parameters with the aid of real-time variable sliders.
> Watching the AB composite equity plot change in real-time is a
> marvel.
> Just getting MetaStock to plot the same single composite equity
> (forget real-time manipulation), involves so much processing
> overheads that it is not practical.
>
> So, AmiBroker is indeed superior to MetaStock in many ways.
> However... I still find myself using MetaStock for 95% of my tasks.
>
> Why?
>
> 1) Familiarity & ease of use = time-saving - it generally takes me
> five times longer to code in AB;
>
> 2) MetaStock's Graphic User Interface is still superior to AB;
>
> 3) More than 95% of programming tasks are basic building blocks
> which don't require complex programming;
>
> Basic building blocks don't mean squat if you can't apply them in
> innovative ways. You certainly won't get far anymore applying them
> in conventional ways, even if at one time you could. MetaStock's
> shameful refusal to deal with their fixed parameter problem is a
> case in point.
> AB has allowed variable lookback periods in all their lookback
> functions for years now. The LastValue(A+PREV-PREV) fix in MS is a
> slow-motion bad joke, and it doesn't even work for a lot for
> lookback functions that I need it for. This alone makes MS last
> millenium's technology. That, plus all the nightmares I keep
> hearing about the system tester make me glad I never upgraded my MS
> and pushes me more and more towards AB.
>
> That, plus the fact that some of those basic building blocks in MS
> are erroneous. Did Equis ever correct the code for vhf()? Just
> morbidly curious.
>
> Does the Buy/Hold Index in the Reports of the latest MS version
> still give a garbage result? Again, just morbidly curious. I keep
> wondering every time I run a test how valid my results are, given
> that I KNOW the BHI is garbage, and I worry what else is garbage
> output.
>
>
> 4) Successful mechanical trading strategies are composed of 60~80%
> logical thought, and 20~40% actual programming skills.
>
> If you can't implement those thoughts because of a limited MFL, what
> good is it?
>
> Ever want to try fixed-fractional position sizing your trades? Good
> luck doing that with MS.
>
>
> It is the last point that needs to be generally acknowledged &
> understood.
>
> It is not the actual charting package that decides how successful
> the development of one's mechanical or subjective trading system may
> be, but rather, it's the trader's own ideas and ability to put them
> into a logical & codeable form that makes a good system worth
> considering.
> More programming complexity is not always better.
>
> Ditto for less programming capability.
>
>
> If I were to be just interested in the intellectual challenge of
> coding difficult or abstract ideas, I would have probably left this
> group to join the AmiBroker camp a long time ago, just as others
> have already done.
>
> However, being much more interested in the bigger picture, means
> that the charting tool is not so important to me. MetaStock is fine
> for just about all system development purposes.
>
> One security at a time. Not real appealing for people who want to
> trade a portfolio. Think about it.
>
>
> If productivity is also important to you, and you already use
> MetaStock, you may find that there is little or no need for better/
> faster tools, or for re-learning a new process.
> If you are not using a charting package yet, consider MetaStock's
> easy learning curve before choosing a career in rocket science.
>
> Take care not to lose sight of the forest for the trees. :)
>
>
> jose '-)
> http://www.metastocktools.com
>
> Face it, Jose, you have more than an emotional investment, you have
> a financial investment in MS as well. For those of us who don't,
> some of your points don't make a lot of sense.
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