Is OnBarClose triggered on bar open?

[DerkWehler]

Hopefully this topic has not already been covered, but when I try to search this forum, it gives me a Forbidden error.

I am using OnBarClose in my strategy, but I am wondering some details about how this really works, from the platform side.

It is nearly impossible to tell (at least on most candle types) when the is last tick of a bar. On normal timed bars, you cannot really know until the new bar time. So if on a 1-minute chart, and it's the open candle, which will close at 12:35, then until 12:35 strikes, the platform cannot know whether another tick will slip in. So the first tick at/after 12:35:00 is really bar open.

Or in my case, using range bars, when the range is full, you are on the last tick, unless it retraces. It it continues, then the next tick starts a new bar, and that means it's really OnBarOpen.

So why does Ninja do OnBarClose, and what is the nitty-gritty of how it operates?

I presume that really OnBarClose is triggered on bar open, but that it's called bar close to signify that functions like OnBarUpdate() will be called first, before any processing of the new tick which confirmed the old bar was done.

Is that correct?

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello DerkWehler,

A bar closes as a new bar opens. These happen at the same time.

Yes, OnBarUpdate() will update with Calculate.OnBarClose after a bar has closed and a new bar has opened.

You would be correct, it would impossible to predict which tick is the last tick of a bar as the tick is received. A bar will close and a new bar will open with the first tick received of the new bar.

[DerkWehler]

Hello DerkWehler,

A bar closes as a new bar opens. These happen at the same time.

Yes, OnBarUpdate() will update with Calculate.OnBarClose after a bar has closed and a new bar has opened.

You would be correct, it would impossible to predict which tick is the last tick of a bar as the tick is received. A bar will close and a new bar will open with the first tick received of the new bar.

Thank you.
Do you know why NT chose to do OnBarClose instead of OnBarOpen, which seems more realistic?

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello DerkWehler,

While I wouldn't have insight into decisions made by the development team years ago, I can give my opinions.

If you were to call OnBarUpdate() once with Calculate.OnBarOpen it wouldn't have any information about the bar after that point. The high, low, close, and volume would only be for the first tick of the bar.

Historical data is provided with the close time of the bar, open, high, low, close, and volume.

Further, there are times a bar will close and update when there is no new bar to open. For example the last bar processed for a backtest in the Strategy Analyzer.

As it is with OnBarClose, the bar closes and then runs logic over that bar, as at the same a new bar is constructed. This gives the final information about the bar.

[DerkWehler]

Yes, I see your point. I guess what I really did not expect was that the information for an open bar would not exist (on my primary) before the bar closes. I would have thought that the bar is built (somewhere in the background), such that all the information existed [to be referenced], but my OnBarUpdate() was only called once at the end / beginning-of-new bar.

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello DerkWehler,

The price series itself is updated when OnBarUpdate() updates.

[bltdavid]

Yes, I see your point. I guess what I really did not expect was that the information for an open bar would not exist (on my primary) before the bar closes. I would have thought that the bar is built (somewhere in the background), such that all the information existed [to be referenced], but my OnBarUpdate() was only called once at the end / beginning-of-new bar.

You can set Calculate to one of 3 settings.

Try using Calculate.OnEachTick/OnPriceChange
to see all price movements happening inside the
bar (that is, while the bar is being built).

The Calculate setting actually controls the frequency
of how often your OnBarUpdate will be called.

[bltdavid]

Hopefully this topic has not already been covered, but when I try to search this forum, it gives me a Forbidden error.

The builtin search feature in this forum software
truly sucks big donkey titties.

Try using Google instead.

-=o=-

TIP: Always prefix your search with 'NinjaTrader'
and you'd be amazed at what Google can find on
these forums.

For example, using Google and searching for
'NinjaTrader OnBarUpdate' returns a wealth of
information on these forums (and returns links
to the help guide, too).

Also, for all things C# related, I still use Google,
but preface the search with 'C#', eg, 'C# DateTime'.

Using Google is my goto for all things NinjaTrader
and NinjaScript and C#.

Just my 2˘.

[DerkWehler]

Thanks David, good idea.