Soeren,

thanks for the advise. my knowledge of java is zero
when I converted, the java code compiled successfully, but had to wait 9 hours for a 10-year test which yielded zero trades.
I'll be asking around. Wonder if using NinjaTrader or RightEdge and link up to forex futures on globex will be a better path forward.
In the meantime, I suppose I will just have to learn more about java.

The best brocker besides Oanda

I've been using this broker for live since 3 months ago.. overall it is very good and I like it so much.. the not so good is the JForex platform.. it seem to eat my computer resources so much.. the longer I use it, the more slow this platform is.. even though I've deleted the temporary Java files everyday.. FYI: I use Intel core 2 duo CPU & 4GB RAM.

I hope their R&D team will keep improve the JForex to become a lite, low resources, and the best platform someday..

Still highly recommended..!

with all due respect to all MT4 users, i quite frankly do not understand why you all love MT4 so much. besides the fact that it was designed from the ground up to facilitate scamming retail traders, the UI isn't any better than, say, for ex., JForex or even MB Trading's old platform, MBT Navigator Pro. if you want charting excellence, then you might as well fork out USD 1,000/year for eSginal, at least that way you know you get a rock solid and proven solution.

and the last nail in MT4's coffin is the clumsy order entry/order management interface. to wit:

1- why is there no 1-click 'open/close trade' functionality from the chart? instead, you have to navigate through a dialog and click more than once to get MT4 to close your trade. if you scalp and want to grab pips both long and short in the blink of eye, you are out of luck as the market will move faster than you can click the interface. utterly ridiculous.

2- why doesn't MT4 allow you to close all open trade in one go? instead you have to work your way through the list of open trades and select each one individually to close it. again, utterly ridiculous and not what an intraday trader should want. if you are a position trader, then of course, it doesn't matter. but if you need speed, MT4 is just plain bad UI design.

JForex takes care of both issues quite nicely, as does MBT Navigator Pro.

and finally, lest the EA freaks lambast me, yes, MT4 makes it user friendly to code EAs. and i say to you: so what??!!?

if you really insist on coding your EAs, then learn to use a real programming language such as Java. you'll be able to code and maintain a much more complex and sophisticated codebase than with the C lookalike MQL language. but of course, if your idea of an EA is some simple stringing together of other EAs and classic indicators to generate signals, then MQL is adequate. what i am talking about here is creating some real code, some real expert system as in AI expert system (neural net, genetic algos, multidimensional differential fractal analysis, fuzzy logic engines, or an HFT blackbox). for that, you need an OO language, not some scripting toy.

i guess most users want simplicity, which is understandable, but quite frankly, in case you haven't noticed, trading is anything but simple. there is some hard intellectual work to do and i suspect all these people who want only a one-button buy or sell interface don't have the fortitude or intellectual stamina to handle the intrinsic complexity involved in trading the markets. so if you can't even handle complexity at the interface level, you have no business trading in the 1st place. you'll only wipe out or at best, if you're lucky, get subpar results.

now feel free to lambast me.

good for you canman888. hopefully at least in the 4 digits/day.
almost forgot.... would you mind sharing which broker you use or recommend as having the best execution when trading volumes in excess of 5 lots?