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I currently use ThinkOrSwim and am pretty familiar with ThinkScript. Would switching to NinjaTrader and NinjaScript be pretty straight forward or are they too dissimilar.
Also, I'm a software developer, so picking up new languages is something I can do pretty quickly.
Thanks
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
NinjaTrader uses C# as the programming language. They have their own class libraries with their own trading related objects, methods, variables, etc. But these are largely universal between any trading software platform in terms of their use cases. For example, Open, Close, Enter, Exit are all fairly easy to translate from one platform to another. The mechanics of how these work are the same.
NinjaTrader has more bang for your buck in terms of event handlers, and NT 8 is multi-threaded so you can move through various event handlers quicker which is a huge plus.
If you are a developer than you should be fairly comfortable with C#. .Net or Java Developers will feel right at home here. I am a professional developer as well and I picked up NinjaTrader over a weekend my first time hacking around with it.
I think you will do fine.
Best of luck!
Ian
In the analytical world there is no such thing as art, there is only the science you know and the science you don't know. Characterizing the science you don't know as "art" is a fools game.
Well lucky me...My day job is as a C# developer. I worked through a couple tutorials this morning and am liking it very much so far.
On another note, coming from TDA I'm not familiar with the trading model where you bring your own data feed, CFM, broker and trading platform. If you don't mind my asking, what data feed/CFM/broker do you use with NinjaTrader? With all the options out there, it is a bit overwhelming.
That is awesome that you are a C# developer, you will do quite well with NinjaTrader in this case. You can extend the ninjascript to import just about any standard C# reference / library such as a linq, SQL, or any other helpful classes to use for your objects.
As for the Broker and Data Feed with NinjaTrader: This is very easy to cover...
1. Data Feeds: There are a handful of retail data feeds that you can pick from:
A: CQG / Continuim: This is a good option, they charge .10 cent per contract. They have data centers in Chicago so you will be close to the CME and have fairly good speed.
B: Rythmic: This is also another option by NinjaTrader that is near the exchange (CME) so you will have good speed. But they have a higher cost per trade. They are .25 cents per contract. There may be other reasons why they are .15 cents per trade more than CGQ but the main one I can think of is that they are located close to the actual CME exchange data center in Aurora whereas CGQ is in Chicago. What this means in a practical sense to a trader is that you may be microsecond or two quicker in some cases with Ryhmic, but this will only beniifit you if you are also co-locating near the CME, and you are in the HF world. For 99% of retail traders this difference would not have an impact.
C: There may be a few others, but these are less commonly used.
In terms of brokers, there are only really a few brokers that new NinjaTrader customers can work with.
1. NinjaTrader Brokerage: They have their brokerage. They have a very competitive commission structure and they have good executions, and are quick to respond to customer questions, issues if they arise.
2. Interactive Brokers: They are one of the largest players in this space. They are fairly well respected in the industry and often discussed on this forum, so you can do your own research fairly easily.
3. MB Trading: They are the other main option you have with futures trading with NinjaTrader. They have a really cool phone App that allows you to track your trading, and they also have similar commissions to IB / NT.
4. There are a few other ones that are related to FX, but for new users, the 3 I have listed are the main ones they still work with for new customers.
I think overall you will do better with NT Brokerage as far as commissions. They are transparent, and slightly lower than the others starting out (Non volume based). All 3 have some component of volume based discounts that kick in at different intervals with different lined in the sand. You can easily see these if you do a search. Depending on where you draw lines in the sand, you may find one cheaper than another.
All this being said, I go with CQG / NT Brokerage. It's the cheapest option and they have been fairly reliable thus far.
Best of luck!
Ian
In the analytical world there is no such thing as art, there is only the science you know and the science you don't know. Characterizing the science you don't know as "art" is a fools game.
I found the forum you were writing on about your transition over to ninjatrader from thinkorswim. I to am looking at the switch. I am not a programmer so the code editing to me is a little foreign. do you think you could assist me in transferring some indicators over?