Need favour understanding how to loop through candles - how cycles work in MQL4

Jixo man

Trader
Jul 26, 2020
46
2
14
Good morning mql4 programers . Please I have read mql4 documentation on custom indicator and the use conditional operator: "for".... I understand that , we initialise the counter and if a condition is true a set of code is run. But I don't still don't understand. Please help.
 

Enivid

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 30, 2008
18,534
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Odesa
www.earnforex.com
Operator for initiates a cycle. For example, you want to print all numbers from 1 to 10. The straightforward way to do that is to just put 10 lines of Print() functions:
MQL4:
Print("1");
Print("2");
// And so on...
Print("10");
But it is blunt and inefficient. Imagine if you wanted to print all numbers from 1 to 1,000,000? So in programming, you have cycles to repeat actions multiple times. Using a cycle with a for operator, you can print the numbers from 1 to 10 much easier:
MQL4:
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) Print(i);
When the cycle starts, the variable i is assigned the value of "1". On each iteration of the cycle, the command Print(i) is executed. At the end of each iteration, the command i++ is executed (i++ is the same as i = i + 1). When i gets to "11", the cycle is finished - before it gets to Print("11").

I hope this helps.
 

Jixo man

Trader
Jul 26, 2020
46
2
14
Operator for initiates a cycle. For example, you want to print all numbers from 1 to 10. The straightforward way to do that is to just put 10 lines of Print() functions:
MQL4:
Print("1");
Print("2");
// And so on...
Print("10");
But it is blunt and inefficient. Imagine if you wanted to print all numbers from 1 to 1,000,000? So in programming, you have cycles to repeat actions multiple times. Using a cycle with a for operator, you can print the numbers from 1 to 10 much easier:
MQL4:
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) Print(i);
When the cycle starts, the variable i is assigned the value of "1". On each iteration of the cycle, the command Print(i) is executed. At the end of each iteration, the command i++ is executed (i++ is the same as i = i + 1). When i gets to "11", the cycle is finished - before it gets to Print("11").

I hope this helps.

Firstly, this is really like a family here. Thanks for the quick responses. Just like checking for total orders in an instrument. I understand that. But I just want to
wrap it from Indicator_counted .
That's if there are 1000bars on a chart, I know On_calculate is 1000bars and previously_calculated is 9990 after the first tick. But do I loop from that 1000bars to the last candle checking for a moving average cross. Although I do copy paste code . I just wait to understand
 

Jixo man

Trader
Jul 26, 2020
46
2
14
So
Firstly, this is really like a family here. Thanks for the quick responses. Just like checking for total orders in an instrument. I understand that. But I just want to
wrap it from Indicator_counted .
That's if there are 1000bars on a chart, I know On_calculate is 1000bars and previously_calculated is 9990 after the first tick. But do I loop from that 1000bars to the last candle checking for a moving average cross. Although I do copy paste code . I just wait to understand

Some typo errors there. What I am saying is in the one dimensional array say MacdBuffer holding all the close of a slow moving average, how do you look for information on that array with the "for" operator. Or Maybe I am not asking the correct questions. Well one thing is certain in three months I must process in Mql4
 

Enivid

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 30, 2008
18,534
1,355
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Odesa
www.earnforex.com
This will print all values for MacdBuffer array inside OnCalculate() function in MQL4 from the oldest value to the newest value:
MQL4:
for (int i = rates_total - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
   Print(MacdBuffer[i]);
}

This will skip previously calculated bars but will always recalculate the latest (current) bar:
MQL4:
int counted_bars = prev_calculated > 0 ? prev_calculated - 1 : 0;
int limit = rates_total - 1 - counted_bars ;
for (int i = limit - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
   Print(MacdBuffer[i]);
}

This will also work correctly in MQL5 if the array is set as series.
 
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Jixo man

Trader
Jul 26, 2020
46
2
14
This will print all values for MacdBuffer array inside OnCalculate() function in MQL4 from the oldest value to the newest value:
MQL4:
for (int i = rates_total - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
   Print(MacdBuffer[i]);
}

This will skip previously calculated bars but will always recalculate the latest (current) bar:
MQL4:
int counted_bars = prev_calculated > 0 ? prev_calculated - 1 : 0;
int limit = rates_total - 1 - counted_bars ;
for (int i = limit - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
   Print(MacdBuffer[i]);
}

This will also work correctly in MQL5 if the array is set as series.
Thanks sir. I am beginning to get the login. Thank you . I am greatful.