Managing a trade account using a computer program is called Automated Trading or Algorithmic Trading. Such programs can analyze forex quotes or stock quotes and execute trade operations. Automated forex trading software are actually trading robots that fully take trader’s place.

Algorithmic trading is integrated into MetaTrader 5! Trading Platform includes a full-featured Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that includes all necessary components and allows traders to create, debug, test, optimize and run automated trading software.

In MetaTrader 5 algo trading programs are known as Expert Advisors or Trading Robots.

The core of the IDE is the high-level programming language MQL5 (MetaQuotes Language 5). All trading robots (so-called Expert Advisors), custom technical indicators, scripts and libraries are created using this language. The language itself is very powerful and flexible. MQL5 allows you to control almost every aspect of your auto trading strategy or market analysis. The high speed of the language allows traders to create very complex programs with large amount of calculations.

The best way to write MQL5 programs is to use our special-purpose MetaEditor. This editor was created especially for MQL5 language and it allows compiling the source code into an forex Expert Advisor, custom technical indicator, script and library. MetaEditor built-in debugger purpose is to find errors as you develop your MQL5 programs.

An important feature of MetaEditor is its direct connection with the MQL5.community. Access to MQL5 documentation and articles can be granted directly from the editor interface. Moreover, you can download ready-to-use MQL5 programs right into MetaEditor for further compilation and editing.

After compilation, MQL5 programs are available in MetaTrader 5 Trading Platform, where they can be used. In no time you can apply technical indicators on a chart and start to analyze dynamics of a financial instrument or you can run an Expert Advisors to start automatic forex trading. Of course at first, it’s advisable to test them in the Strategy Tester .

Strategy Tester is an extraordinary powerful tool for developers of robot trading. Before you start your automated trading application in real trade, you can assess its profitability, risk level, stability and other parameters in the Strategy Tester. Testing is based on historical data available for the selected financial instrument. These data reflect the unique features of its dynamics.

Optimization of Expert Advisors is another core feature of the Strategy Tester. The purpose of optimization is to find the best values of Expert Advisor’s parameters in order to achieve the desired characteristics of forex robot. For example, it can be maximum profit, stability, low level of risk, etc. Strategy Tester supports Genetic Algorithms that significantly decreases the time of complex optimizations with large number of passes. Distributed optimization also speeds up this process by leveraging additional computational power via local network or Internet.

MQL5.community

MQL5.com is the place where MQL5 developers and their clients (traders) can interact. This community contains a lot of useful information for developers: complete MQL5 documentation, articles on how to develop and use automated forex programs, Code Base of ready-to-use Expert Advisors and technical indicators. The Forum provides the mean for communication with other MQL5.community members, asking for advice and solving problems together.

MQL5.community includes its own Payment System, which facilitates financial transactions between community members. On this basis we’ve successfully launched the Jobs service. Now MQL5.community members can order MQL5 programs from other members. In the near future MQL5.com will be augmented with services that will facilitate negotiations for trade signals and even ready-to-use Expert Advisors.

Automated Trading Championships

The 5th annual Automated Trading Championship was carried out for MQL5 developers. During this 3 month competition hundreds of Expert Advisor’s developers competed to be the Best Forex Robot Developer 2011.

Participants’ Expert Advisors traded automatically during three months. Authors of the three best forex robot shared the Championship prize money — $80,000.