how to begin?

[smodato]

Hi guys, I'm really willing to start developping strategies and test, if I understood well efs should be written in javascript which I have to learn, I have anyway some basic questions:

are there links where to find instructions for ultrabeginners? (I can't find a real guide about it)
does complexity of strategies depend only on my skills in javascript or are there actual limits? i mean: if I get really skilled do you think any trading idea could be written and back-tested on e-signal?
Are there also info about the connection of a develeoped strategy and trade placement either after signals or even authomatically?

I understand some (or all) of the above mentioned question may sound silly or lazy but I'm in a little bit of trouble and maybe a short input could help in getting ahead.

Thanks, bye
smodato

[ACM]

smodato

are there links where to find instructions for ultrabeginners?

All currently available information regarding EFS including links to Core Javascript can be found in the eSignal Formula Script (EFS) KnowledgeBase.
Alex

[gspiker]

Hi,

I would also add to Alex's post that there are some core features of JavaScript, which are supported by EFS but not well documented or documented at all at that link.

This link: http://devedge.netscape.com/central/javascript/

Can help you with additional details. EFS has only implemented the core features (well, there are some of the optional additions also - but best to assume core only) and of course added those things needed to support coding indicators.

When I develop I usually have this efs help utility open. Thanks to Chris Kryza for putting this tool together, and for all the other free tools he supplies to this group.

As to EFS limits. There are somethings, that unless you become fairly proficient at coding EFS will be hard to impossible to do. The most common request where this holds true is coding multiple timeframe indicators. It's possible to do, it just isn't trivial.

Even after you become very proficient there will be some studies that are impossible to code in EFS in the strictest sense, but since you can reference .dll's from eSignal this removes most of these limits also.

However, EFS allows me to code studies that would be impossible for me to code in any other charting package (or I should say, this was true as of about 2 years ago, if the other charting packages have improved their languages since then, this may no longer hold true).

There are limitations to any language...EFS is just more flexible (and therefore a bit more complex) than most of the charting languages out there.

Garth

[smodato]

First of all I thank you very much for your answers, I visited the reported links and downloaded the zipped hlp file which I think is pretty interesting.
Coming back to EFS, how would you compare it to Easylanguage for TS? I found some limitations in EL due to the "next bar" concept, does it make sense to compare the two and ohw would you identify advantages or disadvantages of one compared to the other?
Thanks, bye
Smodato

[Lancer]

Some additional EFS resources:

KnowledgeBase:

http://216.23.224.38/display/2/inde...amp;r=0.1303936

Glossary:

http://216.23.224.38/display/2/_ind...amp;r=0.6089223

How to's and FAQs:

http://share.esignal.com/groupcontents.jsp?groupid=21

EFS Help file:

http://share.esignal.com/groupconte...amp;groupid=114

EFS Guides:

http://share.esignal.com/groupconte...s&groupid=1

EFS Reference Guide:

http://forum.esignalcentral.com/for...&forumid=23

Function reference:

http://www.esignalcentral.com/unive...ing/Builtin.asp

Some sample routines:

http://www.esignal.com/partners/stu...ers/default.asp

In addition, a good Javascript book is:
Javascript The Definitive Guide (by Flanagan) (O'Reilly)