Special request: Can someone make a Cornflower EA for us?

There are many on the Cornflower Hourly System thread in the Trading Systems section (http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=26205) that would like an EA made for this system. I have been told by someone "in the know" that it is a simple EA to make. Can someone here please make the EA for us?

The very first post in the Cornflower thread explains everything. It is a very simple system involving a few moving averages. I would be very appreciative if someone could help us out.


Topgun

Is this "In the know" person a programmer?

unlikely.

It is someone here at Forex Factory who said he knows how to make EA's. A while back he had said he was going to make an EA for the Cornflower System, but he never got around to doing it.

I would give his username, but I don't want to put him on the spot and sound as if I'm complaining in any way.

Topgun

Topgun_1,
I don't mean to be insulting but I have found with many "simple" projects that the devil is in the details...
It starts out simple but when you get into it , the hidden complexities slowly reveal themselves.

I haven't had a look at the cornflower system Im just talking in general terms.

Hope you find someone willing to do it for free.

If not, there are some good coders here at FF that might be interested in coding it for a fee.

Cornflower is a VERY NICE crossing MA system. Of course the entries are easy to program (Enter when MA's cross) - You'll be late on entry but...

The Devilish detail is the exit. If you wait till the MA's cross again you'll get wiped out on small/medium crosses and anyone that knows how to get out sooner (its possible) won't share the secret. (Since 90% of systems are basically MA's or depend on indicators that are basically MA's its understandable.)

It's a nice manual system though.

I'm willing to try and code this thing IF you please condense in 3-4 SHORT sentences everything i need to know about the system. I have given a look at the post u linked but its wordy and i already have to read PLENTY of stuff in this period, plus english is not my first language.

Also dont expect professional programming..but i will give it a try if no better proggy is doing it..

This guy steps out of his F1 after winning the race.

A reporter with a mike runs over to him and says,
' So!... How'd you do it?.. What's the >secret< ?!?...

To which the driver replies:
' All you have to do is check the oil pressure!!! '

...if it were only as easy as just checking the oil pressure.

Postrock, thank you so much for offering your help. Yes, I can give a short explanation. However, before I do, let me ask a few questions so I know what is and what is not possible in the making of the EA.

1. Can the EA be made so I can switch timeframes whenever I want? For example, one day I may want to trade on the 1 hr timeframe, and then the next day I may decide to use a different timeframe, such as the 5 mn timeframe. In other words, I prefer not to have it stuck on one timeframe all the time.

2. Can the EA be made with these 3 settings: Long only, Short only, Long and Short. I would like to manually set the EA to take only the signals that are going in the direction I want by selecting one of these settings.

3. Can I manually change the stops and take profits on the EA? Or is the only way you can make it is with the same stop and same take profit on all trades?

Once I know the answers to these questions then I can explain easier about the system and the EA we are looking for.

Thanks.

not that I'm volunteering for this system. I'm just answering your questions from a programmer standpoint.

1. Most if not all EAs works on the candles of the timeframe its attached to. that means they are usually timeframe independent unless stated otherwise. Its actually easier to code a time flexi EA than one that's fixated on a particular timeframe.

2. you don't need the EA's code to handle this. you can set it at the "Common" tab when you attach ANY EA.

3. StopLoss and TakeProfit are nothing but initial inputs among the settings of most EA. you can just change those settings while attaching the EA or change them after a trade has opened. purely up to you.

1. Yes
2. Option already present in Metatrader itself
3. Yes

Ok, Postrock, here is the explanation of the system:

These are the ema’s to use, along with the color of each ema:

8 EMA (yellow, dotted)
12 EMA (violet)
24 EMA (cornflower blue, hence the name)
72 EMA (khaki)

For the trade set-up, the ema’s need to be stacked in that exact order (The 8 ema will be the ema that is closest to the candles, then the 12 ema, 24 ema, and 72 ema last).

Once all the ema’s are in that exact order, then the entry happens when the candle (price) touches the 12 ema.

If possible, have the all the ema’s sloping (in an angle) before an entry is made. The angle needs to be at least a 20% angle. HOWEVER, if an angle cannot be made for the EA, then ignore this part and don’t worry about making an angle.

Since we can set our own stops and take profits then that is what we will do. This means you don’t have to program the EA to take an exact specific stop or or exact specific target.

If you want to see a chart posted to see what the entire set-up looks like, go to the Cornflower Hourly System thread at: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=26205

On that thread you will see many charts posted for long trades AND short trades. You will see what a Cornflower trade set-up looks like.

I hope I explained it well. If you have any questions then please ask. Thanks again for you help.


Topgun

here is my first try at coding the system you explained...for now i didnt even think about the angle thing u were saying..

I backtested the EA and it seems to work.

Those are the variables you can change from the input menu (or whatever its called in english):

stoploss = insert number of pips
target = insert number of pips
timeframe = insert minutes...example if u want to test on 4 hour candles you will insert a value of 240..
lots = number of lots
candle = insert what bar u want the EMA to use as the last value..example for last candle you will insert a value of 0 for the last closed 1 and for the ones before 2-3-4-5 and so on.
ema_trigger = insert the period of the EMA you want to use as the trigger..default is 12 as you said, but if u want u can test with other EMA periods...

The EA does NOT report errors..so be sure you do things correctly, dont use micro lots if broker doesnt support them and so on..also i dont see how in hell this EA could cause any damage to anyone BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT IM A NEWBISH CODER AND I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOUR PC/HOUSE/CAT/BANK ACCOUNT (OR WHATEVER ELSE) EXPLODES OR CAUSES ANY KIND OF PROBLEM DURING THE USE OF THIS EA.

Please report any malfunction or question..

EDIT: Fixed small error in the trigger variable

Postrock,

Thank you so much for making the EA! I really appreciate you using your time and effort in making this EA. I have posted the EA in the Cornflower thread and gave you credit there for making it.

Of course, no matter how the EA performs - or what it does - I will have no complaints because you have been nice enough to make it for free. If it works out to be a useful EA, then you will have helped many of us in the Cornflower thread. If it doesn't work out, then at least we would have given it a try.

I have 2 questions:

1. You said in your previous message that you didn't make it with the ema's in an angle. I had edited in that request later after I made my original post, so maybe that is why you did not see it. Anyway, my question is... Can you make it so the ema's will have at least a 20 degree angle when a trade triggers? I don't know if you can do it, but if you can then it would make it better. If you cannot, then that is ok.

2. Concerning the input menu box, where it says "candle", you said... "insert what bar u want the EMA to use as the last value example for last candle you will insert a value of 0 for the last closed 1 and for the ones before 2-3-4-5 and so on." I feel a little dumb for asking this, but what is a "value"? What does it do and what does it mean to a candle? What is the purpose of it? Is there a value number you recommend? I'm just a bit confused about what a value is and the purpose of it.


Thanks,
Topgun

When it calculates the EMA what is the last value you want used for the EMA calculation? 0=current candle value, 1=last closed candle, 2+= (this many closed candles back will be the last value used)
Postrock I jumped in and answered for you - If I'm wrong please correct (and my apologies)

So how does it work? I only backtested it after finishing the code..was looking for some feedback on how it goes on forward testing and on different brokers.

PS. I guess i could make the angle thing you ask...but i have no will right now. Maybe next week if so i feel..

Hi Postrock,

Here is my experience with the Cornflower EA so far:

I put the Cornflower EA on my demo account Interbank platform and I also put it on my demo account Alpari UK platform. I done this about one hour before the close of the markets on Friday. I am trading 10 currencies on each broker. I had both the Interbank and Alpari settings on the 1 min chart. I left the "candle value" setting at "0" because I am still not sure what a candle value is or what it is suppose to be for. Anyway here is what happened up to the current point :

* During that final hour of trading on Friday, My Interbank trading account made 3 trades (made on the 1 min chart). My Alpari trading account made no trades.

* I have had both trading accounts running since the market opened up on Sunday. I decided to trade one account an a 1 hr timeframe and the other account on a 5 min timeframe. So, I switched the timeframe on the Interbank account from 1 min timeframe to a 1 hr timeframe. I then switched the Alpari account from its 1 min timeframe to a 5 min timetrame. I am trading 10 currencies on each account.

* Since yesterday's opening of the market, to this point the demo Interbank account (trading on the 1 hr TF) has made 6 trades. However, for some reason, the EA has missed several trades that it should have entered.

* The demo Alpari account, since yesterday's forex market open, has not yet made a trade. It is trading on the 5 min chart and has had many opportunites for a trade. But for some reason it has not made any trades.

Both the Alpari and Interbank each have the "smiling face" of the EA in the top right corner of the charts, which I guess is suppose to mean it is working fine. But the Alpari account (using 5 mn chart) has not made any trades and the Interbank account (using 1 hr chart) has missed several (maybe even many) trades.

Do you think problem could be the "candle value" setting? I have no idea what a candle value is suppose to be for, and that is why I currently have it set on "0". Someone on this thread said it was for the purpose of letting us choose the last value to be used for an EMA calculation. What the heck does that mean?? What is a "value"? And how does it affect a trade? (or a candle?). Pardon me for not knowing, but I have no idea about this "value" thing or how it affects a candle or a trade.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions as far as what I might be doing wrong (especially with the Alpari 5 min charts, which has yet to make a trade) then please post your thoughts.


Topgun

Please post the EA settings you use on Alpari. (Funny that it doesnt work there...i wrote it on the Alpari platform..lol)

...aaannd..did i really read correctly? You asked me: "what is a value?"
Do you really not know what a value is? If that is true then you also have no idea of what a Moving Average is.
So you are playing with things you dont understand? You know that this is the perfect recipe for disaster right?

Do your own research (www.google.com) and read again fulltime's good explanation.

Ok, here are the settings I use on all 10 pairs on Alpari:

The "Inputs" tab on the EA settings box

stop loss: 15
target: 30
timeframe: 5
lots: 0.1
candle: 0
EMA_trigger: 12


The "Common" Tab on the EA settings box

positions: "Long & Short" is where I have it set.
Enabled alerts: I put a check-mark in the box
Allow live trading: I put a check-mark in the box
Allow DLL Imports: I put a check-mark in the box
Allow imports of external exports: I put a check-mark in the box
(all the other boxes I left empty)


It now seems my Interbank account (I'm using 1 hr charts there) has completely stopped making trades. It had made 6 trades since yesterday, but the last 14 hrs it has not made any trades. I counted at least 7 times (maybe more) that it should have made a trade over the last 14 hrs (of the combined 10 currencies). The Interbank account is set up exactly as the Alpari account. The only difference is I am using the 8 ema instead of the 12 ema.

As for the value thing, yes I know it has to do with math. And yes I do know what an EMA is. But I been in forex for 4 yrs (since early 2005) and I don't remember anyone using the word "value" in forex. It definitely isn't something that is talked about all the time. If I set the value at "1", does that mean if the previous candle closes at (for example) 1.3750 and the ema at that time is 1.3720, then does that mean the trade won't trigger until the price comes back to 1.3720?

Anyway, I'm not worried about the value so much. I assume "0" should work good enough. I'm more concerned with getting the EA to work. Maybe it is my computer somehow causing the problem. Hopefully other people in the Cornflower thread will try out your EA and post if it works for them..


Topgun

I see a simple error on both sides for now. I didnt properly explain myself as i said "insert pips" and not "insert points".

You have put a stop loss of 15 (points) and a target of 30 (points)..in Alpari that setting equals a Stop of 1.5 pips and a target of 3 pips because they use 0.00001 price values....i dont know about Interbank's but just try to put the correct number of points in the SL and TP and then tell me if it works correctly.

ANY NUMBER is a "value", you were in Forex for 4 years and you think you dont use numbers in forex?
Or you just didnt have the will to search an online dictionary to see the word's meaning?