Multicharts to MT4 bridge

[NapoleonDynamite]

About standardisation and protocol choices, thee attempt from SierraChart towards encouraging uniformisation outside of FIX is maybe something you could innovate on ? Please take time to read it. Best

[juancolonbo]

@NapoleonDynamite I think we're far more in agreement than the length of the exchange suggests

As I said, it's blatantly clear to us that Mt4 is not good enough in some cases... but if we're going to offer something else, it will be a more professional (=expensive) platform that users will have to pay for. And we will, probably sooner than you think.

That's all there is to it.

Wrt to LMAX, no-one loves LMAX more than I do - but the fact is up to very recently their spreads were worse than what others offered. I agree they're no last look spreads etc. but to most people (because they lose, therefore spreads can be subsidised) that makes no difference. I still can't believe that the FCA isn't taking the opportunity now to force all retail FX and CFD trading onto a regulated MTF (=LMAX), and I've gone on public record to say so.

And as I said, we're totally committed to an API, but it may well have to be our own, as opposed to a 3rd party's. Also I hope I didn't offend anyone on the "all gear, no idea" comment... just trying to add a bit of spice to the conversation.

[NapoleonDynamite]

All good. Less is sometimes more

but the fact is up to very recently their spreads were worse than what others offered. I agree they're no last look spreads etc. but to most people (because they lose, therefore spreads can be subsidised) that makes no difference.

People need to understand there is no long term planning possible at bucketshops. You can't scale / grow your business. It is worth it and sometimes good as an introduction to trading but not as a career. So the statement that those clients will be able to count forever on their "ideal trading conditions" is flawed right since the start. I can attest it for having "lived through hell times" at most of those shops.
So if you want to make a living out of it, your edge will need to survive on more difficult real life market condtions (futures, LMAX, etc) which makes it smarter to choose them from the beginning or be sure you could "still make it" under such scenario

Best

[VaRcheck]

When I use a Close All plugin as a "fix" (sigh), MT4 closes positions one by one in a sequential order at about one each every second. This is a nightware when the market moves at a very fast pace and you want to react with precision.

I have experienced this before as well, watching a basket of trade closes being "averaged down" because of the "sequential" orders closed and thus lowering the profit of the trades in the basket. - BUT this was due to the way the script I used there was programmed (sequential order closing by making use of a loop which checks if there are still open positions, then closes the next order, then checks again ... until the condition "any orders open?" returned that all orders are closed - this is a BAD way to do it) - because ...

You actually CAN close all orders at once in MT4 (and I was surprised when I discovered this, because I thought just like you that closing all at once is not possible, which is not correct) - at least for your discretionary trading, there's even a free script available - https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/2784 - In the description it offers a different version with parameters as well (e.g. close only buy or sell trades, close only trades of a particular currency pair etc.)

This of course is only a solution to one of the points you made, but it's a solution. - Maybe the developer might even explain to you how the script works, so you can implement this is any MT4 EA's as well.

Hope this helps?

[Edit: My apologies for linking a script without checking it before. Actually, the script I linked above works exactly the way I described as bad before, as it closes orders in a loop, one by one. Sorry!]

[KlondikeFX]

Actually @NapoleonDynamite is right. In Metatrader4 there is no possibility to send a "close all orders" command to the server. You will have to close them one by one.
So if you have multiple orders open and you want to close them all, you have to do it in a loop. If you have a fast broker and a good connection you hardly notice that it's not simultaneously. If your broker has slow execution times it can take quite some time.

[VaRcheck]

You will have to close them one by one.

Thank you for chiming in, KlondikeFX!

My apologies for not double-checking the script I linked before even linking it - I just checked the closing routine, and it really does close the orders one by one in a loop, which I could see clearly as it happened and as well from looking up the time stamp in the account history (opened 10 random orders on a demo account, dropped the script on the chart and it took about 3 seconds to close all 10 orders - the ping to brokers server is ~30ms and this was done on my laptop from home btw.).

On my VPS (with a faster ping which is <10ms) I just ran an EA which closes multiple orders if a regime filter indicates a change in trend. I remember this EA to close multiple orders at the blink of an eye (to my surprise, as stated before) - so I'll let it run now for, say, the next 12 hours with a rather short period for the regime filter so a "trend change" will occur in that time window hopefully close multiple open orders, and then I'll have a close look at the journal and the account history to check time stamps. - I am pretty sure that this EA does NOT close the orders in a loop, but maybe you're right and the faster VPS ping is really the reason why it only appears to me this way. - Exciting stuff, I think!

So - I'll be back later to report what I found there. - - If you're right the next round of beers is on me - and if I am right I'll give you the portion of the source code which manages the "multiple order closing with the speed of light" I observed there. - - Keeping fingers crossed!

[NapoleonDynamite]

Morning guys, thanks for giving a hand, brainstorming @VaRcheck no mistake never matters, unless you repeat it ...in a loop thanks for seeking the truth, buddy

My feeling is also that the 1by1 closing of trades is dependant on the broker slightly for having compared 3 (JFD, FXCM, Darwinex), but also on the number of trades... (worse with bad broker, more trades. Will add up) The more trades to close, the longest it seems to eventually take time, and sometimes I encounter up to 1 second between actions

A short video on a Darwinex demo, but I can state to see no difference on other kind of MT4 real accounts.

MT4 CloseAll script, 1by1 loop

What I also find unpractical is the way to trigger most scripts which have no buttons, by drag and dropping to the chart. Basic vital functions should be easily accessible and set in stone at all times from factory configuration.

[VaRcheck]

no mistake never matters, unless you repeat it ...in a loop thanks for seeking the truth, buddy

From my Skateboarding activities I can tell this is a valid statement. -

You're welcome @NapoleonDynamite - we all live and learn right?

So, kudos to @KlondikeFX for getting it right: It obviously really IS a matter of connection speed what I observed there when I claimed that multiple orders are closed at once - in fact, they are NOT. Depending on the number of orders that are closed, their closes just happen in the same second, but they do not happen on the exact same tick.

Lesson learned. - Thank you for pointing this out!

What I also find unpractical is the way to trigger most scripts which have no buttons, by drag and dropping to the chart.

A handy "double click" will do it as well (double checked that before I post it now) - the script you double click will be executed on the active chart - the highlighted tab will tell which chart is "active" (I call it "active" for the lack of a better word) if multiple charts are open in a single MT4 instance. - So there's not really the need to "drag & drop" a script onto a chart. Just double-click it.

About the round of beers I promised: I don't know where you guyz live, but in case you're close to the Ruhr Area in Northrhine-Westphalia (Germany) I will stand by it and deliver a round of finest local beer (Stauder Pils) in a pub of your choice. - Would be my pleasure! -

[KlondikeFX]

Thanks for the checkup. I have struggled a couple of times with Metatrader's shortcomings so I was pretty sure on that issue but would have loved it if you showed me a solution.
Thanks for your offer I might come back on that if I happen to be around that area sometime in the future

[NapoleonDynamite]

Thanks for the tip VaRcheck. Hell yeah. Way back in the days I used to skateboard too, until I broke my arms badly 2 times (bones outside, forearm in S shape, scars of 20cm, almost lost motricity) so I learned I'd better stop I still snowboard calmly though, plus a little carver skate on flat slope

About Germany, I only ever went to the Hamburg area once. It seemed quite lovely but that's not a place next door, unfortunatly

[turquoise]

After nearly a year of waiting I am back... and MT5 has appeared as well. I re-read all the posts in this thread and @NapoleonDynamite you truly get it ! Your comments are just spot on about other trading platforms and who uses them and why they use them, thankyou for taking the time to write them.

[NapoleonDynamite]

I am on LMAX using Multicharts , great set up for me, all my code is in easy language. Has any one ever had a bridge from MC to MT4 coded up ? Moving my systems over to MT4 is too hard and expensive .

@turquoise, you can google a unique copier which mirrors LMAX Web (so supposidly Multicharts/SierraChart/NinjaTrader too should be fine) as master account to MT4 as slave. Bear in mind, it uses cloud server and requires you to handle your login credentials so consider that you are giving away your intellectual property to a midleman

[Riven]

you can google a unique copier which mirrors LMAX Web

I checked that "Duplikium" site and I didn't found any Legal Statement or Pivacy policy links. I emailed them about that (especialy how secure they store login credentials) but they didn't felt necessary to even reply me...
I don't find that very professional or reassuring, I personally stay away.

[GoodFreddyHayek]

@juancolonbo @NapoleonDynamite You mention so many front ends, do we know whose charting software is the fastest, how would they go about proving that to us, could we validate it? I though speed was supposed to be important in this business? Is it?