EA vs Indicators

Quoting sergiu

Disliked

1. Should i create a function before the start() that would have all the logic for triggering a buy/sell and then have the function return a 1=buy 2=sell type thing?
2. Should i include the logic inside the start()function?
3. Is the same exact EA suitable for back testing and live trading?
4.Can an EA that is being traded live generate signals that have happen in the past and open trades that should have never been open live?

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Quoting iya

Disliked

1. Yes, that's a nice approach I use pretty often.
2. No! Don't clutter the start function, and try to avoid writing long or heavily nested functions in general.
3. Should be. The only limitation that comes to mind is, that backtesting basket strategies with more than the current symbol will not work.
4. That shouldn't happen, unless you code it especially so. You will see that it may actually be easier to write the EA compared to the indicator, because you don't have to create the historical signals for old bars. All you need to analyze is the status quo.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your EA!

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total=OrdersTotal();
if (total<1)
   {
   if (okToBuy)
      {
      ticket=OrderSend(Symbol(),OP_BUYSTOP,Lots,PendingBO,3,Ask-StopLoss*Point, Ask+TakeProfit*Point,"My EA", 12345,0,Blue);
      
      }
}

 if ((ticket>0) && (total<=0))

OrderDelete(ticket,Green);

Quoting sergiu

Disliked

Also i see this printed in the journal when trying to backtest:

2007.06.14 19:12:57 2007.06.08 14:15 My_EA EURUSD.spot,M15: invalid price 1.34429000 for OrderSend function

Why is the price invalid?

Ignored

Quoting sergiu

Disliked

Thank you for the reply!

I decided to have all my logic inside the start() function. The reason is that the logic is a bit complex (and im an MQL noob) and was not sure how to properly create a function based on it. So the logic generates 2 things:Whether it is ok to go long/short and at what price. The entries should be done with OB_BUYSTOP/OP_SELLSTOP.
This is what i have at the end of my entry logic:

Inserted Code

total=OrdersTotal();
if (total<1)
   {
   if (okToBuy)
      {
      ticket=OrderSend(Symbol(),OP_BUYSTOP,Lots,PendingBO,3,Ask-StopLoss*Point, Ask+TakeProfit*Point,"My EA", 12345,0,Blue);
      
      }
}

The problem is that if the order is not triggered within the current bar i would like the order canceled. So i added this at the end of the code:

Inserted Code

 if ((ticket>0) && (total<=0))

OrderDelete(ticket,Green);

This however seems to delete the order as soon as it is generated. Placing the code before the OrderSend() (thinking that it will only return true on the next bar) will not cancel the order at all.

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

Ignored

total=OrdersTotal();
if (total<1)
   {
   if (okToBuy)
      {
  datetime expiration = Time[0] + Period()*60;
 ticket=OrderSend(Symbol(),OP_BUYSTOP,Lots,PendingBO,3,Ask-StopLoss*Point, Ask+TakeProfit*Point,"My EA", 12345,expiration,Blue);
      
      }
}

if ((ticket>0) && (total<=0))
   if(OrderOpenTime() < Time[0])
       OrderDelete(ticket,Green);

Quoting sergiu

Disliked

It works!
Just for better understanding could you explain why you have Period()*60 instead of simply Period()?
Thanks!

Ignored

Quoting iya

Disliked

Try to use the expiration date for pending orders:

Inserted Code

total=OrdersTotal();
if (total<1)
   {
   if (okToBuy)
      {
  datetime expiration = Time[0] + Period()*60;
 ticket=OrderSend(Symbol(),OP_BUYSTOP,Lots,PendingBO,3,Ask-StopLoss*Point, Ask+TakeProfit*Point,"My EA", 12345,expiration,Blue);
      
      }
}

I sometimes found it will not work if the time to expiration is to close, though. In that case you'll have to manually check the pending order open time, for example like this:

Inserted Code

if ((ticket>0) && (total<=0))
   if(OrderOpenTime() < Time[0])
       OrderDelete(ticket,Green);

I also wanted to mention, that you should consider calling the indicator with iCustom() instead of copy and pasting the code. But it must not necessarily be more simple and it's probably slower.

Ignored