NinjaTrader 8.0.23, .Net Framework 4.8 and C# Version

[QuantKey_Bruce]

NinjaTrader_ChelseaB Thank you. Glad the release is ready.

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello Community,

NinjaTrader 8.1.2.0 now supports C# 8.

https://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt8/8_1_2_0.htm

[jeronymite]

QuantKey_Bruce Those statements have been made for years. Whilst I agree with you that we should hope to see it sooner rather than later, until it appears, it is a long-running high priority request that has seen zero visible action in all that time. One can only hope that the principle of maintaining software at recently-released levels of underpinning technology applies across the board. As we know, there is a huge amount of obsolete and long-unsupported software embedded in NT8.

Thanks.

[QuantKey_Bruce]

Given that NinjaTrader_ChelseaB has stated it is a high priority, I think we can expect to see C# updates sooner rather than later.

[Dr Kerry]

I purchased the NinjaTrader platform earlier this year naturally thinking that it is a modern well-maintained/up-to-date piece of software.

I am very familiar with the Wolfram language (a.k.a. Mathematica) from my professional R&D work. Mathematica is very rich in features for manipulating multidimensional arrays and lists and their elements in parallel. I am just now becoming somewhat proficient in C# and the development of trading strategies using NinjaScript.

Manipulating array elements in parallel is nothing new to me and it would seem inherently required for efficient scripting on this platform as so much depends upon calculations involving series and array elements. So I was quite shocked to learn that this is not possible to do in NinjaScript. I was even more shocked, and a bit angered, to learn that such functionality is not possible only because NinjaScript is based upon such an old version of C# that these simple, and quite necessary operations, are just not available in version 5 of C#. Yet such operational functionality has been available since 2019 when C# version 8 was released and included such things as the range operator ".." for manipulating groups of elements in an array together. Instead, I'm loading array elements one-at-time using "for loops" which is very slow and sloppy. It's not practical for a real-time trading environment where time is always of the essence. Professionally, I almost never use "for loops" for anything these days other than as a very last resort. Such loops were quite popular in the 1980's when FORTRAN was the primary scientific programming language.

I really hope that someone at Ninja gets on the ball, decides to bite-the-bullet, and update the platform to the latest version of C# in very short order. From the posts I read on this board it seems that they are not in much of a hurray to do anything at this time. My guess is that they're afraid of somehow breaking the platform by updating it and therefore have made the conscious decision to do nothing for as long as possible. In the high-tech/fin-tech world such a do-nothing strategy will only work for so long until they are soundly surpassed by all of the competition.

[QuantKey_Bruce]

While I cannot provide an ETA or confirmation this request will be implemented, I am seeing this request has a high priority setting.

I'm glad that the powers that be understand it is important to keep moving things forward - if NinjaTrader Desktop slips into a sort of maintenance-only mode and doesn't continue to take leaps forward, others will, and irreparable harm will be done to the company's future.

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello Stefan Mayer,

Thank you for your vote, I've added this to SFT-3124.

While I cannot provide an ETA or confirmation this request will be implemented, I am seeing this request has a high priority setting.

Please note, we receive many requests and cannot reasonably implement all requested features or changes. Interest is tracked internally and if enough interest is tracked, it would be weighed against how feasible it would be to make those changes to consider implementing, so we cannot offer an ETA or promise of fulfillment.

When new features are implemented, they will be listed in the Release Notes page of the Help Guide. The ID number may be different than the internal feature request tracking ID, but the description of the feature will let you know if that feature has been implemented.

Release Notes - https://ninjatrader.com/support/help...tes.htm

[Stefan Mayer]

Hi Chelsea,
please add me also to the voter list !
Thx !
(Any idea where NT stands with this?)

[jeronymite]

While considerations about the most appropriate Microsoft technology for the Desktop platform are good to ponder, the essential point to make is that C# 5.0 was released 11 years ago. C# 12.0 is slated for release at some stage, and still there is zero commitment from NinjaTrader to update this or any other of the vastly out-of-date and often unsupported, obsolete third-party products in the current release of the Desktop platform. Unless, this is taken seriously (not faux votes and lip service), the platform will continue to be a degraded, old technology container that frustrates modern, high-efficiency, highly-performant program development. That applies to NinjaTrader Development as much as to any third-party NinjaTrader development! And that means the platform suffers from self-inflicted neglect that makes its own development much harder!

Such disregard for the efficient and effective management of even its own internal Development environment is symptomatic of a malaise that has been obvious to many loyal, well-informed, capable programmers and traders for a very long time. Until such time as NinjaTrader Management recognises and actively addresses this, the Desktop platform will continue to degrade and may, sadly, became an anachronistic echo of what it could be. The rigidly opaque nature of the organisation does not engender confidence that any such vital epiphany will happen soon.

Thanks.

[QuantKey_Bruce]

It's a complex topic that does not lend itself to quick proclamations of truth, but it's not at all clear that .NET Core is the right choice for a desktop app. See for instance https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/differ...net-framework/.

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello pshift,

Thanks for your voice. I've added your vote to SFT-3124.

[pshift]

+1 from me as well. Though, instead of C# 6 which is almost a decade old, if there's a ticket in place to target at least version 8 so we can use .NET Core that would get all my votes.

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello reticent67,

Thank you for your vote.

I've submitted your vote for SFT-3124 as well.

[reticent67]

It's insane that 3 years later, this is still an open issue, and votes are being counted. C# 5 came out in 2012! You would think that NinjaTrader is run by a government agency with how stuck in the past the technology is.

In any case, please add my vote to SFT-3124.


I think it would be great for someone to publish a tutorial or fork-able template repo to create an add-on. For the cause...

[BartMan]

Would it be possible for you to give a quick outline on how I could go about this? Could you share some insights/resources/guidelines on project setup and workflow?

Much appreciated.

--

P.S. Please add my vote for SFT-3124!

I do not have a public sample. I will consider making one once current code projects are stable enough. I have a full time job and am working ninja 20-40 hours per week.