TradeStation Programming | EasyLanguage Project

Projects Consist Of More Than Just Code Writing

This page should give you some insights into the time it takes to successfully finish a project. Hopefully this will help you in understanding the time amount an EasyLanguage Programmer estimates for your project better. Some customers tend to think that their project is very simple and the programmer should be able to finish it in a matter of minutes. After all the programmer is the one who knows the language and it's not hard to type a couple of code lines. While some projects actually are doable within a couple of minutes, this is by no means the rule. Besides that typing the code is not the main part of work anyway. This also explains why there are situations where twenty lines of code can take five hours to finish and other times hundreds of lines are written in less than half an hour. The lines of code are not an adequate measure for the amount of work done.

There are several factors that add up to the time a project will take and that an experienced programmer will calculate into the project pricing.

The discussion of the project requirement's via email or telephone
The program logic needs to be outlined, before the coding can be done. This is usually the most time consuming part besides the testing and debugging
Coding of the logic
Code testing and debugging
Writing the manual and documentation and sending the program to the client
Additional support in case it is needed by the client

Even if the coding only takes a couple of minutes, the other points can already amount to two or three hours.
In general developing is usually the time consuming part. Just because it looks easy doesn't mean it was simple. Remember the egg of Columbus. Once you have witnessed the feat being done it's much easier to replicate it.

What You Can Do To Lower Project Fees

A precise description of the requirements for your project is a great way to keep the pricings low and turnaround times short. It should also be noted that it's not uncommon that you might be charged in case you change the requirements during the project.

What do I mean with precise? Think about what your program should do exactly and write it down. This should be as simple as possible and not a novel. At the same time it shouldn't be too simple or contain abbreviations. If you want to use abbreviations write them out at least once, so the programmer and you are both on the same side. You can add a flow chart of your logic, as this will help clarify things further. Keep in mind that the computer needs exact specifications and can't work with concepts that might be perfectly clear to humans. For example if you are looking for a trend, how is it defined? What has to happen until you have a trend? If price should touch a trend line, what exactly do you define as a touch? Is it okay if price comes as close as one tick or can even go through the line by one tick? Can orders be triggered during a bar, as soon as your conditions are met or should the program always wait until the bar close?

In case something is unclear for the programmer, he should ask for clarifications. It should raise a red flag for you, if he jumps into the programming without being clear on the requirements.

Spending some time on the requirements is very useful as it will save your time you'd have to spend with clarifications later. It can bring the pricing down, as the programmer can better estimate the time and there won't be much need for additional revisions to correct things that have been missed.