Talk:Technical analysis software

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[edit] External Links

I suggest that we delete external links when there is not even a technical description of why and how the software is notable. Mfortier 20:37, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

As suggested on another page, why even have this page if every link is contested to be advertising? Either allow this page, and allow the internal links to relate to the software or do not allow this page and remove all software links. Andrew (28th November, 2006)

The subject of TA software is notable by itself while many TA software products are not. Mfortier 05:52, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Software Table

I suggest that we keep the format of the table such that the answer can only be an unambiguous yes/no or a number that relates to a verifiable technical feature.

Before adding a new column, first try to judge if it will lead to confusion or marketing abuse. Mfortier 05:11, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article Neutrality

The recent changes from Sensatus have been reverted. A few changes were good, but I had the following major concerns:

- The definition of Scanner has been changed to mean what the TimeToTrade product offer. Scanners are before all for building and sorting lists of traded instrument. User alarms are a minor variation of what could be done from the result of scanning. Alarms and notification deserve to be mention, but it is not what a scanner is.

- The definition of "Custom Indicator" has been reworded to promote TimeToTrade and graphical user interface (GUI). Just mentioning that custom indicators can be done with both script and GUI would be sufficient. The rest is opinion. By the way, neither Tradestation nor TimeToTrade should be mention there because script or GUI coding is not particular to these products.

- The description of EOD was better and the addition of Delayed definition is welcome, but the explanation of who is using each type of data feed is questionable. The explanation on price and licensing is an unnecessary "shopping guide".

- Online/Download could have been a good technical distinction, but it was twisted into a marketing speech in favor of online product (by the way, one of TimeToTrade product characteristic).

- About the new "Mobile Phone/PDA access" characteristic; these days the definition of the different medium of online access is changing. Think of the coming iPhone. This characteristic might quickly become outdated. I believe that the intent here was again to promote one of the TimeToTrade feature.

- Mentioning how much a software cost is a marketing tool, not a technical feature. This new "Free" column should go.

- The definition of "Open Source" is tainted with a negative opinion.

Other changes: - The introduction was in need of rewording, but it should not have been deleted. - Back testing is not specific to stock. - Sections are now incorrect. The whole article is under "Introduction". The table has been moved under "See Also". - The wiki links (such as "drawdown" and "Sharpe ratio") should not have been deleted. - The "broker interface" section has been changed to try to explain the intent of software providers. I do not agree with the new definition. Let’s keep it technical. Broker interface here means trading automation. Period.

The article sure needs some rewording and corrections, but I am hoping that Sensatus will resume doing changes with a neutral point of view.

Just to be clear, I have nothing against having TimeToTrade in the list of software. I am mainly concern about the article becoming a marketing tool. Mfortier 06:06, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I have un-done the previous revert, as the original text is either incomplete or inaccurate and felt that the recent changes provided a better platform for building upon.

I acknowledge the comments on TimeToTrade and have changed them. The entry on scripting versus icons, was prepared to high light the differences between tools that require scripting languages versus point and click approaches and I did try to take a neutral perspective by pointing out the benefits of using TradeStations scripting language.

The scanning definition has been spilt into 'Scanning' and 'Alerting'. Scanning is typically a one off event that is meant to filter, whereas alerting is focused on constantly monitoring a specific equity and providing a notification of when investment conditions are met. The alert functionality for the various software solutions within the tables needs to be updated.

I've amended the description of data feeds, however feel that as a source of information, new investors who are going to be the type of people reading these entries, should be presented with guidelines as which type of data they should consider purchasing. A trader who goes for a buy and hold strategy with an time line of months or years, will not benefit from expensive tick by tick data.

As a seasoned trader who does not have time to spend every day sitting in front of a computer while the markets are open, mobile access is incredibly important; actually once you start using it, most people who have day jobs consider it essential. There is nothing worse than being away from your computer be it at lunch, customer visit or meeting when you are considering entry or exiting a positioning when there is a a lot volatility in the stock. A lot of existing online solution that are built around Java Applets that can not be viewed on mobile devices as they have to be re-written in J2ME. With the gradual introduction of Java Script and Flash on mobile devices, the fixed line / mobile device access issues will disappear with time, however this is currently not the case, therefore the text reflects the current environment.It is proposed that this section stays, and if you would like an alternative option to TimeToTrade, then companies like E Trade provide a solution that could be included.

As for online or download, this is a real issue for non-professional traders who do not have the freedom to download software and run data feeds in corporate / work place environments due to productivity issues and security issues associated with data feeds.

I have removed the 'free' as this could be considered a marketing tool; as a knowledge centre I would like to know what I have to pay for and what is free, however if this is considered marketing, then so be it.

Open Source description has been amended. I like open source; I think it is great actually, however I accept that most investors want out of the box solutions.

Sensatus; 20 February 2007

Sensatus, you did resume doing changes with a commercial bias. This article should not be a "how to select" the right product. This is a dangerous down slope. Already, you are adding selection criteria that makes your product shine. Even your attempts to balance with pros and cons shows bias. You are not fooling me. In short, I beleive most of your changes are not from a neutral point of view. I will not revert again because I feel conflicted to impose a previous version that I have mostly written. I have also to restrain myself from defending strongly a position on this article because of my affiliations. I will step aside for a while and request comments from other parties. Mfortier 23:52, 23 February 2007 (UTC)