Saving Forex Tick Data vs Minute Data ?

Hello,

I am currently setting up MC and wanna to include Forex data feed in QuoteManager. My question is, if I collect the real time tick data in QuoteManager of the frequently traded pairs, will the huge tick data volume slow down the overall MC performance, say, after 5~10 years ? Currently my strategies only make use of 1 min data/chart only, but would like to collect real time tick data for future evaluation. Any comment ? Thanks.

(...)if I collect the real time tick data in QuoteManager of the frequently traded pairs, will the huge tick data volume slow down the overall MC performance, say, after 5~10 years ?

That's hard to say, especially since the performance is also affected by other things.

But for what it's worth, my MC NET database is 21GB while I also have the regular MC installed on the same pc, but that one has a database of 96MB. But despite that large difference in database size, the only difference I noticed is that MC NET takes around 10 seconds longer to start.

I haven't experienced anything that suggests that MC (or its components like the QuoteManager) becomes slower the larger the database becomes. The only thing that becomes very slow is the backup of the database by a backup program I use. While your experience may differ, I wouldn't be very concerned about the database size.

Especially if you take into account that over 5-10 years you'll probably have a much quicker computer, so even if it makes MC slower, it might not even be noticeable looking back 10 years from now.

Hello,

I am currently setting up MC and wanna to include Forex data feed in QuoteManager. My question is, if I collect the real time tick data in QuoteManager of the frequently traded pairs, will the huge tick data volume slow down the overall MC performance, say, after 5~10 years ? Currently my strategies only make use of 1 min data/chart only, but would like to collect real time tick data for future evaluation. Any comment ? Thanks.

Regarding speed:
MultiCharts works off the RAM in your computer. This is the fastest way to run a computer program.
When you make a chart, MultiCharts would go to the database in your harddisk and pull up the required data to make your chart. It does not pull out ALL the data in your database. It only pulls out as much data as needed. This data will reside in a work space in the RAM. eg. you have 10 years of quotes in your database, and you are making a chart of 30 days. MultiCharts will load only 30 days of quotes into the RAM work space. It will not touch your harddisk again unless you request more history later. The number of instruments and the number of quotes you have in your database have no impact on MultiCharts' speed of operation because those data are not touched.

In real time, when MultiCharts receives quotes from your dataprovider, it will be sent directly to the RAM work space. Again, your harddisk is not touched during the trading hours.

At the end of the day, the quotes will be transferred to the database in your harddisk when you shut down MultiCharts. Many users follow hundreds of stocks and futures over the years. All those quotes are saved in the harddisk. Nobody has run into a problem yet.

Regarding collection of tick vs minute:
Although your chart uses 1-minute interval bars. The quotes sent by your dataprovider are actually in tick format. How do you get your real time quotes? Do you see your chart moves tick-by-tick in real time? Your chart does not update by a monolithic 1-minute block, does it? MultiCharts is collecting those tick data as they happen, and plot them on the chart into ONE-MINUTE BARS in real-time for you to see. It does not matter whether you are looking at a 1-minute chart or a Point-and-Figure chart, MultiCharts sees only tick data, and is saving every tick for your future analysis. In another word, you might think you have 1-minute data in your computer, in reality, MultiCharts has been saving tick data into your harddisk all along. You can test this by taking the computer offline, then request a tick chart. You will see MultiCharts is able to plot a chart in any format you request because all the chart formats can be built from tick data.

In general, most dataproviders send their quotes in 3 formats -- In real time, you will be receiving ticks. At the end of the day, or when you request historical data, your data provider will send you ticks, 1-minute data and daily data, all together in one packet. Forex data might have tick data only, depending on the provider.

I hope this explanation have alleviated some of your concerns.

Excellent !!

Thanks JoshM & TJ.

B. Regards.