Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-02/tas407.zip/TAS.TXT

Text File | 1991-09-14 | 153KB | 4,350 lines

Technical
Analysis
Scanner
TAS
Users Guide and Referenc






FlexSoft
7172 Regional Street, #276
Dublin, CA 94568
Voice        510-829-9733
FAX         [phone],,,22#
BBS         510-829-2293




This document and all accompanying written and disk
based notes and specifications are copyrighted by
FlexSoft.



September 14, 1991


Table of Contents

Table of Contents    v
Introduction    1
Taking Care of Business    3
System Requirements    3
Hardware    3
Software    3
Registration    3
How to Register    4
Registration Fee    5
A Short Description of PML (Prodigy Metastock Loader)    5
A Short Description of PDL (Prodigy Down Loader)    5
Support    6
Redistribution of TAS    6
Credits    7
Disclaimers    7
Technical Analysis References    7
Installing and Running TAS    9
Quick Start Installation    9
Creating and Running a Sample Selection    10
Starting TAS    11
Running TAS    13
Special Keys within TAS    14
CONFIGURE TAS - Configuration and Setup    14
DATA DIRECTORY(S)    15
INCLUDE TICKER PERIOD    16
SYMBOL TABLE SIZE    17
QUOTES PER SYMBOL    17
Use EMS Arrays    18
REGISTRATION CODE    18
DEFINE TICKER LIST    19
BUILD OR RUN SELECTION    20
Selection Build Options    22
Index Ticker    22
Maximum Quotes    22
Start Date    22
End Date    22
Running Your Selection    23
Sorting on Selected Columns    23
Printing Your Selection Report    23
Errors In Selection Formulas    23
BUILD OR RUN PROFIT TEST    25
Profit Test Option Settings    26
Initial Cash    26
Test Type    27
Commissions    27
Share Purchases    27
Price Slippage    28
Output File Name    28
Report Detail    28
Maximum Quotes    28
Index Ticker    29
Reinvest Profits    29
Start Date    29
End Date    29
Running the Profit Test    29
EDIT TAS SCRIPT - Editing TAS Scripts    30
Editor Function Keys    31
RUN TAS SCRIPT - Running TAS Scripts    33
QUIT    33
TAS Selection Scripts -  Description    35
TAS Script Language    37
Syntax    37
Building Blocks    38
Variables    40
TAS Variable Types    41
"String" Variables    41
"Numeric" Variables    41
"Numeric Array" Variables    41
Assignment Statement    44
Arithmetic Operators    45
Functions    45
IF Statements    46
BEGIN..END Statement    47
GOTO Statement and LABELS    48
GOSUB statement    49
RETURN statement    50
Logical Operators    51
Relational Operators    52
Comments    52
Pre-Defined Variables    52
Pre-Defined DATA Arrays    54
Pre-defined Functions    57
Technical Indicators available in Metastock    57
ad()    Accumulation/Distribution    57
adx(p)    Average Directional Movement    57
adxr(p)    Average Directional Movement Rating    57
add(a,b)    Add two arrays    57
cci(p)    Commodity Channel Index Array    57
co()    Chaikin's Oscillator    58
cos(a)    Trigonometric cosine    58
cum(a)    Cumulative Sum of Array "a"    58
div(a,b)    Divide two arrays    58
dmi(p)    Directional Movement Index    58
exp(a)    Exponential Function    58
hhv(a,p)    Highest High Value    58
llv(a,p)    Lowest Low Value    58
log(a)    Exponential Logarithm of each entry in
array 'a'    58
macd()    Moving Average Convergence/Divergence
    58
mdi(p)    Minus Directional Movement (-DI)    58
mo(p)    Momentum Array    58
mov(d,p,t)    Compute Moving Average    58
mul(a,b)    Multiply two arrays    59
neg(a)    Negative of Array "a"    59
nvi()    Negative Volume Indicator    59
obv()    On Balance Volume    59
oscp(p1,p2,t,r)      Price Oscillator    59
oscv(p1,p2,t,r)     Volume Oscillator    59
pdi(p)    Positive Directional Movement (+DI)    60
per()    Performance Indicator    60
pvi()    Positive Volume Indicator    60
rsi(p)    Wilder's Relative Strength Indicator    60
roc(d,p,r)    Rate Of Change Array    60
sar(i,m)    Wilder's Parabolic Stop and Reverse (SAR)
    60
sin(a)    Trigonometric sine of each entry in array 'a'
    60
sqrt(a)    Square root of each entry in array 'a'    60
std(d,p)    Statistical Standard Deviation.    60
stoch(p,s)    Stochastic Oscillator    61
sub(a,b)    Subtract one array from another    61
sum(a,p)    Summation of array over period    61
tan(a)    Trigonometric tangent    61
trix(p)    TRIX Function    61
tsf(a,p)    Time Series Forecast  function.    61
var(d,p)    Statistical VARIANCE    61
vol(pm,pr)    Volatility Indicator.    61
wc()    Weighted Close    61
willa()    William's Accumulation/Distribution.    61
willr(p)    William's %R    61
zig(a,r,t)    Zig Zag Function    62
TAS Functions    62
angle(a)    Angle of a line    62
alpha()    Alpha function    62
avgprc()    Average Price    63
bbandt(p,s)    Top Bollinger Band    63
bbandb(p,s)    Bottom Bollinger Band    63
beta(r)    "Beta" function    63
corrcoef()    Correlation Coefficient    64
datestr(d)    Create a formatted date    64
daymon(d)    Day of Month function    64
daywk(d)    Day of Week function    64
divby(a,x)    Divide array by number    64
dump_array(a1,a2...aN) Dump Array Contents    65
int(x)    Create Integer    65
isect(a,b)     Find array intersection    65
linreg    Linear Regression over time    65
linreg2    Linear Regression of two variables    66
load(t,f)    Load a data array    66
mfi(p)    "Money Flow Index"    67
month(d)    Month function    67
mulby(a,x)      Multiply by number    67
over(a,b)    Over function    67
peak(a,n)    Find Peak in Array    67
per1(a)    Performance using Array    68
set(a,v)    Set Array to Value    68
slope(a)    Slope of Line    68
trough(a,n)    Find Trough in Array    69
tr()    Wilder's True Range    69
year(d)    Year function    69
zero(a)    Zero Array    69
Output Functions    71
WRITE and WRITELN Output Functions    71
SORT Functions    71
SORTOUT    72
SORTON    73
SORTGET    73
SORTPRINT    74
Column Headings    75
Profit Test Statements    77
PLOT statement: Define Technical Indicators    77
BUY WHEN - Define BUY Conditions    78
SELL WHEN - Define SELL Conditions    78
STOP (LONG or SHORT) Condition    79
TAS Profit Tester Functions    80
Profit Test Phases - Advanced Use Only    81
GRAPH Functions    83
OPENGRAPH    83
SIZEGRAPH    83
GRAPH    84
DRAWLINE    84
CLOSEGRAPH    85
GRAPH EXAMPLES    85
TAS "POUND" (#) Commands    89
OUTPUT_FILE Command    89
Appending to Output File    90
Suppressing TAS Report Heading    90
MAX_QUOTES Command    90
SCAN_DATE Command    91
PROFIT_TEST Command    92
INDEX Command    92
INCLUDE Command    93
TAS Script Examples    95
Putting Them Together    95
New High/New Low Example    96
Script Contents    97
Script Output    97
TICKER Symbol Processing    98
Script Contents    98
Directional Movement Example    99
Script Contents    99
Script Output    101
Modified "Binary Wave"    101
Profit Test Example Using RSI(14)    101
Script Contents (RSIPT.TAS)    101
Script Output    102
TAS Error Message    104
Error Messages    104
Diagnostic Actions    125
Index    127


Introduction

"Technical Analysis Scanner" (TAS) is a software program that
lets you analyze your MetaStock, Computrac, Investograph Plus
or ChartPro data base using technical analysis indicators and
conditional relationships to "scan" all, or a portion, of your data
files. TAS also contains a Profit Testing Facility with which you
can "back test" your historical data using nearly any trading
strategy to see how profitable it would have been.

TAS is a generalized technical analysis "tool box". It is not a
"black box" system where you have no knowledge of the rules
or  control over its decision making process.  With TAS,  you
have complete control over the indicators chosen, their
interpretation, and the output formatting of your reports.

With TAS, you can combine over 60 built-in technical indicators,
compare their values against other indicators or values, make
decisions based on the result of those comparisons, and
ultimately, create a report which shows you what you want to
see.

TAS is designed to enable you to go beyond the MetaStock Pro
"Custom Formulas" by applying similar analysis to all, or any
part of, the data in your Metastock (or ChartPro) Data Base. If
you have a trading strategy  that relies on technical indicators or
price action, but you do not have the time to chart all of your
stocks everyday, then TAS is the tool you need. It runs your
own customized formula on selected groups of your stocks, and
can notify you if your buy or sell condition is reached.

TAS can also be used to create custom reports on your stocks.
For example, you can use it to notify you when a particular
stock has reached a certain price, volume or technical indicator
value.

And with the Profit Tester feature  you can confirm the
profitability of your trading system. TAS goes back through
your historical data, a day at a time, applying your trading rules
to the indicators and conditions you specify. It keeps track of
the days you bought, sold or were stopped out of positions,
tabulating the results on a daily basis, or in a summary report
which tells you how your system performed.



Taking Care of Business
System Requirements
In order to use TAS, you should have the following software
and hardware configuration.

Hardware
Any IBM PC processor type (8088, 8086, 80x86)
A CGA, EGA, or VGA Monitor (EGA or VGA required for
Charts)
Hard Disk (optional)
Microsoft or Logitech Mouse (optional)
512K minimum memory (640K better)


Software
DOS 2.1 or later
"Computrac" Format historical data files  used by
Metastock, Investograph Plus, and Computrac, among
others
    or
ChartPro or Megatech data files

Registration
TAS is the product of over 1,000 hours of  research,  design and
programming . The registration fee is reasonable for a technical
analysis package  with  the power and flexibility of TAS. In fact,
it compares well with programs costing much more .
As an addition to Metastock or Chartpro, TAS provides the
missing link between visual analysis and computerized alert
systems.

The  TAS package is distributed as a TRIAL version. The TRIAL
version of TAS has the following restrictions:

     Only 20 TICKER symbols will be accessed from a
"TICKER LIST"
     TAS cannot be run from a batch file as a DOS command
     You cannot redirect the output from the TAS reports
into a file or to the printer.
     Only one TICKER can be used with the Profit Test
feature
     The functions listed below may not be available in the
TRIAL version.
Directional Movement    PDI, MDI, DX, ADX, ADXR
Linear Regression     LINREG, LINREG2,
CORRCOEF, ANGLE, SLOPE,
BETA
Miscellaneous         VOL(ability) PEAK, TROUGH

When you register TAS, you will receive a "REGISTRATION
CODE" that will enable the full set of TAS features.

You will find that running TAS from a batch file and placing the
reports into a file for inspection is more convenient on a
day-to-day basis than running the program interactively. This
particular feature, as well as the ability to scan up to 2000 stocks
in one run, should encourage you to register your version of
TAS.

Your registration entitles you to support for TAS problems,
answers to your questions and requests for new indicators.
How to Register
In order to become a registered user of TAS, please fill out the
form contained in the file REGISTER.DOC and mail it to:

FlexSoft
7172 Regional St, #276
Dublin, CA 94568

Registration Fee
See the file REGISTER.DOC for pricing and ordering
information. Certain releases of TAS may  be defined as
"upgrade releases". An Upgrade Release will require a new
Registration Code and  an Upgrade Registration Fee. When a
major feature is added to TAS, there will be a "feature upgrade"
cost as well.

FlexSoft also has two companion products for users who wish
to order them. The first product is called PML and the second is
called PDL. With the combination of TAS, PML and PDL, you
have "end to end" access to your stock market data. PDL
downloads the quotes, PML updates the database, and TAS
allows you to search, analyze, report, and chart the data.  PML
and PDL are described below.

Each of these programs can be ordered from FlexSoft or
downloaded from GEnie or Compuserve.
A Short Description of PML (Prodigy Metastock Loader)
PML converts quotes from GEnie, DowJones, Prodigy and
Compuserve  into MetaStock data files and an ASCII format for
input to spreadsheets. PML produces summary reports on all
your Metastock files whether you update the files with PML or
not. Colors are used to highlight those stocks which exceed
either PRICE or VOLUME limits you set in the installation
procedure. PML also creates a Summary Report file.
A Short Description of PDL (Prodigy Down Loader)
PDL is a program that downloads, or captures, daily quote data
from the Prodigy Information Service. PDL can download up to
1,000 daily quotes in a single run. If you need to download
more quotes, then you can run PDL several times. It uses the
Quote Check feature of Prodigy to obtain the quotes, so there is
no need to go into Prodigy and enter the quotes by hand, as
some systems require you do. The creation of the ticker list of
quotes to download can be done with a simple TAS script.
Support

You can get support for TAS problems or questions by
contacting me at my mailing address (above) or by Email on the
following services:

GEnie
 M.MOORE41

Prodigy
 JBMD65A

Compuserve
 76447,2367


If you need a new version of TAS, it will ALWAYS be available
on the FlexSoft BBS at 415-829-2293. Other sources, such as
GEnie, Compuserve, and other BBS's may be one (or more)
release(s) behind the latest.

You  can obtain  updates to TAS from the FlexSoft BBS or by
U.S. Mail (not including shipping and handling). If you need an
update by U.S. Mail, please send $5 for shipping and handling
in addition to any Upgrade  Registration Fee, if applicable.
Redistribution of TAS
You may (and are encouraged to) re-distribute TAS to other
BBS systems as long as you redistribute the entire unmodified
package as you received it. You may not redistribute your
registration code along with the package, nor may you transfer
it or give it away to anyone else .
Credits
MetaStock Professional is a stock charting program from Equis
Inc.

ChartPro is a stock charting program written by David Rettger.

GEnie is a trademark of General Electric Co.

Prodigy is a trademark of Prodigy Services Co.

Disclaimers
The author claims no responsibility for any damages caused by
the use or misuse of this product. This product is distributed "as
is" with no warranty expressed or implied.  The author will not
be responsible for any losses incurred, either directly or
indirectly, by the use of this product.

The author reserves the right to make modifications at any time.
Prices are subject to change without notice.

Technical Analysis References
The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators, Colby &
Meyers, Dow Jones Irwin Press, 1988, ISBN 1-55623-049-4
New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, J. Welles Wilder
Jr., Trend Research, 1978, ISBN 0-89459-027-8
The New Commodity Trading Systems and Methods, Perry J.
Kaufman, John Wiley and Sons 1987, ISBN 0-471-87879-0
Metastock Professional Users Guide, Equis International


Installing and Running TAS
TAS is distributed as an LHARC compressed collection of files.
The name of the .EXE file will be based on the version and
release level of TAS. For version 3, release 60, the name will be
'TAS360.EXE', and in general, the name will be 'TASvrr.EXE'
where 'v' is the Version and 'r' is the Release.
Quick Start Installation
The following "quick start" documentation shows how to get
TAS up and running on your system initially. The file name for
the TAS file is referred to as "TASvrr.EXE".

In order to install TAS, you should perform the following steps

1.    Create a directory to contain TAS software. It can be
any name you choose. The following instructions
assume the subdirectory name is "\TAS". To create a
directory named \TAS on your C: drive, type "MD
C:\TAS"
2.    If you received TAS on a floppy disk, copy TASvrr.EXE
into directory \TAS  by typing
        COPY A:\TAS\TASvrr.EXE C:\TAS
3.    CD \TAS
4.     Type TASvrr, e.g, if the file is TAS359.EXE, type
'TAS359'
5.    Type TAS  and press ENTER.
6.    You will be presented with an initial screen which tells
you that you have not run TAS before. There are
flashing areas at the bottom to remind you that the F1-
key is the Help key.  Hit the ESC key after reading the
message.  You will see another message indicating you
have a trial version of TAS. Once again, hit the ESC key
to move to the next screen.
7.    You will now be placed in the  "Configure TAS" menu
screen. Fill in the MSP or Chartpro directory names you
want to scan. You can enter up to 10 subdirectories and
then hit F3 to save the directories you named.

TAS is now installed .  The following section shows how to do a
build and run a simple selection that will perform the same
function as the Metastock Utility Rank feature.

Creating and Running a Sample Selection
1.    Go to the Define Ticker List Menu by either typing "T"
or moving the cursor bar down to that selection and
pressing ENTER. If you have a mouse, you can click on
the menu item.
2.    Select New Ticker List from the next prompt.
3.    Give the name "MYTICKS" . This will be the name of a
ticker list for testing.
4.    After a moment, TAS will present you with a list of all
the tickers it found in the Data Directories you defined
in the Configure TAS screen. Move the cursor to each
ticker symbol you want to run a script against. Hit the
SPACE bar on the symbol.  It should highlight
(indicating it is selected). Hit F3 when all desired
symbols are selected. This will save the ticker list you
just created.
5.    At the Main Menu, select Build or Run Selection by
typing "B"
6.    Select Use Old from the Build or Run Selection Menu
7.    Pick the selection MSURANK.SEL (by typing "M" or
moving the cursor to it) and hitting ENTER.
8.    Hit the F4 function key to "RUN" the MSURANK
selection script. TAS will now display a screen
containing all the ticker lists available to use. You will
be asked which ticker list you wish to use when you run
this script.
9.    Pick the ticker list you just created "MYTICKS.TCK" by
moving the cursor or mouse to the file name and
pressing ENTER or clicking on the filename.  This
particular selection  will create a report like the one
Metastock Utility (MSU) creates when you select "Rank"
using a 26 day Rate of Change and a 10 day Moving
Average.
10.    Now TAS runs the script with the ticker symbols you
put in the ticker list. As each ticker is processed, you
will see a line in the "run" window. Once all tickers are
processed, the report will be presented on the screen,
sorted by ticker.
11.    Hit F1 now to see the choices you have. By hitting F1,
you can read the help and see what you can do from
here. You can sort your tickers on the value of any
column shown, either ascending or descending order.
To sort on the values in the second column, press the
key sequence Alt-2 (hold the ALT key and hit the
number 2).
12.    To exit from the report screen, hit the ESC key.

The documentation for the system is in the online help file
available by hitting the F1 key at any time.
Starting TAS
You can start TAS in "MENU MODE" by simply typing "TAS"
by itself. TAS has switches available which you can specify on
the command line. They are:

-c    Eliminate CGA "snow"

-b    Use BIOS to write to video screen. This may be
necessary on some systems which are not 100%
compatible.

-m    Use Monochrome color scheme

If you are a registered user of TAS, you can also start TAS in
"batch mode" by specifying the name of a SCRIPT and the
Ticker List on the command line. So, if you had a TAS script
named "SELECT.TAS" and a Ticker List named
"MYSTOCK.TCK", you could run the SELECT script against the
stocks in the list MYSTOCK by typing:

    TAS SELECT MYSTOCK

If you wanted TAS to process all of the stock symbols (Tickers)
in your data base, you can omit the Ticker List name.

If you need to use the video flags mentioned above, they
should be specified prior to the name of the script file.

Running TAS
The TAS Main Menu contains a screen which has all the options
you can choose when you work with TAS. The Main Menu
looks like the figure below.

The following sections will describe each of the options
accessible from the Main Menu.

            Technical Analysis Scanner (TAS v.rr) Copyright 1991,
                Main Menu


                Configure TAS

                Define Ticker List

                Build or Run Selection

                Build or Run Profit Test

                Edit A TAS Script

                Run TAS Script

                Quit


[F1]=Help               Select Choice               [ESC]=Quit

Special Keys within TAS

F1     The F1 key is the HELP Key. This key will cause
a help screen to be display when you press it.
The help topic will be for the current cursor
location (i.e., "context sensitive help").

ALT-X    The ALT-X key will exit from TAS to DOS. This
will allow you to do a few things outside of
TAS. Because TAS is a large program, you
won't have a a great deal of storage left when
you exit to DOS. To return to TAS from DOS,
type "EXIT".

ALT-M    The ALT-M key will tell you how much
memory is available to TAS and the maximum
size used of the SYMBOL TABLE.

ESC    The ESC key will always leave the screen or
prompt you are in and  immediately "pop" you
back to the previous menu.

CTRL-BRK The CTRL-BRK key can be used to stop a TAS
when it is running. Any other key pressed
during the execution of a TAS script will cause
the display to pause, awaiting another key
press.
CONFIGURE TAS - Configuration and Setup
The Configuration Menu is used to tell TAS the location of your
Metastock or ChartPro Data Directory(ies). Up to ten directories
can be processed at one time.

The configuration menu looks like this:
                TAS Configuration and Setup


    1st Data DIRECTORY      \MSPTEST\DATA
    2nd Data DIRECTORY
    3rd Data DIRECTORY
    4th Data DIRECTORY
    5th Data DIRECTORY
        .
    10th Data DIRECTORY


    Include Ticker Period

    Symbol Table Size 9000  Quotes per Symbol   50   Use EMS Arrays Y

    Your Name              John Doe
    Registration Code      02125F3012


DATA DIRECTORY(S)
You should fill in the names of your Metastock or ChartPro
Directories, one per line above. Be sure to include the full path
name, including the first backslash character. If you have more
than one directory of data files, you can enter the other
directory names on the second thru tenth lines.

You cannot intermix directories across products. In other
words, all 10 of your directories must be either Metastock
format or ChartPro format. TAS determines the type of
directory by first looking for a file named "MASTER" in the
first directory. If found, it assumes all  directories are
Metastock format. If not found, it looks for files ending
with ".PRO". If these are found, it assumes that all
directories are ChartPro data. If neither search is satisfied,
TAS issues an error message and requests that you change
the directory name.

If you have more than 10 Metastock format directories, you can
add the 11th through the 20th directory names in the file
TAS.CNF manually with an editor by adding lines like the one
below:.
    MSP_DATA_DIRxx = \MSPTEST\DATA_A_E
where xx is 10 to 19 for the eleventh through the twentieth
directory.

INCLUDE TICKER PERIOD
This parameter should be set to "Y" if you have multiple tickers
with the same ticker symbol but different "periods". For
example, if you have a DAILY and a WEEKLY file for the
symbol AAPL, you will need to set this value to "Y" in order to
distinguish between the daily and weekly ticker files.

If you have TICKER LISTS created with this value set to "Y",
they will not work if you change this value to "N" (and vice
versa). You will have to re-select the tickers again. TAS is
distributed with this value unset (which means "No").

SYMBOL TABLE SIZE
The SYMBOL TABLE SIZE parameter is a "tuning" value which
determines the size of the internal tables for TAS. You may need
to increase the value if you write a particularly long or complex
selection script. If you specify any value less than 9000, TAS will
use 9000 as the value.

NOTE: From time to time, as more functions are added to TAS,
there is a natural increase in the SYMBOL TABLE SIZE needed
for TAS functions. So, it may be the case that your symbol table
is adequate for an earlier release of TAS, but needs to be
increased for a new release. Try adding a couple of thousand to
whatever value you currently have until your script works.

If you want to see the amount of SYMBOL TABLE your TAS
scripts are using, you can type the ALT-M key to display the
memory usage of TAS. One of the values shown is the
maximum SYMBOL TABLE SIZE used so far.
QUOTES PER SYMBOL
The QUOTES PER SYMBOL parameter specifies how many
quotes you want TAS to read into memory when performing
the selection. The higher this number, the longer the selection
will take.
See the section below under Use EMS Arrays for the effect of
this setting on the usage of EMS memory and processing time.
This parameter has a very significant impact on the processing
time that TAS uses for each symbol. It should be set to as low
a value as possible (based on the time periods you use in your
indicators) so that the TAS processing is minimized.
Use EMS Arrays
If you have EMS (Expanded Memory) or XMS (eXtended
Memory) installed with suitable driver software , you can set
this value to Y to take advantage of the extra memory you have
above the 640K DOS limit.

Most systems today do not actually have EMS memory., but
instead have Extended Memory (XMS), the kind that is built-in
to new 386 and 486 systems. The term EMS actually refers to a
software/hardware standard that is emulated by driver
programs from various vendors, such as QuarterDeck Office
Systems (QEMM and DesqView/386) as well as Microsoft's
EMM386 program.

TAS will automatically determine if you have EMS memory
installed, and if so, it will always use that memory for a
"swapping area", reducing the amount of disk reads required to
run the program.

In addition, if you set this parameter to Y, and you have
requested more arrays or set  Quotes per Symbol high enough
so that product of all the array sizes times the number of arrays
needed is greater than the amount of  memory available in the
DOS  640K region, TAS will swap arrays into and out of EMS
memory. This swapping of arrays can slow TAS processing
somewht, but it allows you to set Quotes per Symbol to a
maximum value.
REGISTRATION CODE
When you register TAS , you will receive a REGISTRATION
CODE based on your Name. Whatever name you include in the
file REGISTER.DOC will be used to form an encrypted code.
Use the same name as sent  in the  REGISTER.DOC file. Place
the REGISTRATION CODE sent to you in the appropriate field.
DEFINE TICKER LIST
You can create "ticker lists" with TAS. A "ticker list" is a list of
stock or ticker symbols which you can name as a group. This
allows you to create individualized lists of symbols against
which you can run your TAS scripts. As an example, you could
create a ticker list containing the Dow Jones 30 Industrials, or a
list containing only stocks you hold.

When you choose the TICKER LIST menu, you are asked if you
want to create a New Ticker List or Modify an Old Ticker List.

If you request a new Ticker List, you will be prompted for the
Ticker List name. Enter only the filename portion, not the .TCK
extension. The file will be created in the \TAS directory.

If you want to Modify an Old Ticker List, a File Name Selection
Screen will appear which contains the names of all the files in
the current directory ending with ".TCK". Move the cursor or
mouse over to the correct file name and press Enter (or
double-click).  Directories will also be displayed in this screen,
so if your ticker list is in another directory, you can change to
that directory by moving the cursor to the directory name and
pressing ENTER.

The Ticker List screen will then appear with all the ticker
symbols contained in the MSP directories you have configured.
Each symbol that is highlighted in YELLOW has been "selected"
for inclusion in the ticker list. To select or unselect a symbol,
move the cursor to the symbol and hit the SPACE Bar. If the
symbol is selected, it becomes unselected or vice versa.

If you want to SELECT ALL TICKERS, hit the F9 (SELECT ALL)
Key.

To UNSELECT ALL TICKERS, hit the F8 (UnSELECT ALL)
Key.

Once you have created the ticker list, hit the F3 (Save) Key to
save it. If you do not want to save the list, hit the ESC (Abort)
Key.

If you want to run a TAS script against all of your data, create a
new Ticker List called "ALL". Hit the F9 Key to select all
symbols. Then hit the F3 Key to save the list.
If you have set the CONFIGURATION option INCLUDE
TICKER PERIOD to "Y", your ticker names will be followed
by a slash and the period of the file, e.g. "AAPL/D" for
APPLE COMPUTER Daily data. The period is not available
with ChartPro data files.
BUILD OR RUN SELECTION
Using the BUILD SELECTION screen of TAS, you can create
your own report containing up to 7 columns of calculated
formulas or data values. In addition, you can use the Condition
entry areas (below the Formulas) to specify which conditions
must be satisfied for a ticker to be included in the report output.

The figure below shows the equivalent of the MetaStock Utility
"Rank" option where the first formula is the Current Price ("C"
is the Closing Price), the second formula is the 26 day Rate of
Change (ROC). The third formula is the 10 day Simple Moving
Average of the price. The fourth is the 10 day Simple Moving
Average of "F2", where "F2" is the 26 day ROC. Finally, the last
formula F5 is the percentage by which the Price is above or
below the moving average contained in F3.

        TAS Selection Creation

Enter Formulas Below, e.g. CCI(14)                   Title
Formula F1  C                     CURR PRC
Formula F2  ROC(C,26,'%')            %ROC/PRC
Formula F3  MOV(C,10,'S')            MOV AVG
Formula F4  MOV(F2,10,'S')            MA %ROC
Formula F5  (F1/F3-1)*100             %PRC MA
Formula F6
Formula F7

Enter Conditions Below, e.g. F1 > F2
Condition 1
Condition 2
Condition 3
Condition 4
Condition 5
Condition 6

F1]=Help [F3]=Save [F4]=Run [F5]=Options [F7]=Formula Builder ESC]=Quit




You can place any formulas or data value in each of the
Formula areas. If you hit the F7 key, a list of functions included
in TAS will be shown on the screen and you will be prompted
for the parameters of the function.

The CONDITION entries are used to "select" only those tickers
that match the condition. The conditions are specified in terms
of the formulas given above. In the example above, if you only
wanted to see tickers whose ROC (Formula 'F2') was greater
than 50, then you could set
    CONDITION 1    F2 > 50

Also, if you had another condition, for example the current
price of the ticker is greater than $5, you could place that
condition as follows
    CONDITION 2    C > 5

and that would select only tickers whose ROC is greater than 50
and whose price is greater than 5.
Selection Build Options
The OPTION Key (F5) allows you to set options for the
SELECTION, such as the MAXIMUM QUOTES to read, and
any INDEX file you might want to use. Be sure to use the F3 key
(SAVE) if you are in the OPTION screen to save your options.

            Set Selection Options

 INDEX Ticker SP-500     Maximum Quotes   200

 Start Date     /   /     End Date           /   /
Index Ticker
If you want to run a profit test that uses some index, such as the
SP-500, you can specify the ticker here. Then, in your profit test,
you refer to the index ticker's value with the INDEX array
name.
Maximum Quotes
You can specify the maximum number of quotes to load for the
profit test. This number should be less than or equal to the
Maximum Quotes per Symbol setting in your Configuration
Menu.

Start Date
If you want to start your test on a specific date, specify that date
here. Make sure that the date is a date you have in the file. If it
is not, the test will begin on the first date prior to that date.
End Date
If you want to end your test on a specific date, specify that date
here. Make sure that the date is one you have in the file. If it is
not, the test will end on the first date prior to the end date.
Running Your Selection
Once your SELECTION is built, you can run it using the F4 Key.
You will be asked for a TICKER LIST against which to run the
SELECTION. Choose one.

Once the SELECTION starts running, there is no output to the
main part of the screen until the SELECTION completes. At that
point, a "report" will display on your screen with the TICKER in
the first column and the formula values you set up for F1
through F7 in each column.
Sorting on Selected Columns
You can SORT your report by the contents of any column by
typing the ALT key at the same time as you hold down the
number over the column you want to sort on.

For example, to sort on the contents of the column next to
TICKER (this would be column numbered "1"), you would type
ALT-1 key pair. If you want to change the order of the sorting
from ascending order to descending order, type ALT-D (for
"Descending"). To go back to ascending order, type ALT-A.
Once you have set the sorting direction, you can then resort
using a ALT-column_number again.

Printing Your Selection Report
To PRINT the contents of your report in the current sort order,
type ALT-P. If you want to print to a file, enter a file name. To
print to your PRINTER, type LPT1 (or whatever address your
printer is hooked up to) in the file name prompt.

Errors In Selection Formulas
If you have any errors in the SELECTION you have created, you
will be told about them when you try to run the SELECTION.
An error message  will be displayed and then the TAS EDITOR
will be run with a file called _RUNSEL.TAS. This file is the file
that is created from your SELECTION. It is a special form of a
TAS script. You should recognize the formulas though, since
they are the ones you entered in your SELECTION.

The EDIT screen will redisplay the error message at the bottom
of the screen. Hit the SPACE bar and the cursor will be placed
near the place where the error was found. Look at the formula
and try to figure out what is the problem.

Once you have determined the  problem, you can make a
change in the editor and type F4 to SYNTAX CHECK the file
again. If you fixed the problem, there should be no errors now.

You are only half done though. Now you have to go back to
your BUILD SELECTION screen (by typing ESC) and fix the
formula(s) in that screen as well. Be sure to save (by hitting F3)
your file when it works.
BUILD OR RUN PROFIT TEST
The BUILD OR RUN PROFIT TEST screen is similar to the
BUILD SELECTION screen in appearance. Shown below is a
sample of the Build Profit Test screen.

    TAS Build/Run Profit Test
Enter Plot Formulas Below, e.g. CCI(14)
Formula F1      RSI(14)
Formula F2
Formula F3
Formula F4
Formula F5
Formula F6
Formula F7
Enter Buy/Sell Conditions below  e.g. F1 > F2
Cond    C1      F1[-1] < 30 AND F1 > 30
Cond    C2      F1[-1] > 70 AND F1 < 70
Cond    C3
Cond    C4
Cond    C5
Cond    C6
BUY WHEN          SELL WHEN         LONG STOP        SHORT STOP
C1                    C2

[F1]=Help [F3]=Save [F4]=Run [F5]=Options [F7]=Formula Builder ESC=Quit

You can fill in the FORMULAs (F1 to F6) with indicators (or
combinations of indicators) you want to 'plot' for the profit test.
Then, in the CONDITION entry areas (COND C1 to C6), you fill
in conditions you would use in a BUY, SELL or STOP loss
signal.

Once you have entered your FORMULAS and the CONDitions,
you can choose which conditions you want to use for the BUY,
SELL and STOP signals.

In the example above, only RSI(14) is being plotted. The
condition C1 tests to see if the RSI has crossed from below 30 to
above 30 (Buy Signal). Condition C2 tests if the RSI has crossed
from above 70 to below 70 (Sell Signal). Notice how C1 is
entered below BUY WHEN, indicating the Profit Tester should
buy if condition C1 is true (and the stock is not already held).
And, then C2 is below SELL WHEN, indicating a similar SELL
strategy.

Profit Test has a number of options which are set by hitting the
F5 Function Key in this screen. You will see the following
screen. Each of the items in bold represent one of several
choices available for the option.


    Set TAS Profit Test Options


 Initial Cash 5000   Test Type LONG    Commissions  NOCOMM

 Share Purchases ONESHARE             Price Slippage 0 - TODAYS CLOSE

 Output File Name                     Report Detail DETAIL

 Maximum Quotes                       INDEX Ticker

 Reinvest Profits N

 Start Date     /    /     End Date           /    /

When you bring up this screen, you can choose options by using
the TAB key to move to each field and selecting the appropriate
option. Type the HELP Key (F1) at each field to see the meaning
of the choices. When you are done with changes to this screen,
hit the F3 key to save the options. If you are in a "pop-up"
window, hit ENTER, then hit F3.

Profit Test Option Settings
Initial Cash
This is the amount of "money" the trading should start with. It
must be sufficient to buy the amount of shares specified by the
Share Purchase option below. For example, if you start with
$1,000 and you are buying Round Lots (100 shares), your stock
had better not sell for more than $10 per share or you won't
have enough money to buy a round lot.
Test Type
There are 3 choices for this option. You can perform a LONG ,
SHORT or BOTH test.
A LONG test only takes long positions, that is, it only buys to
open a position and sells to close it.

A SHORT test only takes short positions, selling to open and
buying to close ("cover") the position.

A BOTH test opens a long or short position and reverses each
time a signal is generated to "go the other way". This is
essentially a "stop and reverse" system.
Commissions
You can use several commission structures for your simulated
trading. The commissions for Charles Schwab,  OLDE Discount,
and PCFN brokerages are built into the profit tester. These
commissions are accurate as of 1/1/91. You can also specify a
percentage commission amount or a fixed dollar amount for
each trade. Finally, you can ignore commissions altogether.
Share Purchases
You can elect to purchase shares of the security in either Round
Lots or using all available cash. If you choose round lots, your
profit test will purchase or sell stocks in groups of 100. This is
important if you are using a real commission schedule, since the
commission per share is reduced when you trade in round lots.

Price Slippage
Price Slippage refers to the price at which you want to exercise
the trade. Generally, you cannot execute a trade at the exact
price you want, nor can you always trade at the previous day's
closing price. So, you have several options for choosing the
trade price.
Price Slippage Type
Meaning

 0 - TODAYS CLOSE
Today's closing price

 1 - NEXT AVERAGE
Tomorrow's
(High+Low+Close)/3

 2 - NEXT OPEN
Tomorrow's Open
Price

 3 - NEXT CLOSE
Tomorrow's Close
Price

 4 - NEXT HIGH
Tomorrow's High Price

 5 - NEXT LOW
Tomorrow's Low Price


Output File Name
If you want the output report from the profit test to go to a file,
specify the name here.
Report Detail
There are three choices for this option: DETAIL,
TICKERSUMMARY, and TOTALSUMMARY.

 DETAIL
Show every trade

 TICKERSUMMARY
Show totals for each ticker

 TOTALSUMMARY
Show totals only for all
tickers


Maximum Quotes
You can specify the maximum number of quotes to load for the
profit test. This number should be less than or equal to the
Maximum Quotes per Symbol setting in your Configuration
Menu.
Index Ticker
If you want to run a profit test that uses some index, such as the
SP-500, you can specify the ticker here. Then, in your profit test,
you refer to the index ticker's value with the INDEX array
name.
Reinvest Profits
This option determines how much money you want the profit
tester to use for each trade.
If you specify "Y", the profit test will use your current cash
position, including profits, minus losses and commissions to
determine how much money you have available to trade.
If you specify "N", the profit tester will initiate each trade with
the same amount of cash, regardless of your prior profits, losses
or commissions.
Start Date
If you want to start your test on a specific date, specify that date
here. Make sure that the date is a date you have in the file. If it
is not, the test will begin on the first date prior to that date.
End Date
If you want to end your test on a specific date, specify that date
here. Make sure that the date is a date you have in the file. If it
is not, the test will begin on the first date prior to that date.
Running the Profit Test
To run the Profit Test hit the F4 key (once you leave the Options
screen). If you want to save the Profit Test formulas, save it
with the F3 key and then reselect it to run it.

The file that is built when you create (or modify) a Profit Test
has a special file extension ".PTS" (Profit Test Script). This file
has a special format that can be read by the Build/Run Profit
Test menu. If you go in with an editor and change any part of
the .PTS file, it is very likely that the .PTS file WILL NO
LONGER WORK when you pull it up into the Profit Test
screen. If you want to change a .PTS file, copy it to a file .TAS
file name and edit that file. Once you do that, you have to run
the file as a TAS SCRIPT, not a Profit Test.

EDIT TAS SCRIPT - Editing TAS Scripts
TAS has a built-in text editor which can be used to create and
modify TAS script files. All TAS script files end with the suffix
".TAS".

When you select this menu item, you will be asked if you want
to create a New Script or Modify an Old Script.

If you request a new script, you will be prompted for the script
name. Enter only the filename portion, not the .TAS extension.
The file will be created in the \TAS directory.

If you want to modify an old script, a File Name Selection
Screen will appear which contains the names of all the files in
the current directory ending with ".TAS". Move the cursor or
mouse over to the correct file name and press Enter (or
double-click).

The editor screen will then appear with the contents of the file
displayed.
The TAS editor cannot handle lines larger than 76 characters .
If the line is longer than that, it will be broken at column 76
and continued onto the next line. If the total length of the line
is more than 256 characters, the last part of the line will be lost
if the file is saved. You should be aware of this when creating
a script in another editor and then using the TAS editor to
modify it. An arbitrary "break" at column 76 might cause a
word to be split in the middle, thus introducing an error into
the script.

Editor Function Keys
F1    HELP Key
    If you need help with the editor, hit the F1
(Help) Key. You will see a list of editor
commands.

F3    Save Script File Key
    When you are done with your editing, you can
save the file by hitting the F3 (Save) Key. If you
do not want to save the file, hit the ESC (Abort)
Key.

F4    Run Script Key
    The Run Script key will run the script you are
currently editing without saving it back to its
original script file.

F5    Check Script Key
    If you wish to check your script file for errors in
syntax, press the F5 key. If there are errors in
the script which can be detected by the Check
Script function, an error message showing the
type of error encountered and the line and
column number on which the error occurred
will appear in a window at the bottom of the
screen. This window will disappear after a few
seconds or when you hit a key. Then the script
file will be positioned so that the cursor is on
the line where the error was detected. It is
usually the case that the error is somewhere
either on that line or on the previous line.

F7     Formula Builder Key
    One key available in the editor is the Formula
Builder Key. This key will bring up a list of
Technical Indicator functions and Pre-defined
Data Arrays. If you select one of the functions
or arrays, the subsequent parameters of the
function (e.g. MOV "Moving Average" requires
3 additional parameters) will be prompted.
Enter each parameter. When you are done, the
formula and parameters will be placed into
your script file at the location of the cursor
when you hit F7.

RUN TAS SCRIPT - Running TAS Scripts
If you have created a script (or are using one of the example
scripts) and you want to run it against a specific Ticker List, you
should choose the "RUN TAS Scripts" option from the Main
Menu. (You must have created at least one Ticker List before
you can run TAS)

When this option is chosen, you will be asked for the TAS script
name and the Ticker List name. Each choice will be from a list of
filenames ending with the appropriate extension (".TAS" or
".TCK"). Move the cursor to the correct file name for each choice
and hit ENTER.
QUIT
This option will exit from TAS. If you want to go to DOS and
return to what you were doing within TAS, use the ALT-X key.


TAS Selection Scripts -  Description
TAS Selection reads each ticker in the TICKER LIST from the
MSP or Chartpro data file. It reads the quotes for the file into
the pre-defined data arrays up to the lower of either (1) the
number specified in the QUOTES PER SYMBOL (in the
Configure TAS Menu) (2) the number specified in
#MAX_QUOTES in the script file itself,  (3) all the quotes in the
file, or (4), the number of quotes between the SCAN_DATE or
Start Date and End Date.

Once all the price history has been read into the data arrays,
TAS "executes" the statements in the TAS script file. Once all
statements in the file have been executed, TAS moves on to the
next ticker symbol in the TICKER LIST.

This process continues until all the symbols in the TICKER LIST
have been read or until an error is encountered in the script file.



TAS Script Language
TAS Script Language  is loosely based on  the programming
language  PASCAL. There has to be some way to tell TAS what
you want to look for, compute, print, etc., so the choices made
in the way you  tell it to do something are what can be called
the "syntax". In a way, the language is similar to English, where
you would say "If a is greater than b then tell me about it".
Except, as you will see, TAS has abbreviations for relationships
like "is greater than". Other than that, however, the language
can be read like English and algebraic notation combined. The
following topics will give an explanation of the TAS script
language.

The TAS package contains numerous examples of TAS Scripts.
You should print them and look at them while reading the next
section. The sample scripts contain "comments" which explain
what the script is doing at each point of the script.
Syntax
In the subsequent discussion, the word "statement" is used. A
"statement" is like a sentence in English. Like a sentence, it is
composed of "words".

A semi-colon (;) is used to tell TAS that the statement you just
entered is done. Every statement should be terminated by a
semi-colon.

In the syntax descriptions below, words you must use are in
UPPER CASE, and parts of the statement that are up to you are
in lower case.
Building Blocks
The "Building Blocks" of TAS scripts are the following types of
items:

"VARIABLES".
    Variables are where you put values or, in the
case of "pre-defined" variables, where you get
them. The names are anything you choose, but
they have to start with a letter of the alphabet.

"ASSIGNMENT ".
    The ASSIGNMENT statement (":=" or "=") is
how you can move a value from one place to
another.

"ARITHMETIC Operators".
    These are the usual ADD(+), SUBTRACT (-),
MULTIPLY(*) and DIVIDE(/).

"FUNCTIONS".
     A "function" is a built-in Technical Indicator ,
math function, or "output" function which
usually returns a value.

IF statements
    An "IF" statement is used to test a condition or
value. Once the condition is tested, you can
perform certain actions "if" it is TRUE or "if" it
is false.

"BEGIN-END Blocks"
    A "BEGIN-END" block is a way to "group"
several statements into one. For example, the IF
statement only allows you to execute the
following "statement". However, if you use a
BEGIN followed by multiple statements,
followed by an END, the whole series of
statements from the BEGIN through the END is
considered to be ONE statement. It is similar to
putting parentheses around an arithmetic
expression.

"Logical AND"
    The AND word takes a left-hand side and a
right-hand side. If both are TRUE, the whole is
TRUE.

"Logical OR"
    The OR word also has a left and right side. If
either is TRUE, the whole is TRUE.

"RELATIONAL Operators"
    These are how you test the "relation" between
two values. The Englishlanguage form of the
operators and the symbolic form for the
operators are shown in the table below. You
may use either form for expressing an equality
or inequality relationship.

English Language Keyword
form
Symbolic form

EQUAL
=

GREATER THAN
>

GREATER THAN OR EQUAL
>=

LESS THAN
<

LESS THAN OR EQUAL
<=

NOT EQUAL
<>


Comments
    These are used to "document" the TAS script.
They perform no function, but only help to
understand what is going on in the general area
of the script. They are good to use and should
be included in the script to make it easier to
understand.
Variables
The concept of a "variable" can be difficult to communicate to
anyone who hasn't programmed before. Loosely speaking, it is a
name given to a "place" to put a "value". Think of it as a "name
for a value".

Except for "pre-defined" variables (see below) you can make up
the names for the variables in your script.

A variable name must start with an alphabetic letter, contain
only letters, numbers and underscores ("_"). Some valid names
are:

my_stuff, my_122999, my999, m9, M32_togo, Beethoven, etc

Generally, you first use variables in "assignment statements",
that is, you first "put" something into them. Subsequently, you
can use them as values passed to functions or in an IF
statement.

TAS Variable Types
"String" Variables
These are variables to hold text information, like 'IBM', or 'THIS
IS A STICK-UP'.  String variables must be surrounded by single-
quote (') characters.
"Numeric" Variables
These are variables that hold numbers, like 32, or -75.69, or
10000034.

There are two types of numeric variables, INTEGERS and REAL
numbers. An INTEGER is a number which has no decimal point
and must be smaller than 32,767 in value.

An INTEGER can be NO LARGER THAN 32,767 in value. If
you need to use a number larger than 32,767 then you must
include a decimal point followed by at least one zero in the
number. For example, if you want to use the number 1 million
in your script, you cannot say 10000000 because the number is
larger than 32,767 and it does not contain a decimal point. In
this case, you must say 1000000.0 to tell TAS that the number
is a REAL number.
"Numeric Array" Variables
These are variables that hold many numbers in an "array"  (or
collection of numbers). All of the numbers in the array have the
same variable name; however, you cannot "look" at them all at
once.  You must pick out one of the numbers of the array by
specifying its "location" in the array.

An example of an array that is always available when a ticker is
processed is the Closing Price array,"C". Obviously, there are
many Closing Prices (one for each quote, in fact), and in order
to refer to the Closing Price on a particular day, there must be
some way to reference it. In the absence of any explicit reference
to a particular day in an array, TAS will assume the reference is
for the last day for the ticker.

However, if you need to know what the value of the Closing
Price was two days before the last quote's day, you have to tell
TAS that you want the quote two days before. You can do this
in one of three ways. Suppose you have 100 days of data
loaded. To get the Closing Price quote from two days  prior to
the last day, you could say:

1)    C[-2]
2)    C[98]
3)     C 2 DAYS AGO
Methods (1) and (2) above use "subscript" notation to tell TAS
which number in the array is needed. In the first case, you are
saying "give me the Closing Price array entry 2 days backward
from the last entry". The negative number says to start
"counting" back days from the last day.

The second version, shown in (2), says "give me the Closing
Price array entry 98 days from the first day loaded". Since we
had stipulated 100 days were loaded, this is the same as the
price two days ago (100-98 = 2).

Finally, the last expression, shown in (3), says in English that
you want to retrieve the Closing Price 2 days ago. In the interest
of readability, this version is the best, but it is more wordy and
does incur a very slight performance penalty when you run the
script, since TAS has extra work to do in order to interpret the
English phrase.

In addition, you can also describe the current day's Closing
value by saying
    CLOSE OF TODAY
and you can refer to yesterday's Closing price by saying
    CLOSE OF YESTERDAY

Other pre-defined data arrays, like H, L, C, V (for High Price,
Low Price, Closing Price and Volume) are examples of arrays.

If you want to refer to a closing price 10 days ago (using our
earlier example of 100 days loaded), you can say
C[-10] or C[90] or CLOSE 10 DAYS AGO
Each time you refer to an "element" of an array, you need to
either provide the "subscript" in square brackets, e.g. [-10],
which means "subscript minus ten" or say "xx DAYS AGO".

You can define your own variable array by "declaring" it (prior
to first using it) as follows:

variable_name : ARRAY;
    OR
variable_name IS AN ARRAY;

where 'variable_name' is the name by which you want to refer
to the array.

You might wonder "Why would I define my own array?". The
answer to that depends on what you are trying to do. Generally,
you define your own array because you want to put some
indicator value into it. Most indicators create arrays of numbers.
When using a charting program, you can see these numbers as a
line on a graph. Each of the points on the line are values of the
indicator for a particular day. Now, suppose you wanted to
know what the value of the indicator was two days ago.

Normally, when an indicator is computed, it returns (or creates)
an array. However, if you don't put the result of the indicator
function into an array (declared via the ARRAY dcclaration as
shown above), then the result stored is the indicator value for
the current day only.  In order to "look" at the indicator value
for other than the last day loaded, you must place it into an
array that you have already declared. For more information on
placing the results of a function into an array or variable, see the
section that follows.
Assignment Statement
The Assignment Statement is used to set the contents of a
variable or array to the result of an "expression". An
"expression" is another of those computereze terms, but it means
sequence of mathematical operations and/or the result of a
"function".

It might help to give some examples of assignment operations:

a := b + 3 / 4;

The ":=" (colon-equal) is the operator that says "assign to" . So,
reading the above assignment, in English, it says "add the
contents of variable 'b' to the result of dividing 3 by 4. Place this
result in variable 'a'". If variable 'b' contained 6 when this
statement was encountered, then variable 'a' would contain 6.75
(6 + 3/4).

Another example is:

a := (c[-1] + c[0]) / 2;

In this example, the array 'c' is pre-defined as the "closing price
array". So, the statement is adding the closing price yesterday
(c[-1]) to the closing price today (c[0]). It is then dividing the
total of this addition by 2 and placing the result in variable 'a'.
Note the use of the parentheses to "group" the addition so that it
would be done before the division by 2. If there were no
parentheses, the result would have been considerably different.
Instead, it would have divided today's closing price by 2, added
it to yesterday's closing price, and placed the result in 'a'.

Another example of an assignment is the result of a "function"
call. All Technical Indicators available in TAS are created by
making a "function" call. In other words, the Technical Indicator
is referred to by its name (the "function"). So, for example,

a := mov(c,21,'E');

calculates the 21 day exponential moving average ("mov"
function) of the closing price array. If variable 'a' has been
declared to be an ARRAY prior to this point, then 'a' contains all
the moving average "points". If 'a' has not been declared as an
ARRAY, then 'a' will contain the value of the moving average at
the last point of the range, i.e., today's value. See the section
titled "Numeric Array" Variables  for a description of arrays and
"subscripts".
Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic Operators are addition (plus sign '+'), subtraction
(minus sign '-'), multiplication (asterisk '*') , division (slash '/')
and "exponentiation" (caret "^"). When you write an arithmetic
expression, you should use parentheses to guarantee the order
in which the operations are performed. In general,
exponentiation is performed first, then division and
multiplication are performed first, then addition and
subtraction.
Functions
A "function" is a reference to a "built-in" Technical Indicator
function (like "MOV(...)"), an output function (like WRITE or
WRITELN), or an array manipulation function (like DIVBY). See
the individual descriptions of each function in the Metastock
Professional  User's Guide for a more complete definition of the
meaning of the various Technical Indicators that are found in
that program.
IF Statements
The IF statement is the most powerful scanning feature of TAS.
It enables you to create complex relationships between
indicators based on their relationship with other indicators and
values.

An IF statement is written as follows:

IF expression THEN
    statement to execute if the 'expression' is true
ELSE
    statement to execute if the 'expression' is false;

The ELSE part of the IF statement is optional, but sometimes it
is convenient to make a two way decision about something. You
could alternatively say:

IF expression THEN
    statement to execute if the 'expression' is true;

The TAS language does not require you to include the word
THEN after the IF part of the statement. You must terminate
each IF statement with a semi-colon. Note, however, that IF
statements containing an ELSE part are terminated after the
ELSE part. For example,

IF a GREATER THAN b THEN
    WRITELN('a is greater than b, hurray!')
ELSE
    WRITELN('a is not greater than b, sorry.');

Note how there is a semi-colon on the last line, but not after the
first WRITELN. However, if you wanted to print a message
only if "a" is greater than "b", then you would say

IF a GREATER THAN b THEN
    WRITELN('a is greater than b, hurray!');

Note the semi-colon after the last line.
BEGIN..END Statement
Suppose you want to do more than one thing if the condition "a
is greater than b" is true. In that case, you would need to use a
BEGIN .. END block.

 A "BEGIN..END" block "groups" all statements between the
BEGIN and the END so that the entire "group" is treated as if it
were one statement.

This is useful in the case of the IF statement, because the action
to be taken following the THEN or ELSE part of the IF can only
be one statement. But if you use the BEGIN..END block to
group several statements, the entire block is treated as a "single"
statement. Think of BEGIN..END blocks in the same way you
would think of parenthesized arithmetic expressions. You use
parentheses to "group" some operations so that they are treated
as a group.

An example of the use of the BEGIN..END block in an IF
statement is shown below:

IF a GREATER THAN b THEN
BEGIN
    a := a - 1;
    b := mov(c,21,'E');
    WRITELN('New values for a and b are:' ,a,' ',b);
END;

All three statements following the BEGIN will be executed
(acted upon) if the value of "a" is greater than the value of "b". If
you had left out the BEGIN..END section, only the first
statement ("a := a - 1") would have been done if "a GREATER
THAN b" was true. The following two statements would have
ALWAYS been done, since they were not part of the IF.
GOTO Statement and LABELS
You can use the GOTO statement in a script to transfer control
to a LABEL you define in the script.

A LABEL is defined by a COLON (":")  immediately followed
by a LABEL NAME. For example, in the script below, the third
line has the sequence ":AGAIN". This makes "AGAIN" the name
of a LABEL. On the tenth line of the script, there is a "GOTO
AGAIN" which transfers the "flow of control" of the script back
to the statement just following the label 'AGAIN'. The purpose
of the script below is to show an example of GOTO and
LABEL's, but incidentally, it also computes all the moving
averages for periods from 20 days to 40 days and prints them.

ma_array10 IS AN array;
n = 20;
:AGAIN
ma_array10 = mov(c,n,'e');
writeln(ticker,date,int(n),' day moving average is ',ma_array10);
n = n+1;
if n LESS THAN 40 then
    GOTO AGAIN;

The following script is an example of using GOTO and LABEL's
to transfer control FORWARD in the script. Note the GOTO B
in the first IF statement.

n = 1;
:a
if n GREATER THAN 30 then goto b;
{ DO SOME WORK HERE USING THE VALUE OF N}
n = n+1;
goto a;
:b
writeln('done...n is ',n);

When you use the GOTO within a BEGIN..END block, you
must be careful not to GOTO someplace outside of the block.
Your script must encounter the END statement which matches
the previous BEGIN statement.
GOSUB statement
The GOSUB statement is used to "go to a subroutine". This
statement can be used when you have the same section of script
code that you want to execute several times. Rather than
including the same lines in the script in each place you want to
use them, you can place them in one location in the script and
use GOSUB each place you want to execute them.

When you use GOSUB, you specify a label where the
'subroutine' starts. When the subroutine is completed, it should
have a RETURN statement. The RETURN statement will return
the script control back to the statement FOLLOWING the
GOSUB.

Here is a sample script using the GOSUB statement:

a = 5;
gosub s1;
gosub s2;
gosub s4;
return;
:s1
begin
writeln(ticker);
writeln('s1 entered, a = ',int(a));
return;
end;
:s2
a = a+1;
begin
writeln('s2 entered, a = ',int(a));
gosub s3;
return;
end;
:s3
a = a+1;
begin
writeln('s3 entered, a = ',int(a));
return;
end;
:s4
a = a+1;
begin
writeln('s4 entered, a = ',int(a));
return;
end;

The output from this script is:

AMH
s1 entered, a =     5
s2 entered, a =     6
s3 entered, a =     7
s4 entered, a =     8
RETURN statement
The RETURN statement in a script will stop processing the
current ticker or return from a GOSUB call. For example, if you
want to avoid computing several complex indicators if there are
less than 100 quotes in the file or the price is less than $5, you
could put the following section of code BEFORE your
calculations in the script:

IF quote_count LESS THAN 100 OR c LESS THAN 5 THEN
    RETURN;

Or, if you have a subroutine that you call with the GOSUB
statement, you need to return back to the place where the
GOSUB was made by using a RETURN statement at the end of
the subroutine.

GOSUB SUB1;        {Call subroutine 1}
RETURN;            {Return to TAS and end script}
:SUB1           { BEGINNING OF SUB1}
{ DO WHATEVER SUB1 DOES HERE
        ......................}
RETURN;            { RETURN FROM SUB1}
Logical Operators
You can combine relations by using the words "AND" and
"OR". They have the same sense as in English. Whenever you
use AND and OR, you can use parentheses to group your
relations to be sure they are computed the way you want them
to be understood. For example:

IF a GREATER THAN b AND b EQUAL TO 1 THEN
    WRITELN('a is greater than b and b is equal to 1');

This example compares "a" to "b". If "a" is greater than "b", then
it compares "b" to the number 1. If "b" is equal to 1, then the
message
    a is greater than b and b is equal to 1
will be printed. If either of the "relations" (a in "relation" to b
AND b in "relation" to 1) is not true, then the WRITELN will not
be done.

On the other hand, suppose we want to print the message if
either of the conditions is true. Then we would say:

IF a > b OR b = 1 THEN
    WRITELN('a is greater than b OR b is equal to 1');

In this case, it would print the message if "a" were greater than
"b" or if "b" were equal to 1.
Relational Operators
Relational Operators describe a "relationship" between the
expression on the left of the operator and the expression on the
right of the operator. For example, "a > b". 'a' is on the left side,
'b' is on the right side, and the operator is '>' which means
"greater than". Relational operators can be expressed using
mathematical notation (">", "<", "<>", ">=") or by using English
forms of the same relation, such as "GREATER THAN", "LESS
THAN", etc).
Comments
Comments are surrounded on both sides by "curly braces".
These are the characters at the right of your keyboard. They
look like this:
    {    - Left "curly brace"
    }    - Right "curly brace"

You can place these "curly braces" around any thing in your
script file that you do not want TAS see. It is only for your eyes
and the eyes of other humans.
Pre-Defined Variables
Predefined Variables are variables that are "filled in" when each
MSP TICKER is processed or at specific times during the
processing of ticker files.

TICKER    The 'ticker' symbol, e.g., AXP

FULLNAME    The 'full name', e.g., AMERICAN
EXPRESS

DATAPATH    contains the DOS file name of the data
subdirectory currently being processed.

TICKER_PERIOD    contains the periodicity of the ticker file.
This is taken from the Metastock
PERIOD field.

QUOTE_COUNT    The number of quotes in the file

QUOTE_RANGE    Initially set to QUOTE_COUNT by TAS.
This variable can be modified by the
script to set the index of the last quote in
the file for computation. Somewhat
similar to the Metastock REF function..

FIRST_TICKER    Variable, which, if equal to 1 (one),
indicates this ticker is the first to be
processed.

LAST_TICKER    Variable, which, if equal to 1 (one),
indicates this ticker is the last to be
processed.

DATE    The date of the latest quote in the file in
the format MM/DD/YY.

P    The "last computed" array. For example,
    X := MOV(C,30,'E')
    places the last day's 30day EMA in 'X'
and the entire EMA array is in 'P' until
another function is called.

PLOT_PHASE    Variable which is set to 1 when the Profit
Test Script is entered for the first time
for a ticker.

TEST_PHASE    Variable which is set to 1 when the Profit
Test Script is entered for the EACH
quote for a ticker.
END_PHASE    Variable which is set to 1 when the Profit
Test Script is entered for the last quote
for a ticker.
Pre-Defined DATA Arrays
A pre-defined DATA Array contains one entry of one type of
value for each day in the ticker file. There are as many entries in
each array as there are days loaded for the ticker.

Unlike user-defined arrays,  the pre-defined arrays should not
be defined within the script with the array declaration. Since
they are pre-defined, they are always available for use within
the script.  There are two ways to refer to each of the pre-
defined arrays. There is an English language name, such as
CLOSE and a "short variable name", such as "C", for the Closing
Price array. The names for the pre-defined arrays are shown in
the table that follows:


Pre-defined DATA Arrays

English language
name for array
Short
Variable
Name
Description

OPEN
O
The OPEN PRICE
"data array"

HIGH
H
The HIGH "data
array"

LOW
L
The LOW  "data
array"

CLOSE
C
The CLOSE "data
array"

VOLUME
V
The VOLUME
"data array"

OPEN_INTEREST
OI
The OPEN
INTEREST "data
array"

INDEX
INDEX
Array containing
the CLOSE quotes
for a TICKER
defined by an
INDEX command.

DATES
DATES
Array of DATES
associated with
each of the price
entries. These dates
are in number
format, not string
format.




Pre-defined Functions
TAS functions which are also available in MetaStock have the
same names and (nearly the same) parameters as those
documented in the MSP Custom Formulas Section of the MSP
"User's Manual".

Functions which are unique to TAS (not shared by MetaStock)
are described in detail in this document. The MetaStock
functions are only summarized. Please refer to the Metastock
documentation or the Encyclopedia of Technical Market
Indicators for a complete description of the functions and their
parameters.

In some instances, the parameter to an MetaStock named
function has to have single quotes around it. This is the case
with any function that passes a single character as a parameter,
such as the last parameter in the "mov" (Moving Average)
function.
Technical Indicators available in Metastock
ad()    Accumulation/Distribution
adx(p)    Average Directional Movement
adxr(p)    Average Directional Movement Rating
add(a,b)    Add two arrays
Add each element of array "a" to the corresponding
element of array "b".
cci(p)    Commodity Channel Index Array
p = number of periods
co()    Chaikin's Oscillator
cos(a)    Trigonometric cosine
of each entry in array 'a'
cum(a)    Cumulative Sum of Array "a"
div(a,b)    Divide two arrays
Divide each element of array "a" by an element of array
"b".
dmi(p)    Directional Movement Index
exp(a)    Exponential Function
hhv(a,p)    Highest High Value
Returns Highest High Value in the array 'a' for the period
'p'
llv(a,p)    Lowest Low Value
Returns Lowest Low Value in the array 'a' for the period 'p'
log(a)    Exponential Logarithm of each entry in
array 'a'
macd()    Moving Average Convergence/Divergence
mdi(p)    Minus Directional Movement (-DI)
mo(p)    Momentum Array
p = number of periods
mov(d,p,t)    Compute Moving Average
Moving Average Array
    d = Data Array
    p = number of periods
    t = Moving Average Type
        'E' - Exponential
        'S' - Simple
        'W' - Weighted
mul(a,b)    Multiply two arrays
Multiply each element of array "a" by the corresponding
element of array "b".
neg(a)    Negative of Array "a"
nvi()    Negative Volume Indicator
obv()    On Balance Volume
oscp(p1,p2,t,r)      Price Oscillator
Price Oscillator formed by subtracting a "t" type "p2" day
moving average of the Closing Price from a "t" type "p1"
day moving average of the Closing Price.
    p1 = shorter moving average period
    p2 = longer moving average period
t = Moving Average Type
    'E' - Exponential
    'S' - Simple
    'W' - Weighted
r = ROC Type
    '%' - percentage ROC
    '$' - Unit ROC
oscv(p1,p2,t,r)     Volume Oscillator
Volume Oscillator formed by subtracting a "t" type "p2"
day moving average of the Volume from a "t" type "p1"
day moving average of the Volume.
    p1 = shorter moving average period
    p2 = longer moving average period
        t = Moving Average Type
            'E' - Exponential
            'S' - Simple
            'W' - Weighted

    r = ROC Type
        '%' - percentage ROC
        '$' - Unit ROC
pdi(p)    Positive Directional Movement (+DI)
per()    Performance Indicator
Performance Indicator computed as follows:
    per[i] = ()CLOSE[i]CLOSE[1] - 1 * 100
pvi()    Positive Volume Indicator
rsi(p)    Wilder's Relative Strength Indicator
p = number of periods
roc(d,p,r)    Rate Of Change Array
    d = Data Array
    p = number of periods
    r = ROC Type
        '%' - percentage ROC
        '$' - Unit ROC
sar(i,m)    Wilder's Parabolic Stop and Reverse (SAR)
 indicator. Create a parabolic stop line either over or under
the price graph.
where
     'i' = increment value and initial
     'm' = maximum acceleration factor

Wilder's explanation uses the values of  i = .02 and m= 0.20

In ChartPro, this indicator is referred to as Technical Study
'PTP'
sin(a)    Trigonometric sine of each entry in array 'a'
sqrt(a)    Square root of each entry in array 'a'
std(d,p)    Statistical Standard Deviation.
Computes the standard deviation of the array 'd' using 'p'
data points. Defined as the square root of the variance (see
var below).
stoch(p,s)    Stochastic Oscillator
    p = number of periods
    s = k slowing periods
sub(a,b)    Subtract one array from another
Subtract each element of array "b  from the corresponding
element of array "a".
sum(a,p)    Summation of array over period
Create a 'p' day summation of array 'a'.
tan(a)    Trigonometric tangent
of each entry in array 'a'
trix(p)    TRIX Function
Calculate a 1 day percent Rate of Change of a p day triple
exponential moving average of the closing price.
tsf(a,p)    Time Series Forecast  function.
This function computes a p day linear regression of the
array a for each day.
var(d,p)    Statistical VARIANCE
of the array 'p' over the time period 'p'.
vol(pm,pr)    Volatility Indicator.
This is the 'pr' day Rate Of Change Oscillator of a 'pm' day
exponential Moving Average of the difference between
each day's high and low price.
wc()    Weighted Close
 defined as (2 * CLOSE + HIGH + LOW)/4
willa()    William's Accumulation/Distribution.
willr(p)    William's %R
for 'p' periods. This is equivalent to a 'p' period stochastic
with 1 day smoothing. The result is then reduced by 100.

zig(a,r,t)    Zig Zag Function
Compute a ZIG ZAG function for array 'a'. 'r' is the
minimum percentage or unit (dollar) change which must
be made in order to reflect a change in the Zig Zag line.
The third parameter 't' is either '%' or '$'. If it is '%', then
the 'r' value is expressed as a percentage change, otherwise
it is a unit (or dollar) change.
If you want to see what kind of profits you could make,
run the ZIG.PTS Profit Test file.  According the Equis
Metastock User's Manual, "The Zig Zag indicator has
20/20  hindsight...Unfortunately, the Zig Zag's foresight is
not as profitable. This is because the last "leg" of the Zig
Zag indicator isn't fixed until future prices are known. If
you use the Zig Zag  indicator to predict future prices, you
are probably fooling yourself." Sorry, but that's the way it
works. It is provided in TAS as a sort  of "benchmark" to
judge how much the IDEAL strategy could SQUEEZE  out
of a portfolio. It is nearly ideal, because it knows the
future.
TAS Functions
angle(a)    Angle of a line
returns the angle in degrees of the line described by the
array 'a'. This function is only usable on an array that has
been created by either linreg or linreg2.
alpha()    Alpha function
The alpha function is a "sister" function of the beta
function. This function describes how much the stock's
price would have moved on average on a yearly basis
assuming the INDEX did not change. An alpha  of .20
means that the stock would have increased  20% more than
the INDEX during the year.
In terms of a two way linear regression (performed by the
beta function), the alpha is  related to the y-intercept of the
linear regression line.
It is important to note that the alpha function must be
called immediately after the beta function. At any other
time, the results of the alpha  function are undefined.
avgprc()    Average Price
Creates an array where each entry is that day's
(HIGH+LOW+CLOSE)/3
bbandt(p,s)    Top Bollinger Band
Bollinger Band upper (top) indicator for "p" periods with
"s" standard deviations added to the p-day simple moving
average.
bbandb(p,s)    Bottom Bollinger Band
Bollinger Band lower (bottom) indicator for "p" periods
with "s" standard deviations subtracted from the p-day
simple moving average.
beta(r)    "Beta" function
The beta function calculates the linear regression of the
percentage rate of change of the closing price (of the
current ticker being processed) to the percentage rate of
change of the INDEX.
Values of r, the rate of change period, are
    'D'    Daily rate of change
    'W'    Weekly rate of change
    'M'    Monthly rate of change
The weekly rate of change calculates the rate of change
from Friday to Friday and the monthly rate of change
calculates the rate of change from the first of each month.

The actual value returned by the beta function is the slope
of the line created by this two way linear regression.

The purpose of the beta function is to measure the stock's
sensitivity to movement in the general market over the
period of time chosen. A beta value of 2.00 means that the
stock tends to move with the market, but 2 times as far
(percentage change is twic as much). A beta of -.5 means
that the stock moves in the opposite direction of the
market, but only one half as far.
corrcoef()    Correlation Coefficient
returns the "correlation coefficient" of the last linear
regression performed. This value ranges from -100 to +100.
If the data points match the points in the linear regression
approximation, the correlation coefficient will be 100. If the
points show no correlation with the approximation, the
correlation coefficient will be zero.

datestr(d)    Create a formatted date
Create a "date string" in the form MM/DD/YY from the
DATES array entry 'd'.

daymon(d)    Day of Month function
Returns the "DAY OF THE MONTH" of the DATE
contained in variable "d". The value returned is the day of
the month. For example, daymon(910204) will return 4.

daywk(d)    Day of Week function
Returns the "DAY OF THE WEEK" of the DATE contained
in variable "d". The value returned is a number from 0 to 6,
where 0 is Sunday, 1 is Monday, 2 is Tuesday, 3 is
Wednesday, 4 is Thursday, 5 is Friday and 6 is Saturday.

divby(a,x)    Divide array by number
Divide each element of array "a" by the value of "x". In this
case, "x" is a single number.

dump_array(a1,a2...aN) Dump Array Contents
Dump the contents of arrays"a1" to "aN" to the screen or a
file. Each entry in the array is shown as a decimal number
with the entry number in square brackets to the left,
followed by the date. DUMP_ARRAY can be called with
up to 12 array names. They will be printed side-by-side on
the display.
This function is useful for checking out the contents of an
array...in other words, it is a debugging tool, not a report
generating tool.

int(x)    Create Integer
Turns the number "x" into an "integer" by dropping any
part of the number to the right of the decimal point. An
integer is a number without a fractional part (the part after
the decimal). The maximum number that you can turn into
an integer is 32,767.

isect(a,b)     Find array intersection
Find the latest intersecting point of the two arrays "a" and
"b". Returns the number of days since the two arrays
intersected or -1 (negative one) if they have never
intersected.

NOTE:
Since the graph of the two arrays actually crosses
BETWEEN two days, the value returned will be the later
day AFTER the crossing. For example, if the arrays crossed
between yesterday and today, the value returned will be
zero. If they crossed between two days ago and yesterday,
the value returned will be 1, and so forth.

linreg    Linear Regression over time
linreg(a,s,e)    Create a linear regression line using
"least-squares" method to find the mathematical average of
the values in the array "a" starting at entry "s" and ending
at entry "e". If "s" is zero, it refers to the first value in the
array. If "e" is zero, it refers to the last value in the array.
Positive values for "s" or "e" refer to the appropriate array
entries (counting from 0).
A negative number in the "s" or "e" index is subtracted
from the total number of entries in the array to get the
appropriate positive array index. For example,
        x : array;
        x := linreg(c,-50,-10);
will find the line passing most closely through the closing
prices from 50 days before the last day in the file to 10 days
before the last day in the file.

linreg2    Linear Regression of two variables
linreg2(y,x,s,e)
Create a linear regression line using "least-squares"
method to find the mathematical  average of the values in
the array y over the array x starting at entry "s" and ending
at entry "e". If "s" is zero, it refers to the first value in the
array. If "e" is zero, it refers to the last value in the array.
Positive values for "s" or "e" refer to the appropriate array
entries (counting from 0).
    A negative number in the "s" or "e" index is subtracted
from the total number of entries in the array to get the
appropriate positive array index. For example,
        x : array;
        x := linreg2(c,v,-50,-10);
will find the line passing most closely through the closing
prices and volume from 50 days before the last day in the
file to 10 days before the last day in the file.

load(t,f)    Load a data array
The load function will retrieve the first occurrence of a ticker
from the Metastock directory. The ticker is specified as the first
parameter to the load function.

The second parameter of the load function is the field to be
loaded from the ticker file. The name of the field must be
surrounded by single quotes or it must be a string variable
containing the name of the field. The field names are the same
as the pre-defined data array names, that is, C for closing price,
H for high price, etc.

The value returned from the load function is an array
containing the portion of the ticker file requested by the field
name.
mfi(p)    "Money Flow Index"
as described in Equis "The Pointer" Volume 5, Number 4
and corrected in Vol 6, Number 1.
month(d)    Month function
Returns the Month (1-12) of the date value contained in the
parameter.
mulby(a,x)      Multiply by number
Multiply each element of array "a" by the value of "x". In
this case, "x" is a single number.

over(a,b)    Over function
If array "a" is "over" array "b", this function returns the
number of days since array "a" crossed above array "b".
See the note under the "isect" function.

peak(a,n)    Find Peak in Array
returns the index of the 'n'-th peak value in array 'a'. A
'peak' is defined as a high value surrounded by lower
values. The value returned from this function is the array
index to the peak value.

In the figure above, the peak(C,2) call would return the
index of the point marked P2. If you consider the volume
vertical bars a day, then the value returned in this example
would be '-13', or 13 days prior to the last day.

per1(a)    Performance using Array
Computes the "performance indicator" for an array a. The
performance indicator is computed as

per(a) = ()a[1]a[0]-1 * 100

set(a,v)    Set Array to Value
Sets all entries in array 'a' to the value 'v'. For example, you
could use this function to create an array where each entry
is 22.5.

slope(a)    Slope of Line
will return the mathematical "slope" of the line whose
points are contained in array "a". This array must have
been created with the linreg function.

trough(a,n)    Find Trough in Array
returns the index of the 'n'-th "trough" value in array 'a'. A
'trough' is defined as a low value surrounded by higher
values. The value returned from this function is the array
index to the trough value.

In the figure shown with the peak function above, the
trough(C,2) call would return the index of the point
marked 'T2'.  Based on the volume bars shown, the value
returned in this example would be '-11', or 11 days prior to
the last day.

tr()    Wilder's True Range
This function creates an array containing for each day, the
higher of the following differences :
Between today's high and today's low.
Between today's high and yesterday's close.
Between today's low and yesterday's close.

The value of tr() for any day is always positive or zero.

year(d)    Year function
Returns the Year (0-99) of the date value contained in the
parameter.

zero(a)    Zero Array
Sets each entry of array 'a' to zero.



Output Functions
WRITE and WRITELN Output Functions
There are two direct output functions, WRITE and WRITELN.
The WRITELN function is identical to the WRITE function,
except that WRITELN causes a NEW LINE to be added at the
end of the last field.

The parameters to WRITE (and WRITELN) are either text
strings, like 'this is a text string', surrounded by single quotes ('),
or "variable values". A variable value is a value that you have
assigned to a name by use of a formula or constant setting.
There are "pre-defined" variables, such as H, L, C, V, O,
TICKER, FULLNAME. These pre-defined variables are "filled
in" when TAS reads the data values for each symbol.

You can control the formatting of your output to some extent by
using the characters sequence "\t" (backslash tee) in your text
string. This will place a "tab" character in the output. TAS places
"tab stops" every 4 columns of the output line.

In addition, the sizes of the two types of "numbers", are
constant. If you are printing an INTEGER value, it is five
characters wide, left-justified. If you are printing a number with
a decimal point, it is eight characters wide (99999.999). This will
allow you to line up the output with column headings.
SORT Functions
TAS contains functions which can be used to sort your report
output. Rather than doing WRITE and WRITELN, you can call
the SORTOUT function to place the report data in a "sort
buffer". Once all the tickers have been processed (when
LAST_TICKER is 1), you can then sort the data using the
SORTON function. Finally, you can retrieve the sorted "lines"
with the SORTGET function or print them with the SORTPRINT
function.

If you want to experiment with the SORT commands, you
should start out simply and then work toward more complex
combinations. These are advanced functions and are not
necessarily appropriate for the person who doesn't want to plan
their requirements.

In order to understand how the  sort commands work, you
need to understand some terms. The first term is a  "line".  Each
time you use the SORTOUT function, you give it a "line" of data
which is placed in the "sort buffer". Each "line" is composed of
'columns". A "column" is a group of data values that are
repeated for each SORTOUT function.  So, for example, if you
wanted to create a list of TICKERs and their Closing Prices, you
would have two "columns", the TICKER and the Closing Price
for the ticker. The "line" would consist of the combination of the
TICKER and Closing Price.
SORTOUT
The SORTOUT function takes up to 40 parameters which are
fields to be placed in the 'sort buffer'. As each ticker is
processed, you can place the computed results in the 'sort
buffer'.

For example, suppose you wanted to create a report of tickers in
order by their volume. You wanted the report to contain the
TICKER, the High, Low and Closing prices as well. For each
ticker you would say
SORTOUT(TICKER,H,L,C,V);
SORTON
Once all tickers have been processed, and their lines of data
have been placed in the sort buffer using the SORTOUT
function, you can sort the lines of data with the SORTON
function. The SORTON function requires pairs of two
parameters as follows:

SORTON(column_number_1,
direction_1,column_number_2,
direction_2,....,column_number_N,direction_N)

where:
column_number_*     is the parameter position of the data
field  (column) in the SORTOUT command
that placed the data in the sort buffer.
direction_*     is either 'a' for ASCENDING or 'd' for
DESCENDING sort.

The SORTON function will sort first on column_number_1 in
direction_1, then on the next column/direction pair, etc.
Using the example given in the SORTOUT description above,
since the report was to be sorted by VOLUME, that is the 5th
parameter position ("column") in the SORTOUT function
shown.
SORTGET
After a SORTON function is called, the data in the sort array is
in some particular sorting order. If you want to retrieve each
"line" from the sort array, one at a time, you can use the
SORTGET function.  When you use the SORTGET function,
you are asking TAS to "retrieve" the columns of data in the next
line from the sort buffer and to place those data values in the
variables you specify as parameters to the SORTGET function.

After the SORTGET function returns, the variables you named
in the SORTGET function call will be "filled in" with the values
from the next line (in sequence) of the sort buffer.

SORTGET(v1,v2,v3,....,vN)

where
v1     is the first variable to be filled in by SORTGET
v2     is the second variable to be filled in by SORTGET,
and
vN     is the last variable to be filled in by SORTGET.
The number "N" must be exactly equal to
the number of parameters used in the
SORTOUT command that filled in the sort
buffer.

SORTPRINT
The trickiest part of using the SORT feature is the specification
of the 'format string' used by the SORTPRINT function. If you
have access to a C Programming book, you will find the format
specifications under the PRINTF() function description. Short of
that, a summary of the types of format specifiers follows:

A format specifier is formed as follows:
    % [width] [.prec] [type]

The [width] is the minimum number of characters to print.

The [.prec] is the maximum number of characters to print or the
minimum number of digits to print.

[type] is one of three values:
'ld'    for INTEGER values (result of INT() function)
'f'    for REAL numbers (most results)
's'    for a STRING CONSTANT (like TICKER or DATE)

So, to print the results of the SORTOUT request given above,
there must be five format specifiers (since there are five
parameters to SORTOUT). The first parameter is the TICKER
(which is a 'string') so its format specifier would simply be '%s'.

The next three fields are all 'real' numbers (that is, they have
decimal points), so their format could be '%7.3f' which would
say, make the field 7 characters wide, and include three decimal
places, like this '999.999', so this will work fine unless the price
is greater than 1000. If it were, you could make the field '%8.3f'
to add more room at the left.

Finally, the last field, V (VOLUME) does not contain any
portion beyond the decimal point. That is, shares are reported
in whole numbers. But, because Volume is typically larger than
the maximum value of an "integer" field (32,767) , it is also a
'REAL' number. To make the volume field report in whole
units, without a decimal point, you would say '%8.0f' which
would place volume in an eight character field with no decimal.

So, the format string for the SORTPRINT would be:
SORTPRINT('%s %7.2f %7.2f %7.2f %8.0f\n');

The '\n' at the end of the SORTPRINT format string is to start a
NEW LINE after printing this line.
Column Headings
For an example of controlling the printing of 'headings' in your
TAS output, go to the section describing the pre-defined
variable FIRST_TICKER. Using this variable, you can determine
when to print a heading initially in your report.

In addition, since all variables are initially set to zero before the
first TICKER file is processed, you can use a variable to
accumulate a "line count". You can test this variable and
generate a new heading each time it is greater than the number
of lines on your page (e.g. 66). An example of how to place a
heading on each page of the report follows:

IF FIRST_TICKER OR (LINE_COUNT > 65) THEN
BEGIN
LINE_COUNT := 0;
WRITELN('YOUR REPORT HEADING WOULD GO HERE');
END;


Then, each time you wrote a line in your script you would
execute the statement: LINE_COUNT := LINE_COUNT + 1;



Profit Test Statements
Profit Test Statements are used to:

Define which Technical Indicators are to be computed.

Define BUY conditions

Define SELL conditions

Define STOP conditions

The statements used to describe the situations above are
described in the next 4 sections.
PLOT statement: Define Technical Indicators
The PLOT statement is used to create the formulas or indicators
which will be used in the subsequent profit test. The PLOT
statement is executed once per ticker symbol, and must be
placed prior to any of the BUY/SELL/STOP WHEN conditions.

The format of the PLOT statement is:

    PLOT stmt;

where 'stmt' can be a single statement or a BEGIN..END block.
For example, if your profit test is to test the Commodity
Channel Index (CCI) for 14 days, you could say:

CCI_ARRAY : ARRAY;    { Define the cci array}
PLOT CCI_ARRAY := CCI(14);

In the example, only one indicator is computed, so there was no
need to use the BEGIN..END block. Suppose, however, that we
want to incorporate Wilder's RSI in the profit test as well. Then
we would say:

CCI_ARRAY : ARRAY;    { Define the cci array}
RSI_ARRAY : ARRAY;    { Define the rsi array}
PLOT BEGIN
    CCI_ARRAY := CCI(14);
    RSI_ARRAY := RSI(14);
END;   { of PLOT statement}
BUY WHEN - Define BUY Conditions
The BUY WHEN condition causes the profit tester to 'buy' the
stock if the condition is true.

    BUY WHEN expression;

where 'expression' can be any combination of logical or
relational operators.

For example, using the last PLOT statement in the previous
example, we will issue a BUY signal when the CCI rises above
-100 and the RSI is less than 40:

BUY WHEN cci_array[-1] < -100
    AND cci_array[0] > -100
    AND rsi_array < 40;
SELL WHEN - Define SELL Conditions
The SELL WHEN condition causes the profit tester to 'sell' the
stock if the condition is true.

SELL WHEN expression;

where 'expression' can be any combination of logical or
relational operators.

For example, using the last PLOT statement in the previous
example, we will issue a SELL signal when the CCI drops below
100 and the RSI is greater than 60:

    SELL WHEN cci_array[-1] > 100
        AND cci_array[0] < 100
        AND rsi_array > 60;
STOP (LONG or SHORT) Condition
The STOP LONG and STOP SHORT statements close a "long"
position or a "short" position, respectively, by either selling or
buying to cover an open position.

To close out a long position (by selling), the statement is:

STOP LONG WHEN expression;

where 'expression' can be any combination of logical or
relational operators.

To close out a short position (by buying), the statement is:

STOP SHORT WHEN expression;

where 'expression' can be any combination of logical or
relational operators.

Adding a long stop to the example built in the prior sections, we
could say that we want to issue a stop if, after having gone long,
the CCI drops below -100 again. In that case, we could say:

STOP LONG WHEN cci_array < -100;
TAS Profit Tester Functions
The Profit Tester feature of TAS uses the following functions to
indicate the buy/sell transactions controlled by a Profit Testing
script.

pt_buy()    Buy the stock at the current closing price
if not already held. If testing Short
positions, buy to 'cover' the short sale.

pt_sell()    Sell the stock at the current closing price
if it has been bought. If testing Short
positions, sell the stock short.

pt_stop(t)    Issue either a Long Stop or a Short Stop.
The parameter 't' is either 'L' for a Long
Stop, or 'S' for a Short Stop.

pt_price(t)    Returns the share price at which the last
OPEN transaction was executed. If there
is currently no position held, then the
value returned depends on the value of
the parameter t. If t' is 'L', the value
returned is 0. If t is 'S', the value
returned is 9999999.
    The function is useful if you want to set a
STOP based on the change in price. The
parameter t is either 'L' for a Long
Position, or 'S' for a Short Position.
pt_setprice(p)    Sets the price at which the next
transaction will take place, where p is the
price.

Profit Test Phases - Advanced Use Only
TAS runs the profit test in two phases. The first phase, called
PLOT PHASE is when the script should compute the arrays to
be tested during the next phase. This next phase is the TEST
PHASE. This phase is entered for the data points of the ticker
file. After all data points have been processed, the END PHASE
indicator is set. Each 'phase' of the Profit Test process is
indicated by a variable being equal to 1.

The two phases are analogous to the steps you might run in
Metastock to do the Profitability Test. First, you would plot an
indicator, moving average, or custom formula. This is similar to
the 'PLOT PHASE' in TAS. Next, you would run the Profit
Tester specifying your Buy/Sell conditions. Metastock then
applies your Buy/Sell signals to each plotted point on the
graph, proceeding left to right until it reaches the last day
loaded. This is the 'TEST PHASE' in TAS.

When the TEST PHASE is entered with the last day of the ticker
file, a variable, called 'END_PHASE' is set to 1. Testing this
variable will allow you to print out the results for the Profit
Test.

For each ticker, the script is entered once for the PLOT Phase,
and then as many times as there are data points for the TEST
Phase.
If you use the PT_BUY, PT_SELL, PT_STOP, PT_PRICE
functions, you will need to understand the different phases
for the Profit Tester. However, if you use the BUY WHEN,
SELL WHEN, STOP ... WHEN and PLOT forms of the Profit
Test, you do not need to be concerned about the different
Profit Tester phases, since the script generates the appropriate
phase testing automatically. You should   use the BUY, SELL
and STOP WHEN statements to do your PROFIT TESTING.
See RSIPT.TAS for an example.


GRAPH Functions
The TAS GRAPH functions increase the power of TAS by
making it possible to display the contents of any indicator,
either builtin, or created by the user, in a graphical display. You
can write a script that selects only those tickers with the
conditions you are looking for, and when one of them is found,
display a graph of the indicators and the stock price action.  Up
to 10 individual graphs with up to 10 indicators on each graph
can be displayed at once with the GRAPH feature. Individual
graphs can be assigned their own sizes relative to the other
graphs on the screen, or each graph can be the same size as the
other graphs.
OPENGRAPH
OPENGRAPH(numgraphs[,start,end])

This function prepares for numgraph graph windows to be
displayed. The dates displayed are from quote start to quote
number end. For example, to prepare to display 3 graphs of the
last 50 days, you would say:
        OPENGRAPH(3,-50,0);
The start and end values are optional, so you don't have to
specify them. If they are not specified, the default is to display
from the first to the last quote.
SIZEGRAPH
SIZEGRAPH(S1, S2,...Sn)

where S1..Sn are the number of 'shares' of the display area each
graph prepared by the OPENGRAPH function will get when
shown. For example, as above, with 3 graphs to be displayed, if
you want the first graph to have 2 times as much space as the
second or third, you would say
        SIZEGRAPH(2,1,1);
Note that there must be as many parameters to the SIZEGRAPH
function as the number in the first parameter of the
OPENGRAPH function (numgraphs above).
GRAPH
GRAPH(a1,l1,a2,l2...,aN,lN)
where a1 is the first array to be graphed, l1 is the legend (name
to be displayed with) the graph of a1,  a2 is the second array and
l2 is the second legend. Each of the arrays and legends specified
in the GRAPH command are graphed in the same window, one
on top of the other. For example, to graph +DI, -DI and ADX on
the same graph, you would say
GRAPH(PDI(14),'+DI',MDI(14),'-DI',ADX(14),'ADX 14');
Simple as that.

There is a special 'array' named '1' which represents the Price
Bar Chart normally seen in charts. So, to plot the price bar chart,
you could say
       GRAPH(1);

DRAWLINE
DRAWLINE(color,x1,y1,x2,y2,start,end)

This function will draw a line from the point (x1,y1) to (x2,y2)
starting at point start and ending at point end. The color
parameter can be in the range from 0 (black) to 15 (white).

The following table lists the color codes that can be used with
the DRAWLINE function.

Color #
Color Generated

0
BLACK

1
BLUE

2
GREEN

3
CYAN

4
RED

5
MAGENTA

6
BROWN

7
LIGHTGRAY

8
DARKGRAY

9
LIGHTBLUE

10
LIGHTGREEN

11
LIGHTCYAN

12
LIGHTRED

13
LIGHTMAGENTA

14
YELLOW

15
WHITE


CLOSEGRAPH
CLOSEGRAPH()

The CLOSEGRAPH() function waits for you to hit any key. If
you hit an ESC or CTRL-C the graphing (and the script) stop
completely. Any other key will close the graph and go back to
the regular TAS output display.

GRAPH EXAMPLES
Here is an example of a graph that shows how to draw a price
graph with Bollinger Bands around it in the first (top) graph
and the MACD indicator and its trigger in the bottom graph.

opengraph(2);
graph(bband_top,bband_bot,1);
graph(macd(),'Macd',macdtrigger(),'Trigger');
closegraph();

The next figure shows a graph created by TAS using the
following GRAPH commands:
opengraph(2);
sizegraph(2,1);
graph(1,'PRICE',
    bbandt(20,2),'BBAND TOP',
    bbandb(20,2),'BBAND BOT',
    mov(c,21,'e'),'21DAY EMA',
    mov(c,200,'e'),'200DAY EMA');
graph(rsi(14),'RSI 14');         { show RSI }
drawline(3,0,20,0,20);
drawline(3,0,80,0,80);
closegraph();

The first statement above, opengraph(2), tells TAS to create
space on the screen for 2 graph areas. The second statement,
sizegraph(2,1), says to give the top graph 2 "shares" of space
and the bottom graph 1 share of space. This effectively gives the
top graph 2/3 of the screen and the bottom graph the remaining
1/3 of the screen.
The third statement

 graph(1,'PRICE',
    bbandt(20,2),'BBAND TOP',
    bbandb(20,2),'BBAND BOT',
    mov(c,21,'e'),'21DAY EMA',
        mov(c,200,'e'),'200DAY EMA')

defines the values to be graphed in the first (top) graph. The
first value to graph is the "price bar chart" which has a special
indicator name of "1". Then, two Bollinger Bands, top and
bottom, are graphed . Finally, a 21 day Exponential Moving
Average and a 200 day Exponential Moving Average are
graphed. Each of these items to be graphed can be followed by a
"legend" or title to be displayed on the graph in the color chosen
for the line.

The statement

 graph(rsi(14),'RSI 14')

 tells TAS to place a graph of Wilder's Relative Strength Index in
the second (bottom) graph.

The next two statements,
drawline(3,0,20,0,20);
drawline(3,0,80,0,80);
tell TAS to draw a line in blue from the left of the graph (just
drawn) to the right of the graph at height 20 and 80. This is just
adding the 20/80 lines to the RSI graph for ease of recognition
of crossings to overbought/oversold conditions.






TAS "POUND" (#) Commands
TAS "POUND" commands are used to control special script
processing. They must begin with a "pound sign" ('#') in the first
column of the line, and they must be completed on the same
line.

DO NOT USE A SEMI-COLON to terminate a POUND
command, since they are not TAS script language statements,
but are TAS run settings. You should not put comments at the
end of a POUND command either.

"POUND" commands are executed by TAS only one time
during the life of the script, as contrasted with other TAS script
statements which are executed once for every ticker.
OUTPUT_FILE Command
You can direct the output of a script to a file by placing an
#OUTPUT_FILE command in the script file. The
#OUTPUT_FILE command must start in the first column of the
line. It should be followed by the output file name surrounded
by single quotes.

If you want to direct your output to a PRINTER, for example,
LPT1, you can use the #OUTPUT_FILE command,
#OUTPUT_FILE 'LPT1'

For example,

#OUTPUT_FILE 'select.lst'

would place the output text of the script into the file 'select.lst'.
Appending to Output File
If you want to APPEND, or add to, the end of the output file,
you can do so by placing a plus (+) character at the end of the
output file name. From the example above,

#OUTPUT_FILE 'select.lst+'

would place the output of the script at the end of file "select.lst".
This feature will be most useful if you are running several
scripts in succession and want to place the output from different
scripts into one output file.
Suppressing TAS Report Heading
In addition, if you want to suppress the headings that TAS
normally puts out on its reports, you can do this with the
OUTPUT_FILE command by placing the letter "N" after the file
name (preceded by a space).
MAX_QUOTES Command
You can use the #MAX_QUOTES command to limit the number
of quotes read into a script. This value must be less than the
MAXIMUM QUOTES you specified in the TAS Configuration
Menu. If it is less than the TAS Configuration Menu
MAXIMUM QUOTES, it will override the quote count to read
for the script in which it is contained only.

The format of the #MAX_QUOTES command is:

    #MAX_QUOTES nnn

where "nnn" is the number of quotes to read into TAS when this
script is processed.
SCAN_DATE Command
You can use the #SCAN_DATE command to define the time
frame you want to process. You can specify a beginning date, an
ending date or both.
 The SCAN_DATE command enables you to start loading
quotes from a specific date (the start date)  and to stop loading
quotes after a specific date (the end date).

The format of the #SCAN_DATE command is:

#SCAN_DATE start_date end_date
    or
#SCAN_DATE end_date

Both start_date and end_date can be in the following format
where yy is the year, mm is the month, and dd is the day :
yymmdd  ,e.g. 910302 for March 2, 1991
'mm/dd/yy'
mm/dd/yy

Some examples of the use of #SCAN_DATE are:
    #SCAN_DATE 910102 0
will start loading data on Jan 2, 1991 and load up to the last day
in the file.

    #SCAN_DATE 910102 910915
will start on Jan 2, 1991 and load up to Sept 15, 1991.

If there is no quote in the file for the start_date, the first date
prior to the start_date will be loaded.

If there is no quote in the file for the end_date,the first date prior
to the end_date will be used.

Either the start_date or the end_date may be zero, in which case,
it means to load from the beginning or the end of the file
without regard to date, but taking into account the
MAX_QUOTES range.
PROFIT_TEST Command
The #PROFIT_TEST command informs TAS of the type of profit
test you want to run, whether you want to test "LONG",
"SHORT" or "BOTH" long and short positions, and the amount
of "money" you want your position to start with. This command
must be placed in the front of the TAS script, prior to any
statements which do not begin with a # sign.

The format of the #PROFIT_TEST command is:
#PROFIT_TEST type money

where 'type' is either LONG, SHORT or BOTH (for a "long"
position test or a "short" position test, or a test of both Long and
Short positions) and "money" is the amount of money with
which to start the test for each symbol.
INDEX Command
The #INDEX command can be used to load an "index" data
array, such as the SP500, DJIA or another stock. It tells TAS to
access the ticker symbol contained in the command and place its
CLOSING PRICES into a Pre-defined Data Array named
"INDEX".

The format of the INDEX Command is:
    #INDEX 'ticker'
where 'ticker' is the TICKER SYMBOL of the Index quote file.
For example, if you had the SP 500 quotes in a file with a ticker
name of "SP500", and you wanted to load it as the INDEX array,
you would say
    #INDEX 'SP500'

Later in the script, you could reference the array by the name of
INDEX.
This command must be placed in the front of the TAS script,
prior to any statements which do not begin with a # sign. It
also should follow any #MAX_QUOTES statement that is in
the script.

INCLUDE Command
The #INCLUDE command will "include" another file  into the
current script as if that file were part of the script . Once the
included file is read into TAS,  the original script is continued.
You can include up to 8 levels of includes, that is, the included
file can contain a #include and that file can contain one, etc., up
to 8 levels.

The format of the #include command is
    #INCLUDE filename
where filename is the name of a file in the current directory.


TAS Script Examples
Included with the TAS package are several sample .TAS script
files. Check your directory after you install TAS to see the
samples included.
Putting Them Together
If the script has the statements:

todays_ma := mov(c,21,'E');
diff  := c[0] - todays_ma;
if diff > 0 then
    writeln(TICKER, ' IS ABOVE 21 DAY EMA BY ',diff);
else
    writeln(TICKER, ' IS BELOW 21 DAY EMA BY ',diff);

The script will print out the ticker name followed by the
message indicating whether the latest close is above or below
the 21 day EMA, and by how much.

In this particular example, let's take a closer look at what is
going on. In the first line,

todays_ma := mov(c,21,'E');

we are computing the 21 day Exponential Moving Average of
the Closing Price Array. Once computed, we are assigning the
latest value of this moving average to the "variable" named
'todays_ma'. You could call it anything you want, but giving it a
name that reminds you of what it contains is useful.

If you wanted to keep the 21-day EMA in its own array. You
could declare the variable as follows (before using it the first
time):
big_ma_array : ARRAY;
This tells TAS that "big_ma_array" is an array of values, not just
one value. So, if you now said:
big_ma_array := mov(c,21,'E');
the contents of big_ma_array would be ALL of the Moving
Average values up to the latest day. To refer to the value of the
21 day EMA yesterday, we would write "big_ma_array[-1]"
where the "[-1]" refers to the contents of the array "-1" days from
now (in other words, one day ago). If you wanted to refer to the
21 day EMA 10 days ago, it would be "big_ma_array[-10]". If
you wanted to refer to the latest day's 21 day EMA, it would be
"big_ma_array[0]" (zero days ago).

The next statement in the example is:
    diff  := c[0] - todays_ma;
which assigns to the variable "diff" the value of the latest closing
price, "c[0]", minus the latest 21 day EMA as computed and
assigned to the variable "todays_ma" in the previous statement.
New High/New Low Example
The following script is contained in file "NHNL.TAS".
Script Contents
{ NHNL.TAS-
This script example will show the 52 week high and low for each
ticker. If the current day's high is equal to the highest high
or the current low is equal to the lowest low, then we have a
probable new high or new low. It might also be the case that today's
high or low is just equal to the previous high or low.

Just to make the script slightly more interesting, we will also
compute the "percentage off from high", a frequently used metric
seen in financial tables.
}
if first_ticker then
begin
writeln('              - CURRENT -       - 52 WEEK -     OFF');
writeln('TICKER       HIGH      LOW     HIGH      LOW    HIGH');
end;
high_value := HHV(h,52*5);        { compute high over 52 weeks }
low_value  := LLV(L,52*5);        { compute low over 52 weeks }

off_high_value := ((high_value - c) / high_value) * 100;
write(TICKER,' ',h,' ',l,' ',high_value,' ',low_value,
'\t',INT(off_high_value),'%');

if (high_value <= h) then       { today's high is new high  }
    write(' New High ');

if (low_value >= l) then        { today's low is new low }
    write(' New Low  ');

write('\n');        { end the line with a 'newline'}
Script Output
- CURRENT -       - 52 WEEK -     OFF
TICKER       HIGH      LOW     HIGH      LOW    HIGH
ABX        21.875   21.375   24.750   15.875    13%
AAPL       28.000   26.000   50.375   26.000    47% New Low
ARIX        1.062    0.938    5.625    0.875    81%
BP%        12.500   11.125   14.500    6.000    17%
CMNT        2.312    2.188    3.500    2.063    33%
GR         32.125   31.875   57.500   29.500    44%
SWZ        12.125   11.750   17.500   10.875    32%
LA         11.625   10.375   50.375    9.750    77%
MXTR        5.625    5.250   16.500    5.250    66% New Low
PCG        22.375   22.000   23.500   18.750    4%
TX         61.625   60.125   68.500   49.875    12%
UAL       110.000   99.000  286.750   87.250    64%
TICKER Symbol Processing
The following example shows how you could create a special
script to notify you when certain stocks had reached prices you
had set. This script is in "LIMIT.TAS".
Script Contents
{ limit.tas
This is an example of using a TAS script to watch your
stocks.

It checks the ticker symbol against one of several
which you might (and I do) own. If the current close
(shown as 'c[0]' is greater than the limit for profit
or less than the stop loss, a message is generated.
}

stop_loss := 0;
sell_profit := 0;
if ticker = 'aapl' then
    if c > 47 then
        sell_profit := 1;
    else
    if c < 41 then
        stop_loss := 1;
if ticker = 'gr' then
    if c > 43 then
        sell_profit := 1;
    else
    if c < 38 then
        stop_loss := 1;
if ticker = 'la' then
    if c > 27 then
        sell_profit := 1;
    else
    if c < 10 then
        stop_loss := 1;

if stop_loss = 1 then
    writeln(ticker, ' has reached your STOP LOSS limit. SELL');
if sell_profit = 1 then
    writeln(ticker, ' has reached your Profit target. SELL');
Directional Movement Example
The following script is contained in file "DM.TAS".
NOTE : This script will only work with the REGISTERED
VERSION of TAS.
Script Contents
#output_file 'dm.lst'
{ DM.TAS
Wilder's Directional Movement Trading Example
This script will indicate
a BUY signal
if the +DI(14) crosses above -DI(14) and ADXR > 25
a SELL signal
if the -DI(14) crosses above +DI(14) and ADXR > 25
}
{ declare the +DI (Positive Directional Movement array}
pdi_array : array;

{ declare the -DI (Negative Directional Movement array}
mdi_array : array;

pdi_array := pdi(14);   { calculate +DI}
mdi_array := mdi(14);   { calculate -DI}
adxr_14 := adxr(14);
adx_14  = adx(14);
dx_14  = dx(14);
if first_ticker then
    writeln('TICKER     ADXR   DX  ADX  +DI  -DI     ACTION');

write(ticker,'  ',int(adxr_14),
    int(dx_14),
    int(adx_14),
     int(pdi_array[0]),
    int(mdi_array[0]));
action = '';

if (adxr_14 > 25)   then        { AVG DX Rate of Change > 25 }
begin
if (over(pdi_array,mdi_array) = 0) then
    action = '** BUY SIGNAL';
else
if (over(mdi_array,pdi_array) = 0) then
    action = '** SELL SIGNAL';
end;
writeln(action);
Script Output
TICKER     ADXR   DX  ADX  +DI  -DI     ACTION
AA           33   28   33   25   14
ALD          22   15   22   30   22
AXP          34   59   34   39   10
T            30   41   30   29   12
BS           26   42   26   32   13
BA           22    8   22   27   23
CHV          17    4   17   27   29
KO           27   49   27   32   11
DD           21   23   21   29   18
Modified "Binary Wave"
The file "SELCT.TAS" contains a rather lengthy script which
contains the logic for computing a 6 point "binary wave". The
first 4 "points" of the wave are those described in the
"MetaStock User's Manual" in Chapter 7, section 7.7.2 "Example
Binary Waves".

The final 2 points of the "binary wave" are included to show
how you can extend the original example to compute additional
indicators (Chaikin's Oscillator and Commodity Channel Index)
which are used to further refine the selection.

Since the file is large, it is not included in this documentation,
but the file is included in the TAS package.

Profit Test Example Using RSI(14)
The TAS Script file 'RSIPT.TAS' shows a Profit Test using the
14-day RSI.  It serves as a simple example of the kind of profit
testing available with TAS.
Script Contents (RSIPT.TAS)
{
RSIPT.TAS
RSI PROFIT TEST SCRIPT EXAMPLE
This script will signal a SELL when the
RSI(14) crosses under 'rsi_upper' and a BUY when
RSI(14) crosses above 'rsi_lower'.
}
#PROFIT_TEST LONG 1000          { long positions with $1000}
#MAX_QUOTES 300                 { only read in 300 quotes }
#OUTPUT_FILE 'RSIPT.LST'        { assign output listing to rsipt.lst}

RSI_VALUES : ARRAY;             { array containing plotted points }
RSI_UPPER := 75;                { Upper range of RSI - point to SELL
Change this if
you want to test different value}
RSI_LOWER := 50;                { Lower range of RSI - point to BUY
Change this if you want to test different value}

PLOT BEGIN      { This begins the "plot" of the RSI }
RSI_VALUES := RSI(14);  { COMPUTE THE RSI(14) PLOT }
END;

BUY WHEN RSI_VALUES[-1] < RSI_LOWER AND RSI_VALUES >
RSI_LOWER;

SELL WHEN RSI_VALUES[-1] > RSI_UPPER  AND RSI_VALUES <
RSI_UPPER;
Script Output
The following report shows the output of the Profit Tester for a
single stock.
                Technical Analysis Scanner (TAS 3.64)
                File Date  : 05/08/90
                Run  Date  : Wed May 29 22:28:00 1991
                Script Name: RSIPT
                Ticker Name: T

            Amdahl (AMH) From 03/20/90 To 05/29/91
            Initial Cash $ 1000.00. (Long Positions Only)
        Share Purchases use All Available Cash with NO Commissions

                              |-----Current Trade-------| |--Cumulative--|
  Date   Action Shrs    Price Points  Cash   Comm  Profit  Points   Profit
-------- ----- ----- -------- ------ ------ ----- ------- -------  -------
05/09/90 Buy      70   14.250  0.000      2     0       0   0.000        0
05/22/90 Sell     70   15.625  1.375   1096     0      96   1.375       96
06/12/90 Buy      69   15.750  0.000     10     0       0   1.375       96
07/18/90 Sell     69   18.250  2.500   1269     0     172   3.875      269
09/07/90 Buy      97   13.000  0.000      8     0       0   3.875      269

                         Summary for AMH
        |--Trades-----| |-Runs-|  Percent  |---Maximum--|         Total %
        Tot Win Los Stp  Win Los  Win Los  Profit    Loss Commn  Profit Gain
Long      2   2   0   0    2   0 100%   0%    269       0     0     269   27%
Short     0   0   0   0    0   0   0%   0%      0       0     0       0    0%
Closed    2   2   0   0    2   0 100%   0%    269       0     0     269   27%
Open      1   1   0   0    1   0 100%   0%    315       0     0     315   32%
Total     3   3   0   0    2   0 100%   0%    315       0     0     584   58%



                         Summary for ALL SYMBOLS
        |--Trades-----| |-Runs-|  Percent  |---Maximum--|         Total %
        Tot Win Los Stp  Win Los  Win Los  Profit    Loss Commn  Profit Gain
Long      2   2   0   0    2   0 100%   0%    269       0     0     269   27%
Short     0   0   0   0    0   0   0%   0%      0       0     0       0    0%
Closed    2   2   0   0    2   0 100%   0%    269       0     0     269   27%
Open      1   1   0   0    1   0 100%   0%    315       0     0     315   32%
Total     3   3   0   0    2   0 100%   0%    315       0     0     584   58%

TAS Error Message
TAS has extensive error checking features that attempt to detect
and isolate errors as close to the source as possible. The
following section is a list of the error messages that can be
exhibited by TAS.

For each error message, there are three sections, The first ection
is the actual text of the message, the second section is the cause
of the message, and the third section is the recommendation, or
action to resolve the error.

At the end of the list of error messages is a list of Diagnostic
Actions. These are described in the error message
recommendation as Action Dx, where the x is a diagnostic action
number. A Diagnostic Action is a sequence of steps necessary to
resolve the problem or to gather and provide enough
information for resolution by FlexSoft Technical Support.
Error Messages
'(', number value or variable expected.
Cause:
In trying to decipher an arithmetic expression, TAS found a
sequence where it expected to find either an expression in
parentheses, a number or a variable. It found nothing it could
make sense of.

Recommendation:
Examine the line where the error was flagged and correct the
mistake.

')' expected.
Cause:
In trying to decipher an arithmetic expression, TAS found a
sequence that is missing a right parenthesis.
Recommendation:
Examine the line where the error was flagged and correct the
mistake.

Heap Corrupted
Cause:
TAS internal error. The TAS memory 'heap' structure has
become unusable.
Recommendation:
Restart TAS.
Action D2

A <tttt> Math Error (code <cc>) has occurred
while processing symbol <ticker>
in TAS Script File <script>, line <ll>.
TAS cannot continue. Fix the problem and try again.
Cause:
The TAS script has encountered a "math" error of the type
shown in the message text as <tttt>  while processing ticker
name <ticker> at line <ll>.
Recommendation:
This may be the result of faulty data in your ticker file. Verify
that the ticker data is valid (high >= close >= low), then note
the script line where the error occurred.
Try another function on that ticker to see if the problem persists.
Action D1

ALPHA requires 'D','W' or 'M'
Cause:
An incorrect parameter was given to the ALPHA function. It
must be one of the ones shown in the message.
Recommendation:
Fix the function parameter list.

Argument <aa> is the wrong type for <ff>
function. Should be <tt>
Cause:
The <aa>th argument to the function named  <ff> in the
message was the wrong type of argument. If should have been
an argument type as shown in <tt>. For example,  this message
would occur if you tried to do a moving average (mov) of a
number, rather than an array.
Recommendation:
Look at the argument number shown by the <aa> part of the
message. Then check the function description. Make sure that
the value passed in that argument is of the correct type.

Badly formed number
Cause:
An invalid number expression was found.
Recommendation:
Fix the number in the script

BETA argument error
Cause:
An incorrect parameter was given to the BETA function. It must
be 'D','W' or 'M' or no parameter at all.
Recommendation:
Fix the function parameter list.

BETA requires an INDEX file
Cause:
The BETA function requires an INDEX ticker file to be specified
by a #INDEX command or in the OPTIONS MENU of
SELECTION or PROFIT TEST BUILD.
Recommendation:
Specify an INDEX ticker.

BREAK hit
Cause:
While a script was executing, you hit the CTRL-BREAK or
CTRL-C key. The script terminates and TAS attempts to
continue.
Note that hitting the BREAK key is not a graceful way to stop a
running script and you may have to restart TAS afterwards.
Recommendation:
Wait until the script finishes or use a smaller ticker list.

Cannot sort on type given
Cause:
A SORTOUT function was called, but one of the parameters is
not 'sortable'. For example, you cannot sort on a variable into
which you have not assigned a value. Until you assign a value
to it, TAS does not know what kind of variable it is, number,
string or  array.
Recommendation:
Examine your script to be sure you are assigning a value to the
argument you are passing to the SORTOUT function.

Constant string too long
Cause:
You have a constant string (a literal value enclosed in single
quotes) that is longer than 128 characters. This may be caused
by forgetting to terminate a quoted string on a prior line.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and add any missing single quotes. Break up
the constant into two or more pieces if necessary.

Could not create window. Error <e>
Cause:
TAS internal window error.
Recommendation:
Action D2

Not enough storage. Decrease MAX_QUOTES
Cause:
You have specified too high a value for MAXIMUM QUOTES in
the TAS CONFIGURATION screen. Reduce this value so that
TAS can load all the necessary data for a ticker.
Recommendation:
If you are doing a profit test, you can use the START DATE and
END DATE options to reduce the number of quotes TAS reads
for each ticker.

EMS Memory overflow
Cause:
Not applicable to TAS at this time.
Recommendation:
None.
Error creating ticker file :
Cause:
TAS could not create the ticker file.
Recommendation:
Check that the directory in which you are writing the ticker file
exists and that the file, if it exists, is not READ ONLY.

Error occurred during process of <ssss>
Cause:
An error occurred while running SELECTION <ssss>. There
might be a message to explain it prior to this point.
Recommendation:
Run the .SEL file again and watch for any other error messages.

Error: not enough heap space in save_screen()
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D2

Error: not enough heap space in restore_screen()
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D2

expected assignment ':='
Cause:
The script has a syntax error in it. Probably there is a sequence
like
A B
 where A and B are variables. TAS expects an assignment to
variable A.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Expected LONG or SHORT
Cause:
A Profit Test STOP statement was found but it was not followed
by the type of stop, either LONG or SHORT.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Expected WHEN
Cause:
A Profit Test BUY, SELL or STOP statement was found but it
was ot  followed by the word WHEN.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

GOTO LABEL not defined
Cause:
A GOTO statement names a label that is not defined in the
script.
For example, it says GOTO ABC, but there is no label ":ABC" in
the script.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

GRAPHS not registered
Cause:
An OPENGRAPH function was called for the third time when
the GRAPH feature is not registered. No more graphs can be
run until TAS is restarted.
Recommendation:
Register the GRAPH feature.

Incorrect argument count to <ff> function
Cause:
The function <ff> was called with more or less arguments than
it requires.
Recommendation:
Refer to the function description for the correct number and
type of arguments (parameters).

Incorrect # of parameters for SORTGET
Cause:
The number of parameters to the SORTGET function does not
match the number of arguments passed to the SORTOUT
function. There must be a one for one relationship between the
argument counts for both functions.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect SIZEGRAPH
Cause:
The number of parameters to the SIZEGRAPH function must be
equal to the number of graphs specified in the preceding
OPENGRAPH function.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect ZigZag type
Cause:
The third parameter to the ZIG function must be either '%' or '$'.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect 'type' parameter to pt_init
Cause:
The PT_INIT function was called with an incorrect 'type' field.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect Graph Type
Cause:
The GRAPH function was called with an incorrect type of item
to graph. See the  graph function for the valid types of graph. .
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect Start/End
Cause:
An OPENGRAPH function was called with the start and end
array indices specified, but 1) the start was later than the end or
(2)one of the specifications was not a number.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect OPENGRAPH
Cause:
The OPENGRAPH function was called with an incorrect
number of parameters.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect DRAWLINE parameters
Cause:
The DRAWLINE function was called with an incorrect number
of parameters.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Incorrect placement of # command
Cause:
A # symbol was found in some column other than the first
column of a line.
The # symbol is used to distinguish "Pound" commands from
other parts of the script. It cannot be used in any other context
(except as part of a string).
Recommendation:
Check that the "Pound" Command begins in the first column of
the line.

Intermediate operand stack overflow
Cause:
This can be caused by a TAS internal error or a very complex
expression in a script.
Recommendation:
If the error occurs in a statement containing a complex algebraic
expression, try breaking the expression into smaller pieces. For
example, if the statement is
        A = (B+5)*(C+2/(1+C))
you might break it into
        A1 = B + 5
        A2 = C+2/(1+C)
        A = A1 * A2
If the problem does not occur on a complex statement, then
see ACTION D2.

Intermediate array stack underflow
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

Intermediate operand stack underflow
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

internal flag error in check_types
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

internal flag error in check_types
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

Invalid 3rd parameter to mov()
Cause:
An incorrect third parameter was given in a MOV function call.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Invalid argument to pt_price
Cause:
An incorrect parameter was given in a PT_PRICE function call.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Invalid array subscript
Cause:
A reference was made to an array element that is outside the
range of quotes in the ticker file. For example, if 200 days were
loaded, and a reference is made to C[202] or C[-301].
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Invalid character
Cause:
Some character not in the TAS character set was encountered
outside of a string constant (anything between single quotes is
allowed).
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

INVALID KEYWORD 'wwww'
Cause:
A keyword in the TAS.CNF file was not recognized.
Recommendation:
Remove the line with the word 'wwww' from the TAS.CNF file.

Invalid operator
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

Invalid option to LOAD
Cause:
A LOAD function was given an invalid data array name in the
second parameter.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.


Invalid SEL file
Cause:
In the SELECTION BUILD section, a .SEL file was loaded, but
TAS was not able to recognize it as a valid .SEL file.
Recommendation:
Make sure that the .SEL file has not been modified by some
means other than TAS SELECTION BUILD.

Invalid string function
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

INVALID VALUE for <vvvv>
Cause:
A keyword in the TAS.CNF file has an invalid value.
Recommendation:
Remove the line with the word 'vvvv' from the TAS.CNF file
and reconfigure TAS.

KEYWORD '<vvvv>' HAS NO VALUE
Cause:
A keyword in the TAS.CNF file has an no value.
Recommendation:
Remove the line with the word 'vvvv' from the TAS.CNF file
and reconfigure TAS.

LABEL name expected
Cause:
A GOTO statement was not followed by the LABEL to 'go to'
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

LOAD not supported for CHARTPRO
Cause:
The LOAD function is not supported for the ChartPro data
format.
Recommendation:
None.

Missing function argument list
Cause:
A function name was not immediately followed by  a left
parenthesis, an optional argument list, and then a right
parenthesis. Even a function that  has no arguments must be
followed by at least '()'.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error. Make sure there are no
blanks or other characters between the function name and the
left parenthesis.
If you have inadvertantly used the name of a function for a
variable name, then you should change the name of the
variable.

MSP_FILE_SEEK - error in direction
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

MSP_FILE_SEEK
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

MSP_MASTER_SEEK - error in direction
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

MSP_MASTER_SEEK
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

Nesting level too deep
Cause:
This message occurs when 20 BEGIN statements occur without
an intervening END statement.
Recommendation:
Look for missing END statements or simplify the nesting
structure of the statements leading up to the error.

No more internal array storage
Cause:
TAS is out of memory and cannot perform any more
calculations. This can be caused by too high a value for
MAXIMUM QUOTES PER SYMBOL or by the use of too many
permanent  ARRAYS (those variables declared with " : ARRAY"
in a script).
Recommendation:
Action D4

No Syntax Errors in this script. Congratulations!
Cause:
This message is produced when a SYNTAX CHECK is done
from within the TAS Editor. The script has no errors that can be
found by examining the "syntax" of the script. In other words,
there are no invalid symbols, GOTO's without labels, bad
characters, and other errors that violate the syntax rules of a
TAS script.
On the other hand, there may still be errors in the script that can
only be detected by  actually running the script. These errors
might be logical errors, memory errors, math errors or function
parameter errors.
Recommendation:
Run the script, since it seems to be correct at this time.

Not enough Data Arrays
Cause:
Internal Error. EMS version of TAS only
Recommendation:
Action D1

Not enough storage. Decrease MAX_QUOTES
Cause:
TAS is out of memory and cannot perform any more
calculations. This can be caused by too high a value for
MAXIMUM QUOTES PER SYMBOL or by the use of too many
permanent  ARRAYS (those variables declared with " : ARRAY"
in a script).

Recommendation:
Action D4

Not enough memory available for symbol table
Cause:
The script is too large to run with the current setting of
SYMBOL TABLE SIZE. The Symbol Table is used to keep the
"run time machine language" version of the script while it is
executing. If the CONFIGURATION SCREEN setting for
SYMBOL TABLE SIZE is
too low, there is not enough room to build the run time script.
Recommendation:
Action D3

Not supported in TRIAL version
Cause:
The script is using a function or feature that is not part of the
TRIAL (or evaluation) version of TAS. The function or feature is
enabled after TAS is registered.

Recommendation:
Register TAS and obtain a Registration Code.

operand stack overflow
Cause:
This can be caused by a TAS internal error or a very complex
expression in a script.
Recommendation:
If the error occurs in a statement containing a complex algebraic
expression, try breaking the expression into smaller pieces. For
example, if the statement is
        A = (B+5)*(C+2/(1+C))
you might break it into
        A1 = B + 5
        A2 = C+2/(1+C)
        A = A1 * A2
If the problem does not occur on a complex statement, then
see ACTION D2.

operand stack underflow
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D2

<filename> read error
Cause:
TAS could not read the Metastock or Chartpro file named
<filename>
Recommendation:
Verify that the data file is correct and readable. If not, correct it.
If it is correctable, see Action D1

Right Brace (]) missing
Cause:
A subscript after an array was not followed by a Right Brace ']'.
For example,
    A = B[-3;
would produce this error.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

script terminated
Cause:
The script has completed for some reason indicated in a prior
message, such as "BREAK HIT".
Recommendation:
None.

semi-colon expected after ARRAY
Cause:
A script statement declaring an ARRAY was not terminated by
a semi-colon. For example,
    B : ARRAY
would cause this error.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.


semi-colon expected after NUMBER
Cause:
A script statement declaring a NUMBER was not terminated by
a semi-colon. For example,
    B : NUMBER
would cause this error.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

sorton : Incorrect column number
Cause:
The SORTON function was called with a column number that is
not valid. The only valid column numbers are from 1 to the
number of parameters in the prior SORTOUT function(s).
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

sorton: Incorrect direction
Cause:
The SORTON function was called with a direction that was
neither 'A' for ascending, or 'D' for descending.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

sortout : cannot allocate sort storage
Cause:
When a SORTOUT function was executed, there was not
enough memory left to create a sort buffer equal to F*T*4+(S*L),
    where
F = number of fields in the SORTOUT function call
T = number of tickers in the ticker list
S = number of fields in the SORTOUT function call that are
strings
L = average length of the string constants

Recommendation:
Action D4

Still can't handle those Chartpro dates
Cause:
TAS internal error. Chartpro dates are not computing correctly.
Recommendation:
Action D1

Symbol Overflow. Increase SYMBOL TABLE SIZE
Cause:
The script is too large to run with the current setting of
SYMBOL TABLE SIZE. The Symbol Table is used to keep the
"run time machine language" version of the script while it is
executing. If the CONFIGURATION SCREEN setting for
SYMBOL TABLE SIZE is
too low, there is not enough room to build the run time script.
Recommendation:
Action D3


TAS error code <ccc>
Cause:
TAS ended with an error. There was a prior message explaining
the type of error. The code <ccc> is a code internal to TAS.

Recommendation:
If the problem persists,record the code <ccc>.
Then perform Action D1

TAS Profit Test ended with error <ccc>
Cause:
TAS Profit Test ended with an error. There was a prior message
explaining the type of error. The code <ccc> is a code internal to
TAS.

Recommendation:
If the problem persists,record the code <ccc>.
Then perform Action D1

Temporary result released out of order
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

Temporary array released out of order
Cause:
TAS internal error.
Recommendation:
Action D1

Too many arrays declared
Cause:
More than the maximum number of permanent arrays were
declared (with the ":ARRAY")  declaration. The maximum
number of permanent arrays is 26.
Recommendation:
Reuse some of the permanent arrays for other uses. For
example, if you had an array that held a moving average and an
array that held a stochastic oscillator, you might use the same
array for both (at different times in the script, of course).
Alternatively, you could just recompute the value rather than
putting the result in an array.

Too many END statements
Cause:
The number of END statements is greater than the number of
BEGIN statements.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Too many GRAPHs requested
Cause:
An OPENGRAPH function specified less graphs than the
number of GRAPH functions which follow it.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Too many IF-ELSE or GOTO statements.
Cause:
TAS has run out of room to hold all of the IF-ELSE and GOTO
labels.
Recommendation:
Simplify the script by removing or combining IF-ELSE
statements.

Too many intermediate arrays needed
Cause:
A "nested" function call is too complex for TAS to handle. This
type of call is a function that calls a function that calls a
function....etc.
For example,
    A = MOV(MOV(MOV(ROC(C,12,'%'),21,'E'),21,'E'),21,'E')
is a "nested" function call. For each of the internal function calls,
TAS has to create an "intermediate" array. TAS has between 5
and 12 of these arrays available depending on the value of
MAXIMUM QUOTES PER SYMBOL.

Recommendation:
Use permanent arrays (named arrays declared with ":ARRAY")
to hold intermediate results.
 or
Action D4

Too many parameters for function WRITE
Cause:
The WRITE and WRITELN functions can accept up to 40
parameters. This is caused by exceeding that number.
Recommendation:
Break the WRITELN into a WRITE followed by a WRITELN
with half the parameters in each function call.

Too many parameters for DUMP_ARRAY
Cause:
The DUMP_ARRAY function can accept up to 12 parameters.
This is caused by exceeding that number.
Recommendation:
Use less parameters for DUMP_ARRAY.

Too many parameters for function SORTOUT
Cause:
The SORTOUT function can accept up to 40 parameters. This is
caused by exceeding that number.
Recommendation:
Use less parameters for SORTOUT.

Too many RETURN stmts
Cause:
TAS has encountered a RETURN statement for which there is
no GOSUB or script entry. Every script is run with an "implied"
GOSUB, so one RETURN can always be used.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.

Too many subroutine calls
Cause:
The maximum number of GOSUB statements has been
executed. If a script does a GOSUB to a subroutine that does a
GOSUB to another subroutine, etc, the number of these
GOSUBs without intervening RETURN statements is 40.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.
If the script is not in error, for example, subroutine A calling
subroutine B which calls subroutine A again, then simplify the
subroutine nesting.

Too many statements to compile procedure.
Cause:
The TAS script is too large for TAS to handle. The maximum
sized script can be over 1000 lines of instructions (comments not
included), so this script is "too large".
Recommendation:
Reduce the size of the script by breaking it into smaller scripts.

Unknown word or placement of word
Cause:
In the process of checking a script for syntax errors, TAS
encountered a word that it did not recognize in the location it
found it.
Recommendation:
Examine the script and fix the error.



Diagnostic Actions
Action D1
1.     Create a MSP or Chartpro directory containing the
ticker file in which the error was discovered (in the case
of Metastock, you can do this with the COPY
SECURITY command.
2.     Copy the script in error to the directory you created in
step 1
3.     Copy the ticker list used when the error occurred to the
directory created in step 1.
4.     Use PKZIP or LHARC to compress the files in the
directory created in step 1.
5.     Upload the file to the FlexSoft BBS AREA J

Action D2
Record the sequence of commands and actions performed up to
the point where the problem occurs as well as the script used.
Report the problem to FlexSoft.

Action D3

1.    Increase SYMBOL TABLE SIZE setting in the
CONFIGURATION SCREEN. As a good start, double
it.
2.    Then run the script that caused the error.
3.     After the script completes, type the ALT-M key while in
a TAS menu and record the value of Maximum Symbol
Table Size. This is the amount of Symbol Table the
script actually used.
4.    Go back to the CONFIGURATION SCREEN and lower
the SYMBOL TABLE SIZE to be a couple of thousand
more than the maximum value used.
Under no circumstances should you increase the Symbol
Table size above 32,000.
If increasing the SYMBOL TABLE SIZE leads to other out of
memory errors, you may have to reduce the MAXIMUM
QUOTES PER SYMBOL setting on the CONFIGURATION
SCREEN.

Action D4
1.    Remove any unneeded TSRs.
2.    Reduce MAXIMUM QUOTES PER SYMBOL in the
CONFIGURATION SCREEN.
3.    Reuse permanent arrays when they are no longer
needed.
Index
"
".PRO", 16
"batch mode", 12
"context sensitive help" t "See HELP Key", 14
"MASTER", 16
"periods", 16
"REGISTRATION CODE", 4
"tuning", 17
"updates to TAS" t "see new version of TAS", 6
"upgrade releases", 5
A
ALT-M key, 14
ALT-X key, 14
angle(a), 62
argument, 106,107,110,113,115
ARRAY, 43,45,65,77,78,96,102,117,118,120,122,123,124
array,
22,29,41,42,43,44,45,48,53,54,55,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,6
8,69,73,77,78,79,80,84,92,93,95,96,99,100,102,106,107,111,112,113,
114,117,118,119,120,122,123,124
B
back test: see Profit Test, 1
bbandt(p,s), 63
BEGIN..END, 47,49,77
beta, 4,63,106
black box" system, 1
C
CASH, 26,27,29,103
ChartPro, 1,3,7,14,15,16,20,60,115
color, 12,84,85,87
companion products, 5
Compuserve, 5,6
Computrac, 3
Configuration and Setup, 14
Configuration Menu, 14
Configuring TAS, 14-19
CTRL-BRK, 14
D
DAILY data, 16
DATA DIRECTORY(S), 15
DATAPATH, 53
date, 22,26,29,35,48,53,64,65,67,69,74,91,92,103,108
decimal point, 41,65,71,75
DEFINE TICKER LIST, 19
diagnostic, 104,125
DowJones, 5
E
EMA, 53,95,96
EMS, 15,17,18,108,117
END PHASE, 81
English, 40
ENTER, 6,9,10,11,15,19,21,23,25,26,30,32,33
ESC key, 9,11,14
expression, 39,44,45,46,52,78,79,104,105,106,112,118
F
F1 key, 14
FIRST_TICKER, 53,75,76,97,100
FlexSoft address, 5
FlexSoft BBS, 6
format string, 75
FULLNAME, 53,71
function,
10,21,26,31,32,39,40,44,45,53,57,58,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,71,7
2,73,74,81,83,84,85,105,106,107,110,111,113,114,115,116,117,118,1
20,121,123,124
G
GEnie, 5,6,7
GOSUB, 49,50,51,124,125
GOTO, 48,49,109,115,123
graph, 60,65,82,83,84,85,86,87,110,111,123
H
hardware configuration, 3
heap, 105,108
HELP Key, 9,14,26,31,33
historical data, 1
I
INCLUDE TICKER PERIOD, 16
INDEX, 22,55
index, 53
INDEX Command, 92
Installation of TAS, 9-10; Sample Selection, 10-11
integer, 41,65,71,74,75
intermixing directories, 16
L
LAST_TICKER, 53,72
linear regression, 61,63,64,65,66
LONG, 7,17,25,26,27,79,80,81,92,102,103,107,109
long or complex script, 17
M
MAX_QUOTES, 35,90,92,93,102,107,117
MAXIMUM QUOTES, 22,90,108,117,123,126
maximum value of an "integer" field, 75
memory, 3,14,17,105,108,117,118,121,126
memory - minimum, 3
Metastock, 14,15,16
MetaStock data files, 5
MetaStock Pro "Custom Formulas", 1
MetaStock Professional, 7
MONEY, 26,27,29,67,92
monitor, 3
Monochrome, 12
more than 10 Metastock directories, 16
mouse, 3,10,11,19,30
N
nested, 123
New Line, 71,75
New Ticker List See DEFINE TICKER LIST, 19
new version of TAS, 6
number,
11,17,22,23,26,28,32,35,41,51,53,55,57,58,60,61,64,65,66,67,71,73,7
4,75,76,83,84,90,104,106,107,108,110,111,120,121,122,123,124,125
numeric array, 41,45
O
Old Ticker List See DEFINE TICKER LIST, 19
OPTION SETTINGS, 26
OUTPUT_FILE, 89,90,102
P
P, 23,53,57,58,60,61,63,67,81
parameter,
16,17,32,57,62,66,67,69,73,75,81,84,105,106,110,111,113,114,117
PDL, 5
permanent arrays, 122,123,126
PLOT PHASE, 81,82
PML, 5
POUND, 89
POUND commands, 89
Prodigy, 5,7
profit test, 22,25,27,28,29,77,78,81,92,108
Profit Testing, 1
PROFIT_TEST, 92
Q
QUOTE_COUNT, 51,53
QUOTE_RANGE, 53
QUOTES PER SYMBOL, 17; processing time, 17
R
Rank, 10,11,20
real number, 41
Redistribution of TAS, 7
REGISTER.DOC, 5,19
REGISTRATION CODE, 18; encrypted code, 19
Registration Code, 5
Registration Fee, 5
registration fee, 3
Running TAS, 13-14
running TAS from a batch file, 4
S
SCAN_DATE, 91
semi-colon, 37,46,47,89,120
SHORT, 5,6,25,27,74,79,81,92,103,109
software configuration, 3
sort buffer, 72,73,74,121
Starting TAS, 11-12
Statement,
37,38,39,41,44,46,47,48,49,50,51,76,77,78,79,86,87,93,96,109,112,11
5,116,118,119,120,124
string constant, 74,113
subroutine, 49,51,124,125
subscript, 43,113,119
support, 6
support for TAS, 4
Suppressing TAS Report Heading, 90
switches: See Starting TAS, 11
SYMBOL TABLE SIZE, 17,118,121,126
syntax, 24,32,37,109,117,125
SYNTAX CHECK, 24,117
T
Tab, 26,71
TAS Editor, 117
TAS Main Menu, 13
TAS.CNF, 16
Technical Analysis References, 8
TEST PHASE, 81,82
TICKER LIST, 4,19,23,35
TICKER LISTS, 16
trading rules, 2
TRIAL version, 4
TSRs, 126
U
Upgrade Registration Fee, 5
V
variable,
40,41,42,43,44,45,53,54,55,64,67,71,74,75,81,82,95,96,104,107,109,1
16
video flags, 12
W
warranty, 7
WEEKLY data, 16
Wilder, 8
Y
yesterday, 44,65,96

     Most systems today do not actually have EMS memory., but instead have
Extended Memory (XMS), the kind that is built-in to new 386 and 486 systems.
The term EMS actually refers to a software/hardware standard that is
emulated by driver programs from various vendors, such as QuarterDeck
Office Systems (QEMM and DesqView/386) as well as Microsoft's EMM386
program.
      TAS will also accept a simple "equal" sign in lieu of the "colon-equal" sequence
of characters for an assignment statement.



September 14, 1991        FlexSoft 1990-1991

Table of Contents

Page xx

Page xix



TAS Error Message

Index

Page 126         TAS

TAS         Page 5

TAS         Page 127