learning to code

[kevind33]

I have no experience in programming and I need to learn the most direct and effective way to learn ninja script. My trading is very complex and I will want to be able to test many different setups so I will need to learn very extensively. I am willing to do whatever it takes to do it but I just don't know where to start. Do I need to become proficient in c #? If so all the courses I looked into said that I should have some kind of programming experience before I take a course in c # so what should I study to become prepared? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

Hello Kevind33,

Welcome to the NinjaTrader forums!

Programming can be very challenging, but there are lots of resources within the NinjaTrader environment to get up to speed on NinjaScript without an extensive programming background.

It may help to know C# but NinjaScript is pretty self-contained. Learning within our environment will probably be the fastest approach. If you encounter terms or concepts that are confusing, having a C# / programming reference handy may help to get a broader understanding of what is going on.

I recommend starting with the NinjaScript tutorials. They help break down the structure of NinjaScript, and where you'll spend most of your time writing the code. They'll also help getting you started on writing code right away.
http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/HelpGuideV6/Overview23.html

The strategy wizard is a good place for identifying syntax. You can create conditions in a point and click interface and then view code for these conditions.
http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/HelpGuideV6/Overview41.html

Please feel free to join any of our Free educational webinars. You may be especially interested in one entitled "Automated Strategy Development I" – here is the detail:
http://www.ninjatrader.com/webnew/events_onlinetrading_NinjaScript.htm

[kevind33]

thank you for the quick feedback.

[pboyles]

I have just started using Ninja Trader, I have some experience of using easylanguage and I would like to start experimenting with Ninja Script. I found that the easiest way to learn easylanguage was to copy existing indicators and then change parts of the code to learn how it works. I have been trying to take a similar approach to Ninja Script, however no matter what I do I cannot seem to successfuly copy and compile an indicator.

For instance I would like to copy and amend the PINbars indicator, however no matter what I do I get error messages when trying to make the copy. Any idea what is going wrong?

[NinjaTrader_Bertrand]

Welcome to NinjaScript pboyles - what exact compile errors are you receiving?

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/forum/showthread.php?t=4678

In NinjaTrader all scripts will be compiled all the time you hit the 'compile' function, as all studies reside in one DLL assembly file to be able to deliver the highest realtime performance then.

[pboyles]

I get "The namespace Ninja Trader Indicator already contains a definition for pinbars"

If I try to replace the term pinbars with something else I get the same error. Basically I just want to copy and rename that indicator so that I use it to help figure out how NS works.

[NinjaTrader_Bertrand]

pboyles, you should not change the class name yourself, but use the right click > Save As feature to make a copy of existing indicator code for your modifications.

[pboyles]

OK so I 'saved as' and renamed it, then I get a notification to change all instances of the old file name in the code to the new file name which I did. I get the same error message as before. I also repeated the process without changing the file name in the code and still get the same error.

[NinjaTrader_Bertrand]

Please doubleclick on the error you get shown at the botton, so you know in which file it was exactly found, then delete this file and see if you can compile well then -> all files are compiled all the time as we use one DLL assembly at runtime for maximum performance.

[pboyles]

Please doubleclick on the error you get shown at the botton, so you know in which file it was exactly found, then delete this file and see if you can compile well then -> all files are compiled all the time as we use one DLL assembly at runtime for maximum performance.

Not quite sure how but I managed to copy and compile. I will start to experiment with the code. By the way that particular indicator (pinbars) does not seem to work on the Bund. It works fine on the ES and Eurostoxx, I'm guessing it may have something to do with the tick movement being .01