The best open source trading terminals for trading

Open source trading terminals – what exactly are we talking about? The use of a
trading terminal is a must for every exchange trader or investor. With its help, he promptly receives information about the quotes of the selected instruments, gives commands to his
broker , applies various indicators necessary in order to make trading decisions.
Trade drive SMARTx [/ caption] Having received the program for which the source code is provided, you can 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 work algorithms that meet the most modern requirements. When working independently, this level is difficult to achieve, but you can use a ready-made 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 specific broker, then in this case, the use of specific terminals is often predetermined. In fact, he will have to use the ones 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 available in it for work, and on the basis of this, after weighing your wishes and circumstances, make a choice.

When 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

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

1. The opportunity to get the program for free.
2. When using the trade license in question, you can look at the source code and verify the effectiveness of the working algorithms.
3. You can make your own enhancements to the source code.
4. When ordering a trading platform designed for the user’s requirements, you need to pay a significant amount. If you modify the terminal yourself, 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 his own 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 free of charge, nevertheless, you will need to maintain it, make additions and changes, and configure it. This may require consulting a professional.
2. Using the built-in language to write your own indicators requires a professional approach to programming. Therefore, in order to carry out such work, it is necessary to involve a specialist or undergo appropriate training.

The presence of a high-quality terminal does not negate 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 take into account the quality of the specific development. To evaluate it more objectively, you need to pay attention to the following features:

1. An important part of the terminal’s operation is the transmission of information about the movement of quotes from the exchange and the ability to give commands to your broker. Typically, a broker API or a communication channel 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. It is essential that trade data are 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: display of quotation charts, the ability to use technical analysis tools, the ability to conclude 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 exchange, he should not be distracted by the technical difficulties of mastering the terminal.
6. It is necessary for the application to be undemanding to system resources and to work quickly . Good stability will allow it to run smoothly.

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

Open Source Trading Terminal Market Review

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

M4

This platform from Modulus FE is designed for use by traders, brokers and developers. The first receive a multifunctional working terminal, the second – a platform for working with clients, the third can carry out work related to the maintenance or further development of the software package on customer orders.
Having received this platform, a trader can take advantage of the following features:

1. If necessary, he can make his own developments in order to supplement the functionality of the program or change its interface as needed.
2. There is the ability 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 expanded or replaced with another one, the capabilities of which are more suitable for the user.
5. Displaying charts of quotes for selected instruments in real time.
6. It is possible to 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, expanding the functionality of data analysis and decision making.

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 is fast and consumes few system resources. To receive 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. The M4 has been actively used by customers for over 15 years and has a well-deserved popularity.

SmartX

The ITinvest company has previously released a proprietary SmartTrade terminal. Over time, it began to become 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 and has been extensively refined. The graph display 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 was 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 unites all that he needs. The terminal provides all the basic functionality for work. However, additionally with the help of add-ons, its functionality is expanded.The available plugins include the following:

1. A constructor of trading robots that facilitates their creation using the TradeScript scripting language.
2. A package designed for options trading.
3. Addition to indicate the lifetime of the request made.
4. The ability to use additional windows to display quotes.

SmartX terminal overview: https://youtu.be/dBJdcwuWm4I Previously, for installation, it was necessary to download the corresponding file with the dll extension and copy it to a specific directory. Subsequently, the possibility of carrying out the installation in automatic mode was created. Work has been done to ensure trading with the simultaneous use of multiple monitors. Having orders for several accounts, they can be monitored simultaneously without having to switch between them. The terminal has a separate block that provides risk management. In case of violation of the rules established by the user, it blocks the sending of orders for transactions, and also executes orders limiting the level of risk upon completion of transactions.

Other trading platforms

There are other open source trading programs as well. The most famous are the following:

1. AIOTrade was formerly 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 performing technical analysis on the stock market. It provides for the expansion of functionality using 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 forms of reporting. The project website is available at http://mov.sourceforge.net/.
3. JbookTrader is a fully featured trading platform. With its help, you can work with various exchange-traded 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 not only can be used immediately, but also modified at his own discretion to expand the functionality.