Programming in Algorithmic Language

Introductory Course

Nowadays, a personal computer became indispensable for everybody. The rapid development of Internet and performance of modern computers opened up new vistas in many fields of human activities. As early as ten years ago, the financial market trade was available only for banks and for a limited community of specialists. Today, anybody can join the world of professional traders and start independent trading at any time.

Hundreds of thousands of worldwide traders have already judged MetaTrader 4 Client Terminal on its merits. The use of its embedded programming language, MQL4, lifts traders to a new level of trading - to automated trading. Now, a trader can implement his or her ideas as an application program - write a custom indicator, a script to perform single operations, or create an Expert Advisor - an automated trading system (trading robot). An Expert Advisor (EA) can work on a 24/7 basis without any intervention - track security prices, send electronic messages, SMSes to your mobile phone, as well as do many other useful things.

The main advantage of applications is the possibility to make trades according to the algorithm set by the trader. Any ideas that can be described in an algorithmic language (intersection of two moving averages or digital processing of signals, three screens by Elder or Peters' fractal analysis, a neural network or geometrical constructions) can be coded in an application and then used in practical trading.

Development of applications for MetaTrader 4 Client Terminal requires the knowledge of MQL4. This present textbook will help you create your own Expert Advisors, scripts and indicators and incarnate in them your ideas – your algorithms of profitable trading. The textbook is intended for a large number of readers without experience in programming that want to learn how to develop automated trading applications for MetaTrader 4 Client Terminal. The textbook is designed in such a method that to make learning MQL4 as convenient and consequent as possible.

Preface