Zorro

[snailbeard]

Linux and WINE

I was able to install and run Zorro successfully under Linux MS Windows emulation (Ubuntu/Debian)
(which is how I run Empty4).

Very fast!

This might be a practical and fast way to test multi-pair scripts, I look forward to having some spare time in the future to get to know it better, especially when there is a Empty4 bridge.

It looks like it was written at a higher level in C++? It would be great do some of the software at a higher level, and in a full IDE, it can be very frustrating testing and debugging via print statements.

[jcl]

lite-C has a 'real' debugger, but it's not implemented in Zorro yet. However, you can alternatively write your strategies in a C++ DLL and use your C++ development system for debugging.

[jcl]

Any C-lite language elements not natively supported in mql4 must be constructed by the coder when writing mql4. Is this correct?

Yes, but the problem is usually the other way around: You normally have a complicated construct with loops and arrays in MQL4, and have to find out the purpose of this bunch of code in order to convert this to a simple series in lite-C.

If you don't want to use the current bar in mql4, can't EA efficiency be improved by limiting EA functions only to run upon the Close of a new bar within start?

Yes, but that's the same problem as above: if an EA is limited to the close, it's fine. But often the EAs that you have to convert are not limited this way. So the incomplete bar does indeed affect the trading. This causes an EA behavior that is difficult to reproduce in backtests and to simulate in other platforms.

Surely anyone on a downloading spree can find an accurate custom ATR indicator for Empty4.

I would think that any EA worth its salt would use something like Digits and Point to auto detect broker/account parameters.

After some time, any EA coder will certainly learn how to fix and work around all those problems. However I've seen many EAs where they are not solved.

Can't the code not needed for trading be placed within init to run only once? I understand that Zorro simplifies coding, but there are visual EA builders that can eliminate coding almost completely.

As to my knowledge, they also eliminate profit almost completely. Visual builders, filter menus or similar methods to generate strategies with no coding are limited to simple and standardized systems. From my experience so far, I doubt that such simple systems can be profitable. If they were, anyone would develop systems this way. There is a reason why all successful automated systems that I know are coded.

In terms of backtesting speed, let's say that both Zorro and an EA are coded to trade identical strategies--opening trades on tick level data, and tick data has been loaded into history. How would Zorro avoid checking the trade logic at every tick (that appears within start in mql4)?

If the system had to open trades on every tick, Zorro had to run the trade logic on every tick as well. This means the backtest would not be 1000x faster, but only about 40x faster than Empty4.

This is an academic question however. Neither Zorro, nor Empty4 is able to run a usable backtest on the tick level. In fact I know of no trading software who could do a realistic market simulation with tick based entry logic.

[jcl]

Ok, two comments. To the question of visual EA builders: certainly, they can make profits with properly programmed custom indicators that are complex enough. But then the profit comes from the indicator, not from the visual EA builder.

And about a tick backtest: If you believe that you can "force" Empty4 to do that, just try it... but better don't use that result for live trading!

Most platforms have far better testers than Empty4, but I do not know any retail software that can backtest tick-based or short timeframe entries. First, the slippage on short timeframes can be much higher than a potential strategy expectancy, so you need an excellent market model in the simulator for precisely predicting the trade entry and exit prices under various circumstances. Otherwise the test results are way off. A more general problem is that price curves are not really fractal, on short timeframes they become almost Gaussian. This makes backtest results very unreliable, just as if you would feed the test with random data.

All this is open for discussion, but it's normally assumed that short timeframe backtests won't work, at least not for retail trading. It's certainly not a question of how to import tick data.

[jcl]

Well, I'm merely helping with script development, and better won't get deep into a theoretical discussion about whether tick backtesting works or not. The arguments that I told you here are just the usual view of system developers and professionals in test software development. If you still believe that a working tick backtest method really exists, it's absolutely fine with me, and you should use it and become fabulously rich. I certainly wish you all the best.

[falsedave]

JCL , I've developed a bunch of strategy's for Zorro. However I'm looking to start trading on an account with Global Prime. Is there any news on a broker plugin for GP or an Empty4 Bridge ?

[jcl]

Yes, the Empty4 plugin is ready. It's currently available for testing on the Zorro user forum.

If you're interested in testing it, you can apply on the user forum for access to the test version.

[jcl]

Zorro 1.10 has now been released. The new features:

- Zorro can now run not only stand alone but also as a Empty4 expert advisor.
- The Spectrum function can be used to find hidden cycles in a price curve.
- A new workshop was added that covers trading with machine learning algorithms.
- AI rules and strategy parameters can now be generated at the same time.
- The new pattern analyzer automatically finds all profitable candle patterns for price action trading.

Zorro can be downloaded from http://takemoneyfromtherichandgiveittothepoor.com. Good luck!

[dudest]

Zorro 1.10 has now been released..
..
Zorro can be downloaded from http://takemoneyfromtherichandgiveittothepoor.com. Good luck!

Amen! You guys rock jcl!! Thanks

[hilavoku]

Hi jcl,

is there a way to check the syntax or compile the code within the editor itself? For example, can i bind some function keys to run zorro with the appropriate command line?

thx in advance


PS: When do you think there will be the debugging features be ready?