The Best Open Source Trading Terminals

Open source trading terminals – what exactly are we talking about? The use
of a trading terminal is essential for every stock trader or investor. With its help, he quickly receives information about the quotes of the selected instruments, gives commands to his
broker , applies various indicators necessary to make trading decisions.

Having received the program for which the source code is provided, it will be possible to make the necessary additions that correspond to your own ideas about effective trading. Such an application will be useful for traders, brokers, as well as developers of such programs. When creating the proposed terminals, they implement operation algorithms that meet the most modern requirements. With independent work, this level is difficult to achieve, but you can use the finished application only by making the necessary changes to it. When a trader wants to choose which terminal he needs to work with, he may face the following situations:

1. If a trader works for a certain broker, then in this case, the use of specific terminals is often predetermined. In fact, he will have to use those that are available.
2. In some cases, he can choose between paid and free drive options. In the first case, buying or renting a program can be very expensive. If it is possible to connect using an open source terminal, then you need to study the opportunities for work available in it, and based on this, after weighing your wishes and circumstances, make a choice.

Working with
free software, you can take advantage of its additional features, but this requires an appropriate professional level.

Pros and cons of trading terminals

The use
of open source trading applications provides users with important benefits. The most significant for traders are the following:

1. Possibility to get the program for free.
2. When using the trade license in question, you can familiarize yourself with the source code and verify the effectiveness of the working algorithms.
3. It is possible to make your own improvements to the source code.
4. When ordering a trading platform designed according to the requirements of the user, you need to pay a significant amount. With self-improvement of the terminal, you can do this work yourself or hire a specialist, which will be cheaper.
5. Provides a wide range of functions for a trader to work with.
6. Usually, a language is provided in which a trader can create their indicators or trading strategies.
7. When finalizing a ready-made solution, there is no risk of disrupting the development of the terminal.

When working with such terminals, you may encounter the following disadvantages:

1. Despite the fact that the program can be obtained for free, however, it will need to be accompanied, made additions and changes, and configured. This may require you to contact a professional.
2. Using the built-in language to write your own indicators requires a professional approach to programming. Therefore, in order to perform such work, it is necessary to attract a specialist or undergo appropriate training.

The presence of a high-quality terminal does not eliminate the need to work on the development of your trading system.

What are the capabilities of a good terminal

When choosing a suitable software solution, you need to consider the quality of a particular development. To evaluate it more objectively, it is necessary to pay attention to the following features:

1. An important part of the terminal’s work is the transfer of information about the movement of quotes from the exchange and the ability to issue commands to your broker. Typically, a broker API or a link API is used for this purpose . Quality terminals should be made in such a way that they can work with the most common APIs.
2. Trade data needs to be protected from third parties . Usually for this, information transmitted over the Internet is securely encrypted.
3. It is important to pay attention to the functionality of the application . Here, the following must be provided without fail: the display of quote charts, the ability to use technical analysis tools, the possibility of concluding transactions, and much more.
4. If there is a built-in programming language , this gives the trader the ability to create and use their own indicators or fine-tune trading strategies.
5. It is more profitable for a trader to use a program with a simple and intuitive interface . Working on the stock exchange, he should not be distracted by the technical difficulties of mastering the terminal.
6. It is necessary that the application be undemanding to system resources and work quickly . Good stability will allow you to work without failures.

An open source terminal comes with the code. It is important that it be clear enough to minimize the effort of learning the terminal at work.

Overview of the market of trading terminals with open source code

There are several types of such programs for trading. Some of them are full-fledged trading terminals, while others perform only part of their functions. The following describes the most famous of them.

M4

This platform from Modulus FE is intended for use by traders, brokers and developers. The former receive a multifunctional working terminal, the latter receive a platform for working with clients, and the third can perform work related to the maintenance or further development of the software package on customer orders.
Having received this platform, a trader can use its following features:

1. If necessary, he can make his own developments in order to supplement the functionality of the program or change its interface in the right way.
2. There is an opportunity to quickly track the value of portfolios.
3. Here you can use standard methods of technical analysis and you can add new ones at your discretion.
4. There is a built-in scripting language for programming indicators and advisors. Since the source of the terminal is available, it can be extended or replaced by another, the capabilities of which are more convenient for the user.
5. Displaying charts of quotes of selected instruments in real time.
6. You can test your trading methods on historical results.
7. User data is well protected using modern encryption methods.
8. Data can be directly transferred to Excel spreadsheets for further analysis.
9. The program has built-in tools for working with neural networks that expand the functionality of data analysis and decision making.

The open source code allows the user to fully control the operation of the trading terminal. The program is written in such a way that it runs fast and consumes few system resources. To get data from the selected broker, you can use the standard API. This trading platform is not completely free, but it costs a lot less compared to a self-developed, rented or purchased trading terminal. M4 has been actively used by customers for more than 15 years and has a well-deserved popularity.

SmartX

ITinvest has previously released a SmartTrade terminal of its own design. Over time, it became obsolete, and as a new goal, it was decided to create a new trading terminal based on the M4 of Modulus FE. The latest product is open source and can be modified as needed.
The company has accumulated significant experience in previous years, which was planned to be implemented in the new terminal. The open source project Gordago was used as the basis for the graphics core, which has been largely finalized. The display of graphs has been made as fast as possible. Another open source project, SourceGrid, was used to update various tables. As a result, updating tables with a large volume accelerated by two orders of magnitude. This terminal allows you to work in parallel on various trading platforms. At the same time, for each of them, a trader can use a separate trading account or work with a single one that combines all that he needs. The terminal provides all the basic features for work. However, additionally with the help of add-ons, its functionality is expanded.

1. A trading robot builder that facilitates their creation using the TradeScript scripting language.
2. A package designed for options trading.
3. Addition to indicate the lifetime of the application made.
4. Ability to use additional windows to display quotes.

Overview of the SmartX terminal: https://youtu.be/dBJdcwuWm4I Previously, for installation, it was necessary to download the appropriate file with the dll extension and copy it to a specific directory. In the future, the possibility of carrying out the installation in automatic mode was created. Work has been carried out to ensure trading with the simultaneous use of multiple monitors. Having applications for several accounts, they can be controlled simultaneously without having to switch between them. The terminal has a separate block that provides risk management. If the rules set by the user are violated, it blocks the sending of orders for transactions, and also executes risk-limiting orders upon completion of transactions.

Other trading platforms

There are also other open source trading software available. The most famous are the following:

1. AIOTrade used to be called Humai Trader Platform. It is written in the Java programming language. Information about the trading platform is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/humaitrader/. The application is a platform for conducting technical analysis on the stock market. It provides for the expansion of functionality with the help of plugins.
2. Merchant of Venice is a multifunctional trading platform. It includes tools for technical analysis, for working with a portfolio of stocks, for executing transactions. There are also built-in functions for creating various reporting forms. The project site is available at http://mov.sourceforge.net/.
3. JbookTrader is a fully featured trading platform. With its help, you can work with various exchange assets. It provides technical analysis tools, the ability to execute transactions. There is a built-in programming language in which you can implement your own strategy. It can be tested on historical data in the selected period.

Using open source trading platforms saves the cost of developing your own software or buying it. In this case, the trader usually receives a full-fledged terminal, which can not only be used immediately, but also modified at its discretion to expand functionality.