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Autodetect ECN Broker

  • #1
  • First Post: Feb 19, 2011 4:08pm Feb 19, 2011 4:08pm
It seems a lot of people who had previously hired me to write EAs for them have had those EAs suddenly stop working.

The main problem was they didn't understand the different requirements of an ECN Broker and a Non-ECN Broker. I spent some time trying to figure out how to detect whether or not a broker is an ECN and to have the EA handle that appropriately.

Inserted Code
bool ECNBroker = False; //This variable goes in the global variables section.


int SendOrder(string OpenSymbol, int OpenCommand, double OpenVolume, double OpenPrice, int OpenSlippage, double OpenStopLoss, double OpenTakeProfit, string OpenComment, int OpenMagicNumber, datetime OpenExpiration, color OpenColor)
   {
   int FTicket = -2;
   if(!ECNBroker)
      {
      FTicket = OrderSend(OpenSymbol, OpenCommand, OpenVolume, OpenPrice, OpenSlippage, OpenStopLoss, OpenTakeProfit, OpenComment, OpenMagicNumber, OpenExpiration, OpenColor);
      if(FTicket == -1)
         {
         return(FTicket);
         }
      if(OrderSelect(FTicket, SELECT_BY_TICKET, MODE_TRADES))
         {
         return(FTicket);
         }
         else
         {
         ECNBroker = True;
         }
      }
   if(ECNBroker)
      {
      FTicket = OrderSend(OpenSymbol, OpenCommand, OpenVolume, OpenPrice, OpenSlippage, 0.0, 0.0, OpenComment, OpenMagicNumber, OpenExpiration, OpenColor);
      if(FTicket > 0)
         {
         OrderSelect(FTicket, SELECT_BY_TICKET, MODE_TRADES);
         OrderModify(FTicket, OrderOpenPrice(), OpenStopLoss, OpenTakeProfit, OrderExpiration(), CLR_NONE);
         }
      return(FTicket);   
      }    
   }


The way the function works is simple enough.

The EA first tries to place a trade normally--assuming the broker is a non-ecn broker. If there are no OrderSend() errors, but no trade is placed or detected, the EA knows that broker is an ECN broker and will act accordingly.

At least, that's what is supposed to happen in a perfect world.
  • #2
  • Feb 19, 2011 7:12pm Feb 19, 2011 7:12pm
Ron, That's a good start, but there can be errors not related to this, so you need to check for specific stop/limit size errors.
  • #3
  • Feb 19, 2011 7:57pm Feb 19, 2011 7:57pm
Why try to figure it out? Just add the Point multiply factor to auto-adjust for 4/5 digit and do OrderModify() for TP/SL. Let the EA figure it out.
  • #4
  • Feb 19, 2011 8:12pm Feb 19, 2011 8:12pm
Quoting Kenz987
Ron, That's a good start, but there can be errors not related to this, so you need to check for specific stop/limit size errors.
I designed this function to be used in lieu of using only the OrderSend() function. I use this so I don't have to rely on my end user to enable / disable the ECNBroker flag.

Which errors were you thinking about? The minimum distances to stoploss/takeprofit/order entry? That's handled--in my case anyway--before this function. Any other normal errors are returned by the function as -1 to the section of code that calls it.

Quoting Aja
Why try to figure it out? Just add the Point multiply factor to auto-adjust for 4/5 digit and do OrderModify() for TP/SL. Let the EA figure it out.
What are you talking about?
  • #5
  • Feb 19, 2011 10:24pm Feb 19, 2011 10:24pm
Quoting Ronald Raygun

What are you talking about?
Your routine has 2 options - 1 for in-order TP/SL and another branch for OrderModify() TP/SL - Why not just always use OrderModify()? and dont worry about choosing.
  • #6
  • Feb 20, 2011 4:12am Feb 20, 2011 4:12am
The original -1 branch is meant to catch the original OrderSend() error. On ECN Brokers, if an EA tries to place a trade with a stoploss / takeprofit, the function dies with no error.

In that first branch, the EA checks to see if the order was placed by looking for the ticket number generated by the OrderSend() function. If the trade was placed, then the ticket number is returned. If the trade was not placed, the EA retries to place an order but this time, using ordermodify to add in the stoploss / takeprofit.
  • #7
  • Feb 20, 2011 6:33am Feb 20, 2011 6:33am
I think I understand your question better.

It's generally faster to send an order with the stoploss / takeprofit already added.

The Ordermodify option is more risky as there's a chance the price could move too far causing the ordermodify to throw an error
  • #8
  • Feb 20, 2011 10:50am Feb 20, 2011 10:50am
Understood. As a precaution against exactly what you're talking about I'll use the current MT4 Bid/Ask +-(TP/SL) in the OrderModify() just in case the price has changed. Most times the Bid/Ask is the same between operations and Ask+20pips is 20pips from the original order. Rarely It'll slip but at least the OrderModify() gets placed.

All programmers think differently so its fun to see all the diff approaches or even notice when me/you/others are getting too 'cute' because they have great skill. I've had to pull beautifully written routines out of my code that were clever but not profitable and laughed at myself for not wanting to do it.
  • #9
  • Last Post: Feb 20, 2011 11:39am Feb 20, 2011 11:39am
I'm not sure that's an entirely safe solution.

If the price changes significantly, you would need to run RefreshRates() in order to calculate the new prices
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