For those who have only read the title and want wo reply with "because it's the most brokers' default option": Please don't.
In this thread, I do not want to address Problems with Empty4.
Also, I do not want to start discussions if Empty4 is a useful software or not. It can display charts, enter trades, gives people the possibility to program their own custom trading strategies. It seems to serve its purpose.
What I want to start with this thread is a discussion beyond the seemlingly overwhelming world of Empty4. Beyond the countless workarounds. Beyond the home-made bugfixes. Beyond the idea that it is the user's responsibility to fix a broken platform.
(Well, big words...maybe a little too big. But I hope I have caught your attention.
)There seem to be a lot of problems with Empty4. One little problem at a time is not a dealbreaker. But I am under the strong opinion that a computer programme that is responsible for handlung one's money should be reliable. Really reliable. From what I have seen in many threads, this does not seem to be the case.
Another point that strikes me is that it seems to be impossible to get reliable Test results from Empty4.
Either that, or a lot of people are obsessed with running computer programmes for prolonged periods of time. All other trading programs (NinjaTrader, for example), generate reliable backtests. I cannot see why this is such an exception in the forex world.
(Well, of course there are some exceptions. High-frequency trading algorithms probably rely on precise tick-wise input. But most trading systems operate on a scale of minutes or hours.)
What I am saying is that -- if nobody really likes Empty4 -- there should be another way.
Possible solutions for this problem which I see are:
- We could use another trading programme instead of Empty4. We would need a driver or some other kind of interface between the trading programme and the broker's Empty4 feed.
- A lot of brokers offer the FIX protocol for trading. It is an open, well-defined protocol. With a bit of effort and the combined programming knowledge of this forum, I am sure that program can be developed which can run custom strategies.
One could also try and look for a company which provides historical forex data. If such a company can be found, it should be no problem to make a backtesting programme from the custom trading programme mentioned above.
) where you can share great ideas and coding efforts. But I think it's costing us a lot. Empty4 is a fun toy for somebody "playing" with FX. But if we're serious about this, I think we need to consider using some professional-strength tools.