MACD in EasyLanguage — TradeStation & MultiCharts

EasyLanguage has had the MACD baked in for decades, which makes sense — Appel’s indicator and TradeStation’s systematic-trading heritage grew up together. Here’s the MACD from the explainer as a clean study, plus the strategy version that actually tests it.

What you’ll need

• TradeStation or MultiCharts
• The EasyLanguage / PowerLanguage Editor, new Indicator

The source

EasyLanguage’s MACD( Price, FastLen, SlowLen ) reserved word returns the MACD line directly. The signal is an XAverage (exponential average) of that line, and the histogram is the difference:

{ AlgoGen MACD — TradeStation / MultiCharts }
inputs:
    FastLen( 12 ),
    SlowLen( 26 ),
    SignalLen( 9 );

variables:
    MacdLine( 0 ),
    SignalLine( 0 ),
    Hist( 0 );

MacdLine    = MACD( Close, FastLen, SlowLen );
SignalLine  = XAverage( MacdLine, SignalLen );
Hist        = MacdLine - SignalLine;

Plot1( Hist, "Histogram" );
Plot2( MacdLine, "MACD" );
Plot3( SignalLine, "Signal" );
Plot4( 0, "Zero" );

{ Colour the histogram by sign }
if Hist >= 0 then
    SetPlotColor( 1, Green )
else
    SetPlotColor( 1, Red );

XAverage is EasyLanguage’s exponential moving average, so XAverage( MacdLine, 9 ) is precisely the 9-period signal line. Apply this in a sub-graph and you get the blue/orange lines with the green/red histogram from the output chart.

The strategy version

To actually test the classic MACD cross — the whole point of EasyLanguage:

{ AlgoGen MACD Cross — Strategy }
inputs: FastLen( 12 ), SlowLen( 26 ), SignalLen( 9 );
variables: MacdLine( 0 ), SignalLine( 0 );

MacdLine   = MACD( Close, FastLen, SlowLen );
SignalLine = XAverage( MacdLine, SignalLen );

if MacdLine crosses over SignalLine then
    Buy next bar at market
else if MacdLine crosses under SignalLine then
    Sell next bar at market;

Run the Strategy Performance Report and let the numbers judge the rule, not your hopes.

Gotchas

• MACD() returns only the line. The signal and histogram are yours to build with XAverage and subtraction — a common point of confusion for people expecting all three from the reserved word.
• XAverage, not Average. The signal line is exponential (XAverage). Using the simple Average here would give you a non-standard MACD.
• next bar at market avoids assuming you filled at the signal price itself.

Same indicator elsewhere: Python, MQL5, Pine Script, NinjaScript. Then backtest it in AlgoGen.

---

This post is educational, not financial advice. Indicators describe the past; they don’t predict the future. Backtest anything before you risk real money on it.