Best charting/system testing software?

Cyber Man · 22 January 2009

If I wanted to design a purely mechanical trading system and extensively back test it using end of day data on hundreds of markets, what software would be best?
I currently use Metastock for charting but before I start writing and testing formulas I want to make sure I am using the best software. Any advise?

jersey10 · 22 January 2009

Cyber Man said:
If I wanted to design a purely mechanical trading system and extensively back test it using end of day data on hundreds of markets, what software would be best?
I currently use Metastock for charting but before I start writing and testing formulas I want to make sure I am using the best software. Any advise?

do a search there is plenty of info i've read on this forum regarding this. As far as i can see Amibroker is the one most people recommend esp. considering its reasonable price.

bankit · 23 January 2009

Cyber Man said:
If I wanted to design a purely mechanical trading system and extensively back test it using end of day data on hundreds of markets, what software would be best?
I currently use Metastock for charting but before I start writing and testing formulas I want to make sure I am using the best software. Any advise?

Hi Cyber Man,

I am probably one eyed but having used Metastock for 14 years I find it hard to by pass for writing formulas and scanning stocks. Also if you Google for "Metastock Formulas" you will find more than enough to set yourself up.

Bankit

MS+Tradesim · 23 January 2009

If you already have Metastock, then IMO the best software for backtesting is Tradesim.

http://www.compuvision.com.au/

Disclaimer: I get no kickbacks. Just a very satisfied customer.

Amibroker is cheaper and has backtesting built in but you will need to learn a slightly different way of writing formulas. It's easier to feed RT data into Ami. Amibroker does allow intraday backtesting, but the next Tradesim upgrade will include that as well. I also own Amibroker.

http://www.amibroker.com/

Compare them both and decide for yourself, though.

Ps. I realise you said EOD testing. Just referring to intraday because you may want to use it as well some day.

Cyber Man · 23 January 2009

Amibroker looks great and maybe a bit more powerful than Metastock especially with the C++ developer kit however I am already familiar with Metastock and the TradeSim add-on looks awesome.
Also I have an incredible amount of data all in MS format and by the looks of it Amibroker won't import it all at once. I will further investigate this and give them both a try.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

captain black · 23 January 2009

Cyber Man said:
Also I have an incredible amount of data all in MS format and by the looks of it Amibroker won't import it all at once.

No need to import your MS data, Amibroker will read it directly using a built-in plugin.

http://www.amibroker.com/guide/h_extsources.html

Cyber Man · 23 January 2009

Thanks captain but no luck. It would seem that you need to point the program to each MASTER file individually instead of pointing it to the root directory and have it scan for all the MASTER files. I have hundreds of master files all in separate directories.

Plan_Trader · 23 January 2009

Sounds like you just want confirmation for your choice of MS.

Have both - Ami is faaaaaaaaar superior!!!!!!!!!!!!

skyQuake · 25 January 2009

Confirmation bias lol

howardbandy · 25 January 2009

Greetings --

I'll add one more vote in favor of AmiBroker.

I have worked extensively with MetaStock. And with TradeStation and many other trading system development platforms. I began using AmiBroker a few years ago and have since converted everything I do to it.

AmiBroker is far superior to MetaStock in several areas that are important to me:
fast and efficient processing using built-in array functionality
wide variety of built-in functions
ability to accept data from almost any data vendor or file format (including automatic processing of data in MetaStock format files)
ability to handle portfolios
ability to combine multiple data streams
ability to use multiple time frames
ability to select from a wide variety of built-in fitness metrics
ability to design and use a custom fitness metric
automated walk forward validation
ability to extend AmiBroker using code written in other languages, such as C++, and compiled into DLLs
low initial cost of AmiBroker (including free trial of fully functional program)
low cost of maintaining AmiBroker
superb support from the developer
active forum discussions
ability to interface with automated trading brokerages, such as Interactive Brokers
and so forth

Thanks,
Howard

TradeSim · 26 January 2009

Cyber Man said:
Amibroker looks great and maybe a bit more powerful than Metastock especially with the C++ developer kit however I am already familiar with Metastock and the TradeSim add-on looks awesome.
Also I have an incredible amount of data all in MS format and by the looks of it Amibroker won't import it all at once. I will further investigate this and give them both a try.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

You can now purchase a 30 day trial of the TradeSim Enterprise Edition for $75 with the option of crediting this amount to any of the time unlimited versions of the Standard, Professional or Enterprise Editions

Cyber Man · 27 January 2009

Thanks Howard, Amibroker looks promising however I got frustrated within the first few minutes as I simply wanted to add non-trading days (weekends etc.) to a daily chart but for the life of me I could work out how to do it which probably means it cannot be done. Do you know if it is possible?

Thanks TradeSim, I have just put through an order for the $75 trial of the Enterprise Edition via PayPal. Look forward to giving it a go.

Best charting/system testing software?

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