Introduction to Amibroker by Howard B.Bandy

Introduction to Amibroker by Howard B.Bandy

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Get Introduction to Amibroker by Howard B.Bandy at Salaedu.com

Get Introduction to Amibroker by Howard B.Bandy at Salaedu.com

Book review “Introduction to AmiBroker” by Dr Howard B. Bandy

I have been reading Howard Bandy’s new book “Introduction to AmiBroker” and it is excellent.

The book is strongly focussed on the “AmiBroker beginner” but will also be a valued reference for both intermediate and advanced users.

The 590 pages are packed with clear information that will allow an AmiBroker beginner to proceed from AmiBroker installation through to proficiency in charting, back-testing, explorations and optimisation.

A particularly useful section is headed “30 Minutes to Useful Results”, this allows a beginner to work through 10 very practical exercises that cover Charting a Stock, Applying a trend line, Plotting a Moving Average, Making a Watch-list, Running and Exploration, Running a single stock back-test, Run a portfolio back-test, Optimise a Trading System, Perform a Walk Forward Validation and Scan for Buy and Sell Signals. I suspect it will take most beginners somewhat more than thirty minutes, however as each step is completed the power of AmiBroker becomes clearer and there is a strong resolve to go back and fill in all the necessary detailed knowledge. This detailed guidance is arranged in a clear and easily understandable manner along with examples and code that you can copy and use. The book can be used either as a manual or it can be read and re-read for understanding; chapters 1, 3, 4, 9 and 10 are certainly worth reading and re-reading to absorb both principles and practices.

AmiBroker is a very large and complex software package. Experienced AmiBroker users often claim that AmiBroker has 10 times the power and functionality of the previous software package they used (e.g. MetaStock). AmiBroker is also being further developed at an astounding rate (30 Beta upgrades and 3 major releases per year). Learning all of AmiBroker is akin to “Drinking from a Fire Hose”. This book does not teach a new user all about AmiBroker – however it does teach all the basics and provides a good stepping stone to more complex issues. This is important; the book is focussed on what you need to know first and to quickly achieve useful and realistic results. Because the book focuses on what the beginner needs to know it is significantly easier to access than the AmiBroker manual.

Given the breadth and depth of the AmiBroker software, mastering “Introduction to AmiBroker” is likely to enable you to access software power greater than your previous platform. There are still more levels of sophistication available and your skill can grow as you move to these more advance levels over time.

When you have completed and digested “Introduction to AmiBroker”, Howard Bandy’s first book “Quantitative Trading Systems” is an ideal next step. Hopefully Howard will get busy on another project “Advanced AmiBroker” during 2009.

For more information on the book, how to order it and also on Howard Bandy go to the web site: www.IntroductionToAmibroker.com. Delivery in Australia normally takes 7-10 days from your order.

Robert Grigg

A good tool makes anything easier. “Introduction to AmiBroker: Advanced Technical Analysis Software for Charting and Trading System Development” is a complete and comprehensive guide to AmiBroker, a program that will help many deal with the confusing mess that is one’s finances when dealing with stocks, mutual funds, commodities and more. Covering everything about the program from installation to expert usage, “Introduction to AmiBroker” is the manual that should have come with the program.