CHAPTER 7
TradeStation Coding
As most of you who have followed my work over the years know, I prefer to work
with TradeStation. Currently, I use the 2000i version, which is the second to last
version of the program. I prefer TradeStation because, although the program cer-
tainly has its fair share of idiosyncrasies and annoying “features,” it is the only off-
the-shelf analysis platform I know of that allows you to, at least partially, work
around these shortcomings by adding your own code.
For example, no program allows me to do the type of portfolio-based money
management I would like to do. Therefore, I need to do all my portfolio manage-
ment and analysis in Excel or with the help of Visual Basic, and TradeStation is
the only program I know of that allows me to export the data I need into a text file
for further analysis the way I like to do it.
I know of a few new programs out there that have started to allow portfolio
testing and analysis, but so far, I haven’t found one that completely satisfies my
needs or allows me to develop my techniques further. There might be such a pro-
gram available, but I only have 24 hours to spend per day, and I simply haven’t had
the time to shop around, much less figure out how it works. Therefore, we’re stuck
with TradeStation this time around as well.
I almost feel the need to apologize for that, but on the other hand,
TradeStation’s EasyLanguage code isn’t all that hard to understand if you give it a
serious effort. More often than not the code is in plain English, with the addition
of a set of regular mathematical expressions and signs. I truly believe you’re doing
yourself a great favor if you try to decipher the code, whether you’re a
TradeStation user or not. Once you get used to it (which shouldn’t take long), I’m
sure you will find that many times it’s even easier to understand how a system83Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.