I’ve been using Pine Script on TradingView to develop custom trading indicators, but I’m looking to explore other options. I’m particularly interested in languages and platforms that might offer more flexibility, better performance, or access to different markets.
Some specific questions I have:
- What are the main alternatives to Pine Script for developing trading indicators?
- How do these alternatives compare in terms of ease of use, performance, and flexibility?
- Are there any general-purpose programming languages that are well-suited for creating trading indicators?
- What are the pros and cons of platform-specific languages versus more general languages for this purpose?
- How do different platforms (like TradingView, TakeProfit.com, ThinkOrSwim, NinjaTrader, MetaTrader) compare for indicator development?
I’m aware of a few options like Indie scripting language, ThinkScript, NinjaScript, and MetaQuotes Language (MQL), but I’m not sure how they stack up against Pine Script or each other. I’ve also heard that some traders use Python or even C++ for developing indicators.
I’d appreciate insights from experienced traders and developers who have worked with multiple platforms and languages. What has been your experience with different tools for indicator development? Are there any particular strengths or weaknesses of certain languages or platforms that I should be aware of?
I’ve been using Pine Script on TradingView for about a year now, primarily developing momentum and trend-following indicators. While Pine Script has been great for getting started, I’ve run into a few limitations:
- Performance: I tried creating a complex indicator that analyzes multiple timeframes and instruments simultaneously. The script ran very slowly, sometimes timing out on TradingView. I was expecting it to run more efficiently.
- Flexibility: I attempted to implement a machine learning model within my indicator to predict trend reversals. However, I found Pine Script’s capabilities in this area to be limited. I was hoping for more advanced data processing and statistical analysis tools.
- Backtesting: When I tried to backtest a strategy based on my custom indicator over a 10-year period with multiple symbols, I found the process to be quite slow and sometimes unreliable. I was expecting more robust backtesting capabilities.
- Integration: I wanted to pull in external data (like economic indicators) into my scripts, but found this challenging with Pine Script. I was hoping for easier integration with external data sources.
Given these experiences, I’m looking for alternatives that might offer better performance for complex calculations, more flexibility for advanced analytics, robust backtesting capabilities, and easier
1
Indie by the https://takeprofit.com/ team is probably the best for beginners and for those who aren’t satisfied with Pine Script, like me. Two years of dealing with complicated Pine scripts have completely worn me out. The code is terribly unstructured – I wouldn’t recommend it to newcomers. The Pine community on Reddit is very small and not very active
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Here are some alternatives to Pine Script for building indicators that are better performing, more flexible and integrated:
NinjaScript (NinjaTrader): C# based, very flexible, multi-timeframe, external data access but steeper learning curve.
ThinkScript (ThinkOrSwim): Easier to learn, great for options but limited flexibility and backtesting.
MQL4/5 (MetaTrader): Best for forex/CFD, automated trading and backtesting but mainly forex focused.
Indie (TakeProfit.com): Python like, innovative, great for custom indicators but newer with smaller community.
Python: Flexible, supports ML, external data but more setup and expertise required.
C++: High performance, HFT but overkill for most.
I hope it was helpful.