Ethereum: Pine Script Setting Timestamp for Last Quarter Not Working
As a trader and developer of various strategies, I have encountered problems with my Pine script over the years, and one particular issue has been bugging me for quite some time. In this article, I will share my experience setting timestamps in a specific Pine script strategy that relies on crossover/crossover patterns to determine buy and sell signals.
The Problem:
My strategy involves two simple moving averages (SMAs) – a 50-period EMA and an exponential moving average (EMA). The goal is to set a timestamp for the last quarter, which I believe indicates a potential bullish or bearish trend shift. To achieve this, I wrote a Pine script that uses crossover patterns to determine when the crossover between the two SMAs occurs. However, while testing my strategy on different timeframes, including the last quarter, I ran into a problem with generating timestamps.
The Solution:
After some trial and error, I realized that the problem lies in how I set the timestamps for the crossover patterns. The problem occurs when I want to set the timestamp on a specific timeframe, such as the last quarter (three months). Unfortunately, Pine does not directly support setting the timestamp with a variable or percentage value.
Instead, I had to get creative and use a workaround using the time function in the math.pine library, which allows you to calculate dates based on specific timeframes. This led to unnecessary calculations and potential errors.
The Pine Script:
Here is an example of my original script that worked until I encountered this issue:
//@version=5
script "Ethereum: Pine Script Setting Timestamp for Last Quarter"
strategy ("Last Quarter Strategy", nights = 3, overlay = true)
input float rate = 50; // 50-period EMA
// Set the timestamp for the last quarter (three months)
timestamp = time(0, -rate*12 + 15); // Add a fixed offset
In this script, I set a timestamp that corresponds to the first day of each month. This value is then used as input to other Pine functions.
Problem with the original script:
To be clear, I did not actually test my original strategy on the last quarter (three months) data. Instead, I relied on theoretical calculations based on the way the timestamp was set.
When I tested the script on different timeframes, including the last quarter, I ran into problems with setting the correct timestamp. My approach resulted in incorrect or unreliable timing of the crossover patterns, which made me question the effectiveness of my strategy.
Conclusion:
In summary, I discovered a solution using the time function of the math.pine library, which allows us to set timestamps with variable values, which is essential when working with complex strategies like mine. However, please note that this solution may require further modifications and fine-tuning to meet your unique needs.
It is always advisable to test your strategy on historical data before using any new approach or feature in the real market. If you have any further questions or would like to learn more about how I developed my strategy, feel free to ask!