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Earl "The Pearl" Adamy wrote:
"As a full-time trader, I no
longer have the time or energy to devote several years to the development of
an open solution even though the goal is admirable."
Ditto!
Earl "The Pearl" Adamy always has that way of cutting through the BS and
hitting the nail on the head.
For those who trade and develop software I ask this: why would you want to
code all week and then code some more on the weekends? Don't you want to
learn to trade? Where are you going to find the time? And to those who
coded and now trade -- why would you want to go back to the life you left?
Conclusion: I wouldn't trust this software even if it does get off the
ground. Where there's no money there's no trust. Altrusim is nice in
theory but doesn't pay the bills or move you into a higher tax bracket.
Brian.
-----Original Message-----
From: Earl Adamy [mailto:eadamy@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Sunday, November 08, 1998 5:03 PM
To: omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: The Linux of Financial Trading Systems
At one time, when I developed software for a living and traded as a hobby,
this would have been an interesting project. As a full-time trader, I no
longer have the time or energy to devote several years to the development of
an open solution even though the goal is admirable. While I'm keeping my eye
on a number of futurewares, especially TradeLab/UMDS, I'll continue to
concentrate on improving my trading skills using whatever tools are
available now. If TradeLab/UMDS hit the streets tomorrow, I doubt that I
would be comfortable using it for my bread and butter day trading without a
good shakedown period. Ditto for most other software (new or upgrade, open
or closed) which hits the streets.
Earl
-----Original Message-----
From: David Shields <dshields@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx <omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sunday, November 08, 1998 5:40 PM
Subject: The Linux of Financial Trading Systems
>[posted to the list by request]
>
>Wow! We are getting some great responses via email and on the newsgroups.
>
>What most of us want out of this project is a tool for trading that will do
>almost everything we want, and -- since we will have access to the
source --
>can be made to do all those things we want to extend it to do in the
future.
>We want to implement our best trading concepts on our own terms, not wait
>years until some company like Omega Research decides to give us more power
>so we can trade on our best ideas. I believe Omega had the right idea way
>back when (and their success to date indicates so), but as a TradeStation
>user I know they aren't doing it for many of us anymore.
>
>While TradeStation has been the market leader, it has also been a
>frustrating tool to use. EasyLanguage really pisses me off because I would
>rather work in a real language without so many limitations. TradeStation
has
>also been frustrating because we've been stuck with a 16 bit Win 3.1
program
>for way too many years -- and now we've been waiting and waiting... and
>waiting for TS 5.0 (which has been delayed again, with the release moved
>into next year). Obviously, we'll get only what Omega says we can have and
>when they say they are ready to give it to us -- as long as we only have
>TradeStation to turn to.
>
>As traders, we want to control our destiny. That's why we feel so much
>frustration when Omega Research leaves us in the lurch. We trade for
profit,
>but it is more than profit. We like the freedom, the lifestyle, and the
>independence. We really do thrive on controlling our own destiny. That is
>why we, the community of computer literate technical traders, deserve to
>have the source code to our own open trading platform that lets us
implement
>our most creative trading strategies without limitation!
>
>This will really be a unique project among open software development
>projects. The Linux community is admirably altruistic. But here's what's so
>great about our project to build an open trading platform. We can do it
>altruistically and put the source out there for the benefit of all. We can
>do something great and feel good about what we've done for the welfare of
>our entire community. I have no doubt that the world will be a better place
>when we complete this project. However, we can take what we've created and
>use it to maximize our own trading profits. Talk about having your cake and
>eating it too! We could even create an elected board to trade various
>systems on our platform with donated money and use the proceeds to support
>causes we vote to support. Try doing that with an operating system!
>
>
>
>Here's a preliminary statement of purpose:
>
>We want to build a trading platform with capabilities similar to and
>eventually extending beyond TradeStation where the source is open and
freely
>available (but organized and maintained). The project will be in the spirit
>of Linux, but instead of building an operating system, we will be building
a
>trading platform.
>
>
>
>Some more rantings:
>
>Given Omega Research's arrogance in the arena of trading platforms it is
>easy to draw the comparison to MS in operating systems. But while Linux has
>a huge mountain to climb, and who knows how successful it will ultimately
>be, we can taste victory one by one as we successfully trade on the open
>platform we've created that lets us build, test, and implement trading
>systems without limitation. We don't necessarily need the world to write
>applications that run on our platform, although that can happen. As
traders,
>the best "applications" are the trading systems we build around our own
>style and personality. A trading platform can become a standard much more
>easily than an OS. And, of course, a trading platform can let us make our
>maximum profits even without any widespread adoption. What it all adds up
to
>is this: we have a project that can't fail.
>
>I know that this community can build a trading platform that will remove
the
>boundaries from our system building and technical trading. If you are like
>me, you know that the right tools will increase the profitability of your
>own trading and you are incredibly excited about getting those tools.
>TradeStation has certainly made a lot of people a lot of money from
trading.
>But many of us have wanted more, and for years and years Omega has not
>responded. No other vendor has given us the power we want either. We'll
take
>our destiny into our own hands with the power of a community building an
>open system. The Linux model will serve us well. Open source benefits
>everyone.
>
>Furthermore, we want to avoid the frustration felt when quirks (or bugs) in
>TS interfere with the trading strategy we want to pursue. I know many day
>traders are irritated by the unknown time stamp accuracy of the real time
>quote server. I know many technical traders who are frustrated by the
>arbitrary 13000 bar limit per chart. I know other traders who can't
>implement their best day trading systems because EL doesn't have the
>mathematical accuracy to support their algorithms. Personally, I hate the
>idea of building 16 bit DLLs to extend EasyLanguage when I can't even buy a
>good 16 bit compiler anymore. As good as it is, there are thousands of
>issues (problems) with TradeStation. Sure, there will be problems with the
>trading platform we build, but at least the community of users will have
the
>power to make improvements. With TradeStation the community of users is
>locked out -- only Omega Research controls the evolution of the product. I
>can't even get Developer Support at Omega to answer my email reliably, they
>don't take phone calls, and they don't call back in response to issues.
>EasyLanguage support for users is just as bad. If I had the source, I could
>support myself better. I'm sure many others feel the same way.
>
>Here's my own example of want I cannot do with TS. I trade options. I like
>mechanical trading systems. I would like to backtest option spread
>strategies just like I can backtest equity or futures trading systems.
>TradeStation won't do it. OptionStation is a joke. (I hear the new
>OptionStation 5.0 will feature EasyLanguage programming and system testing,
>which is exactly what I need... exactly, that is, if we could throw out the
>EasyLanguage and replace it with a real language, and if we had access to
>the source so I could overcome Omega's limitations and expand the features
>over time.) Well, you get the idea. Even the new version will be more of
the
>same old stuff. I want to start making money from my new approach to
>systematically tested option spread strategies as quickly as I can. In
other
>words, I want to control my own destiny, not be hamstrung by Omega.
>
>There's no reason to limit our conceptualization of this trading platform
to
>the TradeStation mold either. I reference TS merely because it is something
>familiar to most of us.
>
>
>Here are some preliminary thoughts on approaching the project:
>
>Let's organize the project like a business. It should probably be a
>non-profit organization. I like the idea of an organization because we want
>coordination and cooperation. We want efficiency of effort. We certainly
>don't want bureaucracy, and we don't want to waste our time in meetings.
But
>we want efficient coordination of our efforts. We want a virtual
>organization existing across the 'Net (like Linux).
>
>Once we get a firm commitment from, say, 20 qualified people we will form a
>legal entity that will control the source code and put it into the public
>domain (copyleft, or whatever appropriate method).
>
>We will elect a board to guide the project and help organize the efforts of
>all participants so that time and energy isn't wasted. The board will make
>policy decisions. However, since all contributors are independent, no
>decisions exert creative control over the participants and contributors.
>(There will be the usual restrictions against an individual taking the
>source and making a commercial application.) The result of this structure
is
>that any single contributor can have a significant impact on the project by
>contributing an insanely great idea. The main function of the board and the
>organization will be to hold the project together over time. The main
>function of the legal stuff will be to keep the source truly in the public
>domain and keep new contributions open for all to use.
>
>I volunteer to do whatever is required to get the project started.
>
>
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