Duplicate: Self Referencing Issue

AFL Programming
1

Trying to translate some code for the normalized smoothed MACD
from easylanguage to AFL, I am blocked by the self referencing problem
I could not resolve even having read the articles about similar issues.
Here is the code

_SECTION_BEGIN("MACD Normalized Smoothed");
price = ParamField("Price field",3);
FastPeriod = Param("FastPeriod",12,1,50);
SlowPeriod = Param("SlowPeriod",26,1,300);
MacdSignal = Param("SlowPeriod",9,1,20);
SmoothPeriod = Param("SmoothPeriod",5,1,20);
NormPeriod = Param("NormPeriod",20,1,50);
//emaf=emas=emaf1=emas1=val=val1=nval=sig=sig1=0;
Title = "";
alphaf   = 2.0/(1.0+Max(FastPeriod,1));
alphas   = 2.0/(1.0+Max(SlowPeriod,1));
alphasig = 2.0/(1.0+Max(MacdSignal,1));
alphasm  = 2.0/(1.0+Max(SmoothPeriod,1));
emaf = alphaf*price;
emas = alphas*price;
emaf = Ref(emaf,-1)+alphaf*(price-Ref(emaf,-1));
emas = Ref(emas,-1)+alphas*(price-Ref(emas,-1));
imacd = emaf-emas;
mmax = Max(imacd,NormPeriod);
mmin = Min(imacd,NormPeriod);
nval = iif (mmin!=mmax, 2.0*(imacd-mmin)/(mmax-mmin)-1.0 , 0);
val = alphasm*nval;
sig = alphasig*val;
val = Ref(val,-1) + alphasm*(nval-Ref(val,-1));
sig = Ref(sig,-1) + alphasig*(val-Ref(sig,-1));
neutralcolor = colorwhite;
color = iif(val>Ref(val,-1), colorgreen, iif(val<Ref(val,-1), colorred, neutralcolor)); 
Color = ValueWhen(Color != neutralcolor, Color);
color2 = iif(sig>val, colorgreen, iif(sig<val, colorred, neutralcolor)); 
Color2 = ValueWhen(Color2 != neutralcolor, Color2);
plot(val , "val", color, stylethick );
plot(sig , "sig", color2, styleDashed );
plot(1 , "H", colorred, styledashed);
plot(-1 , "L", colorGreen, styledashed);
plot(0 , "M", colorYellow, styledashed);
_SECTION_END();

Even if this code compiles correctly, it simply does not draw the lines
for "val" and "sig", because probably the self referencing calculations
leading to these values have not been correctrly initiated.
Any help would be appreciated !

2

Your code is incorrect. Specifically this kind of self-referencing:

emaf = Ref(emaf,-1)+alphaf*(price-Ref(emaf,-1)); // WRONG!

That is wrong. Before starting new threads, use FORUM SEARCH as this topic is already discussed.

Correct code for adaptive exponential moving average is

emaf = AMA( price, alphaf ); // proper way to do self-referencing exp average

Yes it is much shorter than TS code.

Read the manual on AMA: http://www.amibroker.com/f?ama

A simple search for self referencing results in dozens of hits:
https://forum.amibroker.com/search?q=self-referencing

All these contain answers to your problem:

3

Duplicate of many existing threads: https://forum.amibroker.com/search?q=self-referencing