The syntax of EDS is very basic programming language.

We will go over the basic terms and structure of EDS language.

Rules

• Rules are the back bone of EDS.

• Rules tell EDS what results you want to see from your reports.

• Rules are made up of a Rule name and the Rule body.

• Rules always have "if" separating the Rule name and Rule body.

• A Rule always begins with a Rule name and ends with a period.

Rule name

• A Rule name is a name, specified by you, given to the rule you are creating.

• A Rule name must be a single word of 64 characters or less.

• A Rule name may contain only letters and numbers.

• A Rule name must start with an alpha (A - Z) character.

Rule body

• The Rule body is what you want your Rule to accomplish. 

• The Rule body contains Fields, Key words, and Functions.

Fields

• Data values that are available to use in an EDS report. 

• Price, volume, indicator, and expert rating values are accessible.

• Fields are always enclosed in brackets [ ].

Key words

• Mathematical, logical operators and conditions are all Key words.

• (=,+,*,>,and,or,not,>) Are examples of Key words.

Functions

• Functions are preset mathematical operations programmed into EDS.

• Functions require parentheses ( ) to surround the computation.

• Functions are the most important concept of EDS to learn.

• See the Functions section of this web site for more help with functions.

Example of a Rule: Rule if val([Close],1) > 10.

• Rule is the Rule name.

• "if" attaches the Rule body to the Rule name.

• val([Close],1) > 10 is the Rule body.

• val is a Function.

• [Close] is a Field.

• > is a Key Word.

    

This example will return all tickers that had a closing price yesterday of greater than $10

User Defined Functions(UDF's)

• UDF's are used to create custom indicators, add special columns to reports, and to simplify rule building.
• A UDF name (name of function) always occurs first followed by a blank space. 
• The UDF body which follows is only capable of returning a numeric value or a date.
• UDF's are always created by the user.
• A UDF can only be used within the document in which it was created.
• A UDF always begins with a UDF name and ends with a period.

      UDF name

• A UDF name can contain up to a maximum of 64 characters.
• A UDF name is always followed by "is".
• A UDF name may contain only letters and numbers.
• A UDF name must start with an alpha (A - Z) character.

UDF body

• The UDF body contains Fields, Key words, and Functions.
• The UDF body defines a value to the UDF name. 

Example of a UDF: Close is [close].

• Close is the UDF name.
• "is" attaches the UDF name to the UDF body.
• [close] is a field that returns the close.

This example returns the current close price of the ticker.

Close can be added as a custom indicator,  a column in EDS, or to use to help build rules.

 

User Constants

• Must begin with the word define and end with a period.

• Constant name follows define.

• Constant name can contain up to 64 characters.

• The Constant name can only be assigned a  numerical value.

• User Constants are used to simplify EDS design.

Example of a User Constant: Define ER 95.

• Define is the function that will assign the value to the Constant name.

• ER is the Constant name.

• 95 is the numerical value that ER will equal.

Comments

• A comment is used to explain EDS code or to trouble shoot EDS code.

• A comment must begin with a exclamation point and doesn't need to end with a period.

• All comments are ignored by the EDS compiler.

Example of a User Constant: !This rule will return stocks that are greater than $10.

• "!" defines the statement as a comment.

• Anything after the "!" is only a comment and is not recognized or computed by EDS.