Preparations

Alright, with the software installed let's try and write a simple system. We will do this by using actual code, which may be slightly more complex than using the Drag'n'drop (DnD) designer but allows us to do more powerful things later on. I may write a post in the future on this topic, in the meantime, if someone wants to write an intro to DnD, let me know, I'll be glad to post/link it.

Before we do anything, we need to get some historic data. RE does come with a plug-in that allows us to retrieve data from Yahoo Finance. First, however, righ-click on the 'Symbol Lists' in the Watchlist Pane and select 'Configure Folder'.

This brings up a menu for the configuration of this 'service'. (For all intends and purposes a service is a plug-in that provides data. Why the distinction? Not sure.) Make sure you select a suitable start date to get at least a few years of data. Click ok and then select the watchlist you'd like to get the data for by ticking the checkbox in the watchlist pane, e.g. DOW30. Then click on the 'Update Historical Data (Checked Symbols)' icon, which is the second from the left in that pane. Depending on the speed of your connection, the time of day and the length of requested history it'll take a while.

Once this is done, right click on one of the symbols in the watchlist and select 'Quick Chart'. This should bring up a chart for that symbol (assuming you did download data for it).

You can now try and drag indicators, lines, labes, etc. onto the chart from the Indicators pane. You can save your creation for later use --- I'll write more on this later (or, again, will gladly accept someone else's article/link).


Terminology:

1. Plug-in: RE is plug-in based to allow for extensibility by third-party components. Data providers, Data stores, Indicators, System Evaluators and others are all plug-ins.

2. Historical Data: A general term for all data system may use, typically time series data consisting of at least Open High Low and Closing prices for the day. It may, however, also cover other other forms of data, such as fundamental data, moon phases, etc.