Proposal: Improved Project Structure for cBots Development in cTrader

I've been actively using cTrader's code editor for developing cBots, and while it’s a decent tool, I’ve encountered challenges when managing a large number of bots. The current setup becomes quite cumbersome as the number of bots grows, especially when it comes to reusing functions or classes across multiple bots.

Challenges:

Code Management: As the number of cBots increases, managing the code becomes increasingly difficult. Navigating through large blocks of code without a clear project structure can be tedious and prone to errors.

Code Reusability: It’s challenging to reuse code, such as utility functions, risk management modules, or pattern detection algorithms, across different bots without a more modular project structure.

Version Control: Integrating with version control systems like Git is less efficient due to the lack of a centralized project structure where all bots and reusable libraries can coexist.

Compilation: Compiling and managing multiple bots individually is time-consuming. Having a way to compile all bots at once, while ensuring dependencies are properly managed, would streamline the development process.

Proposal:

I propose introducing a project-based structure for cBots development within cTrader. Here's how it could work:

Solution-Based Approach: Similar to other development environments, allow users to create a "Solution" that can contain multiple cBot projects. This solution would serve as a container for all bots and shared libraries.

Reusable Libraries: Within the solution, users could create shared libraries (e.g., Utils, RiskManagement, PatternDetection) that can be referenced across multiple cBot projects. This would greatly improve code reuse and maintainability.

Integrated Git Support: With a solution-based approach, integrating Git or other version control systems would be much more seamless, enabling better collaboration and version management.

Centralized Compilation: A centralized build system where all cBots and their dependencies can be compiled together would save time and reduce the likelihood of errors.

Benefits:

Improved Code Organization: A solution-based approach would significantly improve code organization, making it easier to manage large-scale bot development.

Increased Productivity: Reusing code through shared libraries would reduce redundancy, allowing developers to focus more on strategy development rather than boilerplate code.

Better Collaboration: Enhanced version control integration would facilitate collaboration between team members, ensuring that everyone is working with the latest code.

Streamlined Development Process: Centralized compilation and project management would make the development process more efficient, particularly for developers managing multiple bots.

I believe these changes would make cTrader an even more powerful platform for algorithmic trading. I look forward to hearing the community's thoughts on this proposal and hope that the cTrader team considers these enhancements.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Regards