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I'm new to this forum but would like to ask a question that maybe you all could help me with. I've been trading on but mostly off for the last 5 years. I recently got back into it and have been working on a semi-automated strategy with a programmer in Australia. I've been very satisfied with his work and his rates.
Here's the thing. I have no background or skill in programming so I would be starting from 0. Realistically speaking, what would be required in order for me to become a competent but not expert programmer. By that I mean writing code that accomplishes what I am intending. I have a feeling that my current situation makes the most sense when I look at it from a time investment/reward scenario. However, I'd like to know how a person would go from knowing nothing to becoming a comptent programmer. Having read through quite a few threads I get the sense that a few people here have Ph.D.'s in mathematics. What level of math skill is required for intermediate level programming.
If you learn well by looking at examples then I would suggest you download all the free indicators here at futures.io (formerly BMT) and review the code, pick the pieces you want and try to assemble it together, post questions here when you get stuck, look at the code samples in the Ninjatrader forum, etc. to try to educate yourself on NT coding.
Ok, well, programming per se does not require any advanced math skills. It really depends on what you are programming (i.e. advanced math programming requires advanced math skills). If you can concentrate on a task, you can probably learn to program. Programming is a detail oriented endeavor. Somewhat like accounting (can anyone say COBOL ?).
I'd suggest you take an introductory course in programming (say C# since that's what NinjaScript uses). If you can complete an introductory C# course, after studying the NinjaScript docs, you should be able to code simple strategies. Then you can build on them, modify them, etc, perhaps as the previous poster suggested.
I have been programming for 35 years. It is a steep learning curve but certainly not imposssible. The way I learnt programming was by having an objective (simple at first) then reading the manuals. it took me several days to create something very simple, but then I built on that.
I have taught a number of people some programming skills and have found that some people just don't get it and some take to it like a duck to water.
In my opinion the only way to learn for sure what you're up against is to plunge in, without wondering too much about what lies ahead or whether it will work out. In general if you're sufficiently determined (and avoid fatal mistakes ) you will succeed.
The trick may be not to envision the future filled with obstacles, but rather imagine yourself in the future having mastered all obstacles, empowered by your new skills. An old TV ad (I forget for what) used the same logic: don't be discouraged by the fact it may take 10 years to learn how to play the piano; otherwise 10 years from now you'll look back and realize you missed the opportunity.
I started programming in earnest in the early 70's with the Algol language and punch cards submitted to the university mainframe, and later (when personal computers began to emerge) microprocessor machine code entered via front panel switches on an Altair 8080 one constructed from a kit.
Decades later I'm still learning languages, most recently C# and Java using Microsoft's Visual Studio, NinjaTrader and Eclipse development environments, and agree wholeheartedly with JuergenLoechner--find the "Hello World" example and build on that.
lol ... I know someone who still has his Altair ....
You certainly were one of the lucky ones, or should I say I appreciate your journey!!
I started with punched tape and using a terminal that was a 40 minute drive from my high school. That hooked to the mainframe that was 120 miles away ...my first attempt was an unplanned (well .. I didnt PLAN it) infinite loop and so they banned me from the terminal for life ...
Don't want to hijack the thread but the Altair was top of mind likely because it happens to be sitting on the kitchen table at the moment--on the table "temporarily" (for a couple of weeks so far, somewhat to my wife's chagrin) while cleaning out the home office. I'm tempted to turn it on but fear the electrolytics would explode :-/ At its peak it had 4k ram, was interfaced to Don Lancaster's TV Typewriter, a Penny Whistle 300 baud modem and a tape recorder to store programs--height of luxury