Package bar

Simple, fast and reliable bar access with time series and new bar detection
MIT License

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What is this?

bar is a demonstration helper package that showcases how to build a KnitPkg package.

It provides:

• IBar interface and implementations for bar data access
• ITimeSeries<T> interface for type-safe series access
• BarWatcher for new bar detection

This project is intended only as an educational example of how to structure, package, and compile MQL4 code with KnitPkg. It is not meant to be a production-grade library for large-scale use.

Prerequisites

To use this project, you will need:

1. MetaTrader 4 installed.
2. KnitPkg CLI: The KnitPkg package manager for MetaTrader. If you don't have it, you can install it by following the instructions in the main KnitPkg repository.
3. KnitPkg homepage: See https://knitpkg.dev for an overview and https://docs.knitpkg.dev for documentation.

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Features

• Package type (type: package) — header-only library consumable by other KnitPkg projects
• MQL4 target — designed for MetaTrader 4
• Compile support — kp compile compiles the unit test script(s)
• Bar access abstractions — read bar data through a clean interface (IBar)
• Typed time series — ITimeSeries<T> for safer access patterns
• New bar detection — BarWatcher to detect new bars reliably

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Installing as a dependency (recommended)

To add bar to your KnitPkg project:

kp add @douglasrechia/bar

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Basic usage (example)

In the case your MQL4 project uses include_mode: include, include headers from the KnitPkg include directory:

#include "../knitpkg/include/douglasrechia/bar/<Header>.mqh"

Note: The exact header names and function signatures depend on the package headers. Use MetaEditor IntelliSense to browse the available APIs.

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Exploring the project locally (optional)

If you want to explore how a KnitPkg package is structured, clone the repository and run the standard workflow.

1) Clone into MetaTrader Scripts folder (example)

# Go to your MetaTrader 'Scripts' directory.
# Tip: in MetaEditor, right-click the `Scripts` folder and choose "Open Folder".
cd "C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\MetaQuotes\Terminal\<TERMINAL_ID>\MQL4\Scripts"

git clone https://forge.mql5.io/DouglasRechia/mql4-bar.git
cd bar

2) Compile

kp compile

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Running unit tests

Unit tests are implemented as a MetaTrader Script.

1. Compile the project.
2. Restart MetaTrader (so the Navigator refreshes).
3. Run the generated unit test script from the Navigator on any chart.
4. Check results in the MetaTrader console (Experts/Scripts tab, depending on your setup).

The compiled binary is placed under the project bin/ directory (and appears in the Navigator under the corresponding compiled location after refresh).

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One-command download/build via the registry (optional)

You can also use kp get to query the registry for metadata and automatically download/build the latest stable version.

Example (run from your MetaTrader Data Folder root):

cd "C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\MetaQuotes\Terminal\<TERMINAL_ID>"

kp get mql5 @douglasrechia/bar

Restart MetaTrader afterward to refresh the Navigator, then run the unit test script as described above.

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License

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

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Disclaimer

This code is provided as-is, for educational purposes only.
No warranty (express or implied) is provided. Use at your own risk.