Automatic Trading: Chart vs Exploration Execution

IBController
1

Hi,

A shout-out to the experts out there. If I am interested in trading a single instrument, I understand there is 2 ways to do it. Open and submit orders via Chart or I could use the exploration mode to be run every 1 second.

I was wondering are there any pros and cons for both methods or are they practically the same? Visually it seems executing orders through charts via AFL would be more stable and faster. I initially thought so, but I seemed to have missed a few trades via the chart method on closer inspection.

Appreciate any input on this. Or rather which one is a better method if I am just looking at Autotrading 1 instrument at High Frequency level. My understanding is also the fastest interval that amibroker permits in terms of processing the orders is 1 second as 1 second is the shortest interval to refresh a chart as well auto-run exploration mode.

Thanks.

2

No, you’re mistaken. One second is NOT the shortest refresh interval. If you are using licensed Professional Edition you go to Tools->Preferences->Intraday tab and can set refresh interval down to ZERO.
ZERO means every tick. In practice it depends on how fast your formula is because it won’t execute again, until it completes. So if your formula is fast you can get say 10 executions per second or more.
So run your code from chart if you want to get executions triggered by real time quotes. The speed depends on you, how good the formula is written. My own formulas run in milliseconds.

Exploration is different because exploration runs on request - when you ask it to run by pressing a button or on scheduled timer and it is not based on arriving quotes.

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