Designing Trading Signal Interfaces for Modular Expert Advisors
Summary
The article explains how an Expert Advisor can pass trade instructions from signal generation to position management and order execution. For single-position swing trading, it uses one integer to encode buy, sell, or no action; when openings and closings are independent, it adds distinct close signals. It then compares ways to split signals across variables and proposes an array for sending multiple simultaneous operations.
For pending orders, the article extends the array concept so each signal can carry an entry price, stop, and take-profit level. It suggests identifying multiple orders or positions with magic numbers. The examples are MQL4 design patterns, not tests of trading performance. The central trade-off is between a compact serial interface, which permits only one signal at a time, and a more flexible parallel interface that increases the number of values to manage. The appropriate design depends on which simultaneous operations the EA needs to support.
Key ideas
- A single integer can encode buy, sell, and no-action signals for one-position swing trading.
- Independent entries and exits require separate close signals.
- Splitting buy-side and sell-side instructions across variables supports more simultaneous actions than a single signal variable.
- An array can carry multiple order actions along with entry, stop, and take-profit prices.
- Magic numbers can distinguish multiple positions and pending orders managed by the EA.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.