Development of trading terminal MetaTrader

Start acting in 2000, soon MetaQuotes Software Corp. created its first professional informational and trading complex FX Charts. It was oriented on the margin trading on Forex market and did not require fast and expensive technologies for working. In 2001 the second information trading complex was released – MetaQuotes. Unlike the FX Charts it was able to work not only at Forex but also at CFD market. Moreover, there appeared programming language of trading strategies MetaQuotes Language (MQL) as a part of trading complex. It allows significant widening of client terminal capabilities.

In the beginning of 2002 the third platform – MetaTrader was launched. There were added possibilities of work with Futures market instruments and extended the programming language of trading strategies – MQL II. During several years the complex has constantly being changed. The main advantage of that platform was availability of free library with API function package which make it possible to create absolutely new version of client terminal. In 2003 MetaQuotes Software Corp. developed the terminal for mobile trading - MetaTrader CE and MetaTrader for Palm.

MetaTrader 4 was released on the 1st of July 2005. Modernization concerned all parts of the platform. The great attention was paid to the increase of server reliability. There appeared the opportunity to connect the terminal through the optional Data Center. This decision let to increase the resistance to DDoS-attacks, reduce the load on server and enhance its operation rate. Client terminal became more functional. The new version of C-like programming language of trading strategies MetaQuotes Language 4 (MQL 4) was implemented in that terminal. In October 2005 the new version for mobiles – MetaTrader 4 Mobile was launched.

There were no principle innovations in the instrumentality of the forth version compared to the third one. Platform is still targeted on the margin trading at Forex, Futures and CFD markets and not oriented on the stock market.

New interconnect protocol did not save the compliance with MetaTrader 3. The developers refused the opened client API. There is only API available for managers and administrators of server operation. All previous developments, used client API, do not work with MetaTrader 4 servers.

Instead of client API the functionality of programming language (MQL4) was considerably extended. There is supported the work with DLL libraries. The opportunity of simultaneous quotations delivery from several resources and their parallel analysis is not available. Earlier this problem was solved on the API basis. Now MQL4 is a part of terminal and does not allow exporting of an appropriate function in other separate applications.