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Creating a simple counter

  • #1
  • First Post: Jun 8, 2008 11:05pm Jun 8, 2008 11:05pm
I am new to MQL4 programming and am working on creating my first Expert Advisor.

What I am trying to accomplish (and where I'm currently stuck) is to create a simple counter for the EURUSD pair that counts every single tick, regardless of the direction it goes in.

For example, the counter starts off at 0.0000 and as the EURUSD increases, the counter becomes 0.0001,0.0002,0.0003, etc. for every tick that occurs. The counter should also account for drops in the EURUSD should it start trending downward, ex: 0.0003, 0.0002, 0.0001, 0.0000, -0.0001, -0.0002, etc..

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
  • #2
  • Jun 9, 2008 7:09am Jun 9, 2008 7:09am
I believe that the entire "start()" section is run every tick, so all you'd need is a simple counter.

Inserted Code
 
double Count;
 
if (Close[0] > Open[0]) Count++; else Count--
  • #3
  • Jun 9, 2008 6:20pm Jun 9, 2008 6:20pm
Quoting Ronald Raygun
I believe that the entire "start()" section is run every tick, so all you'd need is a simple counter.
Quoting Ronald Raygun

Inserted Code
[color=black]double Count;[/color]

[color=black]if (Close[0] > Open[0]) Count++; else Count--[/color]
[color=black][/color]


Thanks for the help RR, I ran the code you posted in MT4 and all that counter does is toggle between -1 & 1. I was able to find this out by adding an Alert() to counter and see its value for every tick. I also researched Close in the MQL4 dictionary and this type of counter you posted I believe is just for the current bar in the chart window.

What I am trying to accomplish is to create a counter that from its execution, will keep track of every pip and either add or subtract it from the counter based on the tick movement.

Again, thanks appreciate the help. I'm definitely moving in the right direction here on making this counter happen for my first EA.
  • #4
  • Jun 9, 2008 7:27pm Jun 9, 2008 7:27pm
you are going to have to use the current candle to create your counter as there is no tick by tick data saved in mt4 for previous candles.

The reason the code posted is only showing -1 or +1 is that you decaring the variable within the start function. Move the "Double Count;" up to just above the init() function. This will ensure it will only declare that variable once.
  • #5
  • Jun 9, 2008 11:17pm Jun 9, 2008 11:17pm
Here you go:

Inserted Code
double lastprice;
int counter;
start()
if(Ask=!lastprice) { counter++;lastprice=Ask; }
  • #6
  • Jun 9, 2008 11:24pm Jun 9, 2008 11:24pm
ok, here is the code I have so far for the counter

Inserted Code
[color=black]double Count;
int start()
{[/color]

[color=black]if (Close[0] > Open[0]) Count++; else Count--;
Alert("The value of the Count is currently: ", Count);[/color]

[color=black]if (Close[0] == Open[0])
Alert("The value of the Count should be 0 & currently is: ", Count);[/color]

[color=black]return(0);
}[/color]
[color=black][/color]


I have the EURUSD chart set to 1-week which should be fine for having this counter working on only 1 candle for a decent amount of time.

The problem(s) that I am noticing is that the counter results displayed in the Alert are not accurate at all. It may or may not start off working correct depending on the direction and volatility and when a reversal starts occurring, the counter continues to count in the trend before the reversal or some other incorrect direction.

Long story short here, the counter is spitting out all sorts of incorrect numbers on a candle that will not be ending anytime soon.
  • #7
  • Jun 10, 2008 12:09am Jun 10, 2008 12:09am
Quoting dcmist
ok, here is the code I have so far for the counter

Inserted Code
[color=black]double Count;
int start()
{[/color]

[color=black]if (Close[0] > Open[0]) Count++; else Count--;
Alert("The value of the Count is currently: ", Count);[/color]

[color=black]if (Close[0] == Open[0])
Alert("The value of the Count should be 0 & currently is: ", Count);[/color]

[color=black]return(0);
}[/color]
[color=black][/color]


I have the EURUSD chart set to 1-week which should be fine for having this counter working on only 1 candle for a decent amount of time.

The problem(s) that I am noticing is that the counter results displayed in the Alert are not accurate at all. It may or may not start off working correct depending on the direction and volatility and when a reversal starts occurring, the counter continues to count in the trend before the reversal or some other incorrect direction.

Long story short here, the counter is spitting out all sorts of incorrect numbers on a candle that will not be ending anytime soon.
Hi,

You need a global variable counter that will do the counting for you, use the following code please

PHP Code
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//|                                                         test.mq4 |
//|                                     Copyright © 2008, Cubei.info |
//|                                            http://www.cubei.info |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
#property copyright "Copyright © 2008, www.cubei.info"
#property link      "http://www.cubei.info"

//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| expert initialization function                                   |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int init()
  {
//----
   
//----
   return(0);
  }
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| expert deinitialization function                                 |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int deinit()
  {
//----
   
//----
   return(0);
  }
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| expert start function                                            |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int start()
  {
//----
   /*
   Please take a note that the following code is not optimized
   you could only run the following code only for 1 pair
   
   
   Regards,
   Yohan :D
   */
   string Counter="YourCounterName";
   string LastPrice="LastPriceOfTheSymbol";
   
   if(!GlobalVariableCheck(Counter)) GlobalVariableSet(Counter,0);
   if(!GlobalVariableCheck(LastPrice)) GlobalVariableSet(LastPrice,Close[0]);
   
   double lPrice=GlobalVariableGet(LastPrice);
   double tCounter=GlobalVariableGet(Counter);
   
   //check for the loop
   if(Close[0]>lPrice) tCounter=tCounter+1/MathPow(10, Digits);
   else if(Close[0]<lPrice) tCounter=tCounter-1/MathPow(10, Digits);
   
   //note for the current price
   GlobalVariableSet(LastPrice, Close[0]);
   //note for the current "Trend"
   GlobalVariableSet(Counter, tCounter);
   
   //display the output/ the "trend" ;)
   Comment("The trend for "+Symbol()+ " is "+DoubleToStr(tCounter,Digits));
   
//----
   return(0);
  }
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
Hope to help
-1128 Pips since 6 August 2007
  • #8
  • Jun 10, 2008 7:57pm Jun 10, 2008 7:57pm
Quoting yohan_ip
Hi,

You need a global variable counter that will do the counting for you, use the following code please

PHP Code
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//|                                                         test.mq4 |
//|                                     Copyright © 2008, Cubei.info |
//|                                            http://www.cubei.info |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
#property copyright "Copyright © 2008, www.cubei.info"
#property link      "http://www.cubei.info"
 
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| expert initialization function                                   |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int init()
  {
//----
 
//----
   return(0);
  }
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| expert deinitialization function                                 |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int deinit()
  {
//----
 
//----
   return(0);
  }
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| expert start function                                            |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int start()
  {
//----
   /*
   Please take a note that the following code is not optimized
   you could only run the following code only for 1 pair
 
 
   Regards,
   Yohan :D
   */
   string Counter="YourCounterName";
   string LastPrice="LastPriceOfTheSymbol";
 
   if(!GlobalVariableCheck(Counter)) GlobalVariableSet(Counter,0);
   if(!GlobalVariableCheck(LastPrice)) GlobalVariableSet(LastPrice,Close[0]);
 
   double lPrice=GlobalVariableGet(LastPrice);
   double tCounter=GlobalVariableGet(Counter);
 
   //check for the loop
   if(Close[0]>lPrice) tCounter=tCounter+1/MathPow(10, Digits);
   else if(Close[0]<lPrice) tCounter=tCounter-1/MathPow(10, Digits);
 
   //note for the current price
   GlobalVariableSet(LastPrice, Close[0]);
   //note for the current "Trend"
   GlobalVariableSet(Counter, tCounter);
 
   //display the output/ the "trend" ;)
   Comment("The trend for "+Symbol()+ " is "+DoubleToStr(tCounter,Digits));
 
//----
   return(0);
  }
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
Hope to help
Yohan, I tried out the code you posted and did some modifications to it. I changed the +1 & -1 of the counters if statement (see code) so that if for example the EURUSD jumps from 1.5566 to 1.5569 all of the sudden, the counter accounts for the multi-pip movement. However, the results I get when running the counter are slightly off from what they actually should be.
Here is a copy of the code with the modifications I have made annotated, as well as a log of what happened as I watched the counter operate.
PHP Code
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
//|                                                         test.mq4 | 
//|                                     Copyright © 2008, Cubei.info | 
//|                                            http://www.cubei.info | 
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
#property copyright "Copyright © 2008, www.cubei.info" 
#property link      "http://www.cubei.info" 
 
int init() 
{ 
return(0); 
} 
int deinit() 
{ 
return(0); 
} 
 
string Counter="EURUSD pip counter"; 
string LastPrice="LastPriceOfTheSymbol"; 
int start() 
{ 
//---- 
   /* 
   Please take a note that the following code is not optimized 
   you could only run the following code only for 1 pair 
 
 
   Regards, 
   Yohan :D 
   */ 
 
   //string Counter="YourCounterName"; 
   //string LastPrice="LastPriceOfTheSymbol"; 
 
   if(!GlobalVariableCheck(Counter)) GlobalVariableSet(Counter,0); 
   if(!GlobalVariableCheck(LastPrice)) GlobalVariableSet(LastPrice,Close[0]); 
 
   double lPrice=GlobalVariableGet(LastPrice); 
   double tCounter=GlobalVariableGet(Counter); 
 
 
   //check for the loop 
   if(Close[0]>lPrice) tCounter=tCounter+Close[0]/MathPow(10, Digits);       //I changed the +1 here to +Close[0] to account for any sudden jumps or dips in the EURUSD
   else if(Close[0]<lPrice) tCounter=tCounter-Close[0]/MathPow(10, Digits);  //Same thing here, the -1 became -Close[0] to account for any sudden jumps
 
   //note for the current price 
   GlobalVariableSet(LastPrice, Close[0]); 
 
   //note for the current "Trend" 
   GlobalVariableSet(Counter, tCounter); 
 
   //display the output/ the "trend" ;) 
   Comment("The trend for "+Symbol()+ " is "+DoubleToStr(tCounter,Digits)); 
 
return(0); 
} 
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
LOG:
When counter hits -1 tick from opening amount, counter changes to -0.0002. The counter should be -0.0001.
When counter hits +1 tick from opening amount, counter changes to +0.0002. The counter should be +0.0001.
When counter hits +2 ticks from opening amount, counter changes to +0.0003. The counter should be +0.0002.
When counter hits +3 ticks from opening amount, counter changes to +0.0005. The counter should be +0.0003.
When counter hits +4 ticks from opening amount, counter changes to +0.0006. The counter should be +0.0004.
When counter hits +3 ticks from the opening amount again, value is now +0.0006. The counter should be +0.0003.
When counter hits +5 ticks value of counter becomes +0.0009. The counter should be +0.0005.



I suspect the culprit that’s causing the errors in the counter has something to do with the MathPow() statements, but thats just a guess of mine. I am going to continue to play around with the code and see if I can figure it out. Thanks again for your help.
  • #9
  • Jun 10, 2008 11:10pm Jun 10, 2008 11:10pm
Hi there,
here is a guidelines..

  1. The EA should only be put on 1 chart
  2. whenever you are starting to 'count' you need to delete all of the global variables.. example.. you run your chart at 10.00 am till 11.00, the counter reads as +0.0040, and then you start again metattrader some time later, say at 13.00.. the nature of global variable is they will not dissappear although you shut down your meta trader platform, the tick will continue from +0.0040


Please don't hesitate to ask again if you still didn't find the solution..

ah yes, another hints..

PHP Code
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| expert initialization function                                   |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int init()
  {
//----
//set those global variables to 0 here..
GlobalVariableSet("YourCounterName",0);
GlobalVariableSet("LastPriceOfTheSymbol", Close[0]);
//----
   return(0);
  }

My best regards to all of you whom have tried to learn coding mql language..
-1128 Pips since 6 August 2007
  • #10
  • Last Post: Jun 12, 2008 10:23am Jun 12, 2008 10:23am


I was finally able to figure out why the counter wasn't working properly after playing with the code for a while. It turns out my suspicions of the MathPow(10, Digits); were correct. I did the calculations manually on a spreadsheet and saw that the MathPow was producing numbers like 0.0001562, 0.0001852, etc. This is why I was getting off-results for the counter.

Here is a copy of what I did to fix the problem.

PHP Code
 if(Close[0]>lPrice) tCounter=tCounter+(Close[0]-x);       //x is always the previous Close[0] before the current tick.
   else if(Close[0]<lPrice) tCounter=tCounter-(x-Close[0]);  //Same thing here with x.  
 
   //note for the current price 
   GlobalVariableSet(LastPrice, Close[0]); 
 
   //note for the current "Trend" 
   GlobalVariableSet(Counter, tCounter); 
   x=Close[0];     //x is upgraded at this point in the code with the latest Close[0] amount.
I should note that x is declared as a global variable and in the init() the value of x is set to the current Close[0].

Again, Big Thanks to Yohan and everyone else who helped with this simple pip counter.
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