Plot( ) Function

 In AmiBroker we will be dealing mostly with charts and indicators of various types.
 These are all plotted with the plot( ) function.
 So let us start our study with the plot( ) function.
 The plot( ) function plots a graph with the data points given in an array, provided to the function as a
parameter.
 The syntax of plot( ) in its simplest form is given below:

Plot( array, name, color, style );

 The function returns a number. The function plots a graph using the array data.
Parameters:

• array - This contains the data to be plotted

• name - This defines the graph name to be displayed in the title bar
• color - This defines the color of the plot
• style - Style determines the style of the plot, such as line chart, histogram chart, thick line etc.

Style can be a combination of one or more of the following.

• styleLine normal line chart ( This is the default value )

• styleHistogram histogram chart
• styleThick fat(thick) line – in combination with other styles
• styleDots dotted line
• styleDashed dashed line style
• styleCandle candlestick chart
• styleBar traditional bar chart

This is not a complete list. For complete style constants see the User’s Guide.
 Cross( ) Function //This is an important function.

 It checks for the crossovers of two arrays.

 Syntax Cross ( array1, array2)
 The function returns an array and gives a True when array1 crosses above array2 from below
otherwise the result will be False(0).
 To determine when array1 cross array2 from above use cross(array2,array1).
 Figure shows two arrays array1 and array2 plotted. At point A array1 is crossing array2 from
below, while at point B, the array1 is crossing array2 from above.
 Moving average cross-over is a frequently used trading system, where one enter a long position when
a fast moving average crosses a slow moving average and exit the position when the slow moving
average crosses the fast moving average.
 The code below shows how one identifies the entry and exit.

//Simple moving average cross over system

//Demonstration of the cross() function

lengthFast = 10;
lengthSlow = 50;
fastMA = MA( Close, lengthFast);
slowMA = MA( Close, lengthSlow);
longEntry = Cross( fastMA, slowMA);
longExit = Cross( slowMA, fastMA);

 True/False values in longEntry and longExit determine the conditions for buying the security and
exit if already long.
 Ref( ) Function // referring to previous bars

 The Ref() function is the easy way to refer the previous values of an array.
 The use does not limit to arrays O, H, L, C etc. but on all derived arrays.
 This is an important function used extensively in AFL programming.
 Syntax: Ref ( array, period )
 The function returns an array.
 It references a previous or subsequent element of the “array” passed.
 A positive period “p” references “p” periods in the future while negative period “p” periods ago.
 The formula ref(Close, -5) refers to the Close price 5 periods ago.
 Let’s assign this to a variable x.
x = ref( Close, -5 );
 The variable x will be an array. The value of x will be the close price 5 periods ago.