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//+------------------------------------------------------------------+

this is my first attempt at programming anything, so please be patient with my ignorance.

the purpose of this indicator is to display a how many ATRs price is away from a MA...

when i attach the indicator to a chart my terminal just shuts down.

could someone please show me where the problem lies.

lol explain it to me like you are trying to teach a toddler MQL4 :)

Thanks in Advance

Landon

#property indicator_separate_window
#property indicator_buffers 1
#property indicator_color1 DarkGoldenrod
//---- indicator parameters
extern int MA_Period=20;
extern int ATR_Period=10;
//---- buffers
double FFRI[];
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| Custom indicator initialization function |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int init()
{
//---- indicators
SetIndexStyle(0,DRAW_LINE);
SetIndexBuffer(0,FFRI);
IndicatorShortName("FFRI");
SetIndexLabel(0,"FFRI");
//----
return(0);
}
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| Custom indicator deinitialization function |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int deinit()
{
//----

//----
return(0);
}
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| Custom indicator iteration function |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
int start()
{
int i,counted_bars=IndicatorCounted();
//----
if(Bars<=MA_Period) return(0);
//---- initial zero
if(counted_bars<1)
for(i=1;i<=MA_Period;i++) FFRI[Bars-i]=0.0; 
//----
i=Bars-MA_Period-1;
if(counted_bars>=MA_Period) i=Bars-counted_bars-1;
while(i>=0)
{
FFRI[i]=((Close[i])-iMA(NULL,0,MA_Period,0,MODE_SMA,PRICE_CLOSE,i))/iATR(NULL,0,ATR_Period,i);
} 
return(0);
}

//+------------------------------------------------------------------+

while(i>=0)
{
FFRI[i]=((Close[i])-iMA(NULL,0,MA_Period,0,MODE_SMA,PRICE_CLOSE,i))/iATR(NULL,0,ATR_Period,i);
}

Don't you forget i--in this loop ?

Put some // to determine which line cause the crash

May be this one too complex ? FFRI[i]=((Close[i])-iMA(NULL,0,MA_Period,0,MODE_SMA,PRICE_CLOSE,i))/iATR(NULL,0,ATR_Period,i);

try :

double Ma01 = iMA(NULL,0,MA_Period,0,MODE_SMA,PRICE_CLOSE,i));

double Atr01 = iATR(NULL,0,ATR_Period,i);

double Close01 = Close[i]) ;

FFRI[i]= ( ( Close01 - Ma01 ) / Atr01);

Hey Cameo thanks for the assistance!

my terminal did not crash this time :)

now i am not getting any results in the indicator window except on the last bar.

hey cameo can you explain to me the difference in your code verse mine please?

 You're welcome. Is that good or bad... Did it redraw ok? I don't have MT handy. 

For starters you have a while loop inside a for loop without any need of it. The more concise the code the better or else you'll risk introducing error on a thicker haystack, so to speak. You need to figure out loop to have solid coding. Play around with these (put in start() as a script): 

for(int i = 10; i>=0; i--) Alert("i =", i,"; Close[i] = ", Close[i]); 
// now change it to incrementing i++; and try using i>0 instead of i>=0;
while(int i > 5) { Alert("i =", i,"; Close[i] = ", Close[i]); i--; if(i==0) break; } 
// now change it to incrementing; and try it with the if statement ommited; 
// also try changing the constant (5, 10 above) to extern variables & change it on attaching script to chart

And use the standard counted_bars, limit routine for your start(). You may also want to look at other loop such as switch & experiment with it. See reference on it. Bottom line is you need to know what you're doing to your variables at all time. Start with a working part & make a copy when you introduce new addition or alteration. 

good luck. ~ cameo