Trading platforms have recently seen the most significant changes in a generation. Let’s examine those developments and their implications.
For over 10 years, the basis for all trading platforms have revolved around Flash, Java and .NET technologies. This has recently changed as HTML5 is quickly and surely becoming the preferred markup language for platform providers. With the percentage of mobile traders and Mac users rapidly rising, the lightweight and multi-platform HTML5 has naturally been identified as the only technology supported on most major devices and operating systems.
Though this shift is not limited to platform providers, we can’t deny that the financial industry has hugely benefited from this change. Mutuality, consistency, enhanced accessibility, improved interactions, cross-browser and mobile optimisation, and higher responsiveness are just some of the advantages that come with an HTML5-coded Trading Platform .
Platform providers can boast advanced charting tools, integrated video feeds, fluid trade responsiveness and customisability which go a long way towards improving user experience. Though many of these advantages could be found in previous Flash/Java/.NET-based trading platforms; coding an HTML5-based trading interface is now a simpler task which simplifies multimedia and graphical integration, and enhances software semantics.
On the trading side, users are enjoying faster platform responsiveness, fully-integrated tools, customisable chart views, as well as an enhanced mobile trading experience, amongst others.
What’s happening is that platform providers are able to pack more and more tools and features into their trading platforms. Multiple customisable charting systems, technical indicators, trading robots, social trading, and various option types (for binary options platforms) are now fully-integrated into trading platforms.
As a trader, having all of these tools and features in one single interface and being able to link them in real-time can immeasurably improve one’s web and mobile trading experience.
Brokers no longer need to import these tools and features from a third-party. Platform providers are now able to easily integrate them into their platform without the hassle associated with Java/Flash/.NET coding, while traders benefit from a richer trading platform with improved Execution . It’s a win-win…win.
Further Advancements
The improvement of Geolocation tracking in recent years has also allowed brokers to offer a better execution and response rate to their traders. If a broker has several servers based in different geographical locations, a trader from a specific country will then be directly connected to the appropriate server and enjoy swifter trade executions due to lower latency.
With the use of the node.js runtime environment (which equally runs on most major platforms), the data feed displayed on trading platforms seems to be significantly faster. The ease of use of node.js, along with its speed and scalability, makes it the ideal runtime environment for platform providers to use in regards to real-time data feeds on the trading interface, without worrying about any blocked processes given that node.js practically never executes I/O instantly.
In short, what node.js does is send information to the software’s front-end as soon as the server receives information - at extremely high speeds.
The last few years have seen software developers and, more specifically trading platform providers, almost forced into a re-think of their trading interface’s general framework. As is almost a cliché by now, technology constantly evolves and so must your software.
With the current demand of this ever-growing industry, unless your software offers every trading tool on the face of the earth without so much of a latency of one microsecond, you're prehistoric.
Give it five years and we might just get there.
