Most effective way to call indicator?

[trader2be]

I need to read the value of an indicator on every single bar update. What is the most effective way to do this? Right now, I have a line such as: "double dVal = IndicatorName(x,y,z).Series[0]" in OnBarUpdate(). Is there a way to initialize the indicator once, and then use its value? If so, how?

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

Hello trader2be,

This approach should be fine. The biggest impact on resources could be seen if you were running the strategy with CalculateOnBarClose = false and only needed the indicator calculation once per bar. This sample can help combine both logic so you're not unnecessarily calculating the indicator every tick.

http://www.ninjatrader-support2.com/vb/showthread.php?t=19387

[trader2be]

Thanks for the quick response. I was under the impression that there was a way to declare/instantiate the indicator only once in Initialize() and then simply call its current value in OnBarUpdate(). Is that not the case?

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

It's possible to add the indicator to the strategies Initialize() method. Please see here for help with this. The main reason to do this is to do this is to see the indicators on the chart.

You can also declare the indicator as a variable and there is a potential for small performance increase with this practice. Most users wouldn't see a difference here, but it relates to how many total instances of indicators you're running. If you use a named variable for your indicator, it does not have to iterate through all the cached indicators and this can lead to improved efficiency.

You can also conditionally call your indicator, but if you need a value once per bar this doesn't offer any advantages.

[trader2be]

Ok, thanks again. My goal is really performance improvement in calling indicator values, so if you tell me that my original implementation in OnBarUpdate() is optimal, I will just stick with that.

I don't know if it's available but I would be very interested in any tips/tricks to improve NinjaScript performance. I am not a seasoned C# programmer and therefore I would appreciate guidance. Has anyone written anything on this for NT?

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

I'm not aware of an article specific to coding. You can see general performance tips here:

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/performance_tips2.htm

[NinjaTrader_RyanM1]

An update to this thread - My previous response was incorrect and is corrected above.

[eDanny]

Here is a good thread on optimizing NinjaScript.

http://www.bigmiketrading.com/ninjatrader-programming/3565-anyone-have-any-hints-optimizing-c-code.html

Dan

[trader2be]

It's possible to add the indicator to the strategies Initialize() method. Please see here for help with this. The main reason to do this is to do this is to see the indicators on the chart.

You can also declare the indicator as a variable and there is a potential for small performance increase with this practice. Most users wouldn't see a difference here, but it relates to how many total instances of indicators you're running. If you use a named variable for your indicator, it does not have to iterate through all the cached indicators and this can lead to improved efficiency.

You can also conditionally call your indicator, but if you need a value once per bar this doesn't offer any advantages.

Could you show me an example of how to declare the indicator as a variable?

[NinjaTrader_Bertrand]

You would do something like this in your OnStartUp() in NT7 -

myIndicator = KAMA(Close, 2, 10, 30);

[trader2be]

Thanks - I have implemented this change across the board and it seems to be working fine. Hard to quantify the efficiency gains but it does seem to be a cleaner implementation.