Testing algorithmic trading strategies

Testing algorithmic trading strategies

Posted: MargaritaVID Date of post: 23.06.2017

The Strategy Tester allows you to test and optimize trading strategies Expert Advisors before using them for live trading. During testing, an Expert Advisor with initial parameters is once run on history data. During optimization, a trading strategy is run several times with different sets of parameters which allows selecting the most appropriate combination thereof.

The Strategy Tester is a multi-currency tool, which allows you to test and optimize strategies trading multiple financial instruments. The Strategy Tester is multi-threaded, thus allowing to use all available computer resources. Testing and optimization are carried out using special computing agents that are installed as services on the user's computer. Agents work independently and allow parallel processing of optimization passes.

An unlimited number of remote agents can be connected to the Strategy Tester. In addition, the Strategy Tester can access the MQL5 Cloud Network. It brings together thousands of agents around the world, and this computational power is available to any user of the trading platform.

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In addition to Expert Advisor testing and optimization, you can use the Strategy Tester to test the operation of custom indicators in the visual mode.

This feature allows to easily test the operation of demo versions of indicators downloaded from the Market.

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Testing of an Expert Advisor is its single run with fixed parameters using historical price data. It allows you to test how the strategy works before you use it on a real market.

How to test Expert Advisors and Indicators before purchase. Watch the video to learn how to test a trading robot before you purchase it from the Market.

Every product on the Market is provided with a free demo version, which can be tested in the Strategy Tester. Watch the video for details. Click " Test" in the context menu of an Expert Advisor in the Navigator window. After that the Expert Advisor is selected in the Strategy Tester. The Strategy Tester allows backtesting strategies that trade multiple symbols.

Such trading robots are conventionally called multicurrency Expert Advisors. The tester automatically downloads the history of required symbols from the trading platform not from the trade server!

Only the missing price history data are additionally downloaded from the trading server. Before you start testing a multi-currency Expert Advisor, enable the symbols required for testing in the Market Watch. Open its context menu, click " Symbols" and enable the required instruments.

Before you start testing, select the financial instrument to test the trading robot operation on, the period and the mode. Select the main chart for testing and optimization.

Symbol selection is required to provide the triggering of OnTick events contained in Expert Advisors. Also, the selected symbol and period affect special functions in the Expert Advisor code that use current chart parameters for example, Symbol and Period. In other words, the chart to which the Expert Advisor is attached should be selected here. Select the testing and optimization period. You can select one of predefined periods or set a custom time interval.

To set a custom period, enter the start and end dates in the appropriate fields to the right. The specific feature of the tester is that it additionally downloads some data preceding the specified period to form no less than bars. This is required for a more accurate testing and optimization. For example, if you test on a one-week timeframe, two additional years are downloaded. If there is not enough history data for forming additional bars it is especially significant for the monthly and weekly timeframesfor example, when specifying a start of testing close to the start of existing history data, then the start date of testing will be automatically shifted.

An appropriate message is added to the Strategy Tester journal. This option allows you to check the results of testing in order to avoid fitting to certain time intervals. During forward testingthe period set in the Date field is divided into two parts in accordance with the selected forward period a half, one third, one fourth or a custom period when you specify the forward testing start date.

The first part is the period of back testing. It is the period of Expert Advisor operation adaptation. The second part is forward testing, during which the selected parameters are checked. The strategy tester allows you to emulate network delays during an Expert Advisor operation in order to bring testing closer to real conditions.

A certain time delay is inserted between placing a trade request and its execution in the strategy tester. From the moment of sending a request till its execution, the price can change.

This allows you to evaluate how trade processing speed affects the trading results. In case of the instant execution mode, users can additionally check the EA's response to a requote from the trade server. If the difference between requested and execution prices exceeds the deviation value specified in the order, the EA receives a requote. Please note that delays work only for trades performed by an EA placing orderschanging stop levelsetc. For example, if an EA uses pending orders, delays are only applied to placing an order but not to its execution in real conditions, execution occurs at the server without a network delay.

In this mode, all orders are executed at requested prices with no requotes. The mode is used to check an EA in "perfect" conditions. This mode allows testing an EA in conditions that are close to real ones.

The delay value is generated as follows: You can select one of the predefined delay values or set a custom one. The platform measures the ping to the trade server and allows you to set that value as a delay in the tester so that you are able to test a robot in the conditions that are as close to the real ones as possible. For more information about tick generation, please coles garden city sunday opening hours the appropriate section.

Macd indicator binary options xo the amount of the initial deposit used for testing and optimization. The currency depends on the how to get free vc in 2k14 ps4 currency of the currently connected account. Next select the leverage for testing and optimization.

Input parameters allow you to control the behavior of the Expert Advisor, adapting it to different market conditions and a specific financial instrument. For example, you can explore the Expert Advisor performance with different Stop Loss and Take Profit values, different periods of the moving average used for market analysis and decision-making, etc.

You can at any time return to the current settings of your MQL5 program by saving a set of its parameters using a context menu: To start testing, click "Start" on the "Settings" tab.

The testing progress is displayed to the left. Results of an Expert Advisor testing are displayed on tabs "Result" and "Graph". Detailed testing results are displayed on the "Result" tab. The tab contains general testing results, including profit and the number of trades, as well as many statistical values to help assess the performance of the trading robot. Additional charts visualize the distribution of the number and success of trading work from home jobs ardmore ok by hours, days forex rates in pak months, as well as describe the risk parameter of the trading strategy.

See the Testing report section for details. On the "Graph" tab, you can visually determine how successfully the Expert Advisor performed on the selected instrument in the selected time interval. The balance curve blue line and the equity curve green are shown in the main area of the tab. Balance values are shown on the chart each time they are changed when a position is closedequity values are additionally shown with a certain periodicity between balance changes.

The testing progress is reflected on the "Journal". In addition, messages of the Expert Advisor best way to make money in f2p rs added to the Journal.

In the visual testing mode, the testing progress can be viewed straight on the chart. As soon as testing is over, you can open the chart on which the Expert Advisor was tested selected symbol and period. Click " Open Chart" in the context menu of the "Result" tab.

testing algorithmic trading strategies

All the deals performed by the Expert Advisor during testing are shown on the chart. If a template named tester.

testing algorithmic trading strategies

If the forex quotation convention is not available, the default one is used default.

If the tested Expert Advisor uses indicatorswhich run on the testing symbol and period, they are also displayed on the chart.

However, if forced unloading of an indicator the IndicatorRelease function is implemented in the source code of the Expert Advisor, it is not testing algorithmic trading strategies on the chart.

Forward testing is the repeated run of the Expert Advisor on stock market returns 1930s different time period.

This feature allows you to avoid parameters fitting in certain areas of historical data. To start the forward testing, in the Forward field of the Settings tab select the part of the total period for it: When the forward testing is enabled, the selected part is separated from the period specified in the "Date" field. The first part is the period of back testing, and the second one is the period of forward testing. Results of the forward test are displayed on the separate tab "Forward". The start date of the forward period is marked by a vertical line on the chart.

For details about testing results please read section "Where to view the optimization results". In the Strategy Tester of the trading platform, you can test Expert Advisors and indicators in the visual mode. This mode allows to visualize exactly how the Expert Forex mega scalper myfxbook performs trade operations during backtesting.

Each trade is displayed on the chart of a financial symbol. To enable the visual test, select "Visualization" in the settings: Set up testing options and configuration parametersthen click "Start".

Visual testing runs in a new window, which simulates a separate trading platform: To pause, speed up or slow down the testing, use the toolbar. You can also jump to a specific date of the test. You can conveniently control the testing process via hot keys, combinations are listed next to the menu commands. The main purpose of this type of testing is the visual analysis of the Expert Advisor performance. A chart is generated in real time based on emulated historic price data.

Trading robot operations are displayed on this chart. Trading operations are displayed as icons a Buy deal and a Sell deal. A dotted line is displayed between market entries and exits. The Market Watch window shows prices generated during testing.

It is similar to the Market Intraday trading strategies proven steps to trading profits (wiley trading) pdf of the trading platformbut has some specific features. The Symbols tab features the current price information of financial instruments.

The list of displayed symbols is limited to the main testing symbolas well as the symbols whose data are used by the Expert Advisor.

The Ticks tab contains a chart of prices generated during testing. The number of displayed ticks is limited to 64, The data window displays information about the prices OHLCdate and time of a bar, spread, volume and indicators. Here you can quickly find information about a particular bar and applied indicators at a selected point of the chart. The upper part of the window contains the name of a financial instrument and the chart period.

Information about the current cursor position on the chart is shown below. Information about indicators open in separate subwindows is shown in separate blocks. For a detailed study of the trades performed by the Expert Advisor, use the Toolbox window. It has several tabs with the following information: Information about trade operation parameters is available in sections Trade and History.

Additional details about testing are available in the Journal. It contains information about testing and actions of the Expert Advisor performed during the test. As long as the visualizer is open, the logs of testing agents are not sent to the Strategy Tester of the trading platform. Nevertheless, they can be viewed via the trading platform using the "Local Journals of local agents" command in the context menu. The visual testing mode allows you to monitor the behavior of indicators on historic data.

This feature allows you to easily test an indicator before purchasing it from the Market. Download the free demo version and run the indicator in the Strategy Tester. Select the type of the program "Indicators", then select the indicator and click "Start". The visualization mode is enabled automatically. The rest of the parameters are set in the same way, as during testing of trading robots. The behavior of the indicator is shown on a chart, which is plotted based on a sequences of ticks simulated in the tester.

Trading Platform MetaTrader 5 Download Forex and Stock Markets Trading Charts Technical Analysis Fundamental Analysis Alerts Virtual Hosting VPS Web Trading Comparison with MetaTrader 4 MetaTrader 5 Help Release Notes News Automated Trading MQL5 IDE Robots and Indicators MQL5 Programming Language MQL5 Wizard MetaEditor MetaEditor Help Strategy Tester MQL5.

Expert Advisors and Custom Indicators Where to Find Trading Robots and Indicators How to Create an Expert Advisor or an Indicator Strategy Testing Strategy Optimization Testing Features Testing Report Testing Visualization Journal of Testing Optimization Types Real and Generated Ticks MetaTester and Remote Agents Global Variables.

Strategy Testing The Strategy Tester allows you to test and optimize trading strategies Expert Advisors before using them for live trading. How to Test Testing of an Expert Advisor is its single run with fixed parameters using historical price data. How to test Expert Advisors and Indicators before purchase Watch the video to learn how to test a trading robot before you purchase it from the Market.

Symbol and period Select the main chart for testing and optimization. Date Select the testing and optimization period. Forward This option allows you to check the results of testing in order to avoid fitting to certain time intervals.

Execution The strategy tester allows you to emulate network delays during an Expert Advisor operation in order to bring testing closer to real conditions. No delay In this mode, all orders are executed at requested prices with no requotes.

Random delay This mode allows testing an EA in conditions that are close to real ones. Fixed delay You can select one of the predefined delay values or set a custom one. Tick generation mode Select one of the tick generation modes: Every tick is the most accurate but also the slowest mode. It emulates all ticks. Every tick based on real ticks is as close to real conditions as possible. It uses real ticks of financial instruments accumulated by a broker.

Emulation is not performed. Tick data has larger size. Downloading it may take quite a long time during the first test. Math calculations — in this mode the tester does not download history data and information on symbols, as well as does not generate ticks. Only functions OnInitOnTester and OnDeinit are called. Thus a tester can be used for various mathematical calculations where the selection of parameters is required.

Initial deposit and leverage Specify the amount of the initial deposit used for testing and optimization. Note that symbol specification does not mean that the tester will use only these history data.

The tester automatically downloads information on all the symbols used in the Expert Advisor. It may take quite a long time if the internet connection is slow.

Downloading of all data is performed once, only the missing information is downloaded during the next starts. The price data of all necessary symbols are automatically downloaded from the server during testing and optimization.

Testing starts and ends at 00hr. Testing ends on the last tick of the previous date. Also you cannot specify the end date, which is greater than the current one. In such case, the testing anyway will be performed to the current date not including it. Always the second latest part of the total period is taken for the forward testing.

testing algorithmic trading strategies

Visual testing is unavailable when optimization is enabled. Visual testing can only be performed on local agents. If a remote agent is selected for testing, choose a local one using the " Select" command in its context menu. Trading Platform Mobile Trading Market Signals Automated Trading Download For Brokers About CopyrightMetaQuotes Software Corp.

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