What Is A Trading Platform?
A trading platform is a software that connects a trader with a broker. traders can place orders via the interface of the trading platform, which are then executed by the brokers. trading platforms offer valuable benefits such as providing information in the form of quotes and charts.
If you are trading in the forex market it is easy to get confused as to which trading platform to use, MT4 or MT5. both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are developed by metaquotes.
The following graphics highlight the notable differences between MT4 and MT5 which will help you choose the correct platform that suits your trading style.
|
sr.n o |
MT4 |
MT5 |
| 1 | -introduced in 2005. -easy to install. | -introduced in 2010. -easy to install. |
| 2 | -uses meta quotes language 4 (mql4)
-mql4 is used for developing trading programs based on the order system |
-uses metaquotes language 5 (mql5)
-mql5 is utilized to implement a positional system. |
| 3 | in mql4, different functions such as order send, order close, order closeby, order modify and order delete were initially incorporated | mql5 is comprised of an expanded list of trading functions for work with open orders, a list of open positions as well as order and deal history. |
| for performing each trade operation. | ||
| 4 | metaTrader 4 offers almost all types of trading methods – hedging and lifo | metaTrader 5 does not support hedging and implements fifo by default |
| 5 | metaTrader 4 offers only 9 timeframes. | metaTrader 5 offers 21 timeframes |
| 6 | mt4 offers forex prodicts and only a few cfd’s. | mt5 offers forex, cfd’s , options and stocks. |
| 7 | ||
| 8 | a limited number of charts can be opened on mt4. | mt5 offers an unlimited number of charts, out of which 100 can be open at a time. |
| 9 | metaTader 4 does not have a built in calendar | metaTrader 5 user gets the
benefit of an inbuilt forex calendar. features like news, schedules, expected impacts and market forecasts are also included in the calendar |
| 10 | metaTrader 4 offers 30 built-in indicators and 33 analytical objects. | metaTrader 5 offers 38 built-in indicators, 22 analytical tools and 46 graphic objects |
| 12 | metaTrader 4 allows a trader to send 2 market orders,4 pending orders, 2 execution modes,2 stop orders and a trailing stop. | metaTrader 5 allows traders t0 send 2 market orders,6 pending orders and 2 stop orders. |
Some Other Noticeable Upgrades
|
MT4 |
MT5 |
|
| Exchange Trading Support for exchange markets, offering stock, futures, bond and option trading |
no |
yes |
| Symbols The number of financial instruments that can be traded in the platform |
1024 | unlimited |
| Netting Support for the netting accounting system, which only allows for one open position of a financial instrument |
no | yes |
| Multilingual Unicode Support for the unicode character encoding standard that ensures the correct display of characters and symbols in any language |
no | yes |
| Strategy Tester
Trading robot testing and optimization modes supported by the built-in strategy tester |
single threaded | multi-thread ed |
| Embedded mql5.community Chat Possibility to chat with other traders directly through the platform |
no | yes |
| Exchange Data
Ability to receive data on time & sales from the exchange |
no | yes |
| Depth of Market
The market depth option, which features bids and offers for a financial security at different prices depending on the volume |
no | yes |
| Pending Order Types
Types of pending orders requesting a broker to buy or sell a financial security under pre-defined conditions in the future |
4 | 6 |
| Order Fill Policy order fill policy — you can set additional order execution conditions |
fill or kill | fill or kill immediately or cancel return |
| Partial Order Filling Policies Availability of the partial order filling option. in which a trade with the maximum volume that is available in the market is executed, not exceeding the volume requested in the order, while unfilled volume is cancelled. |
no | yes |
| Report API
Access to the report api allowing for the enhancement of the functionality of trade server reports. |
yes | yes |
| Gateway API Support for gateway api which enables platform integration with trading systems |
no | yes |
| Manager API
Supports programming languages for manager api, which enables integration of the platform with broker system |
c++ | c++, asp.net, php |
| SQL Export Native realtime export to an sql database |
limited (mysql) | native (mysql, mssql, oracle) |
| Built-in Order Routing The native routing option, which allows managing trade request processing rules |
no | yes |
| Account Groups The number of trader account groups that can be created in the platform |
512 | unlimited |
| 64 Bit Version Native support for the 64-bit architecture |
no | yes |
| Execution Modes
Number of order execution modes supported in the platform |
3 | 4 |
To develop programs in MQL4 and MQL5, metaeditor – a compiler embedded in the development environment – was created. it is integrated in the MetaTrader 4 / MetaTrader 5 trading terminals. metaeditor allows convenient editing of program source code, automatically generating projects by a template, profiling code and remotely developing joint applications in conjunction with others .
Apart from their differences MT4 and MT5 have some similar capabalities such as :
Expert Advisors : Automatic systems trading through specified parameters and following a coded algorithm. occurrence of a previously specified event like receiving a new tick, an alert about a new trading operation or even pressing a button or clicking a mouse, triggers the expert advisor to perform a programmed action.
Custom Indicators : Written by users, they are used alongside the ready-made indicators integrated in the terminals. their function is purely analytical. indicators do not perform trading nor carry out operations that slow down the interface stream such as sending emails or performing a random delay. the main task of indicators is to monitor a situation, reflect and interpret it and then submit it to a trader for analysis.
Scripts : A script is a program intended for a single execution of an action. the start event is the only event type processed by the script.
Custom Function Libraries : In addition, there is an opportunity to create include files (#include). include files allow you to include most frequently used functions and classes without directly pasting their source code into its program. using functions and classes simplifies creating, debugging and compiling because when using dynamic libraries, functions load only when they are called directly.
All common operations – arithmetic, bool, binary etc. are present in mql4/mql5. the precedence of operations corresponds to that which is adopted in с++.
Ashutosh Gedamkar
Account Manager India
agedamkar@tvmarkets.com