[APP][UPDATED Nov 24, 2008] TickerTape 0.5.1 - Get Stock Quotes & Charts!

[GeckoDev]

Since we have all been having fun watching the stock market recently, I decided to write a quote/chart app, using the style of that fruity excuse for a phone as a springboard. So I present for your enjoyment an app called "Ticker Tape".

Notes:

• Requires .Net CF 3.5
• See the 2nd post for revision history and features.
• Please read the FAQ and the planned Future Features - your question or suggestion may already be there.

See this post for a version translated into Russian. Resource files will be supported soon for translation into whatever languages you want.

As always, your thoughts and bug reports are appreciated!


UPDATED Nov 24, 2008 to version 0.5.1 (see next post for revisions)

To Avoid Losing Your Custom Lists:
The install might overwrite your data file. If you want to keep your existing lists, make a copy of TickerTape.dat before installing, and copy it back after installing.


Many thanks to those who have donated to this project!
:: dlugo, Tazkika, pwhooftman, mhoesch, 69alfa, romant,
:: fryman, ld-runner, zcai2672, rspman, vadim_bogaiskov
:: Sperbs, arcsvibe, klassej

Your continued support might inspire me to actually finish it.

.

[GeckoDev]

Features

• Create and edit ticker lists
• Download quotes and charts for the symbols on your lists
• Show charts for period ranging from 1 day to 5 years
• Show charts in line, bar, or candlestick format
• Show chart fullscreen
• Completely touch-friendly
• Scroll through lists and tickers using touch screen buttons, gestures, or D-pad
• Set the download (refresh) rate from 5 seconds to 30 minutes, or Never
• Settings for download behavior, and chart caching
• Integration with AppToDate for automatic updates

Note: "Compare To" will be expanded later so you can get charts comparing any tickers.


FAQ

• Can you add the ^XYZ index and the XYZ stock to TickerTape?
  NO. The data is downloaded from Yahoo, because it is the only free service I know of. If Yahoo doesn't have it, then I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it for this app.
  The data is not scraped off a web page, so sites that display the data you want (even Yahoo's own real-time quote pages) are not useful to Ticker Tape.
  Yahoo (and therefore Ticker Tape) has information for a lot of the world markets, but there are some markets it does not provide. Again, I'm sorry, but that's just how it is.
  
• How do I get quotes for Company X?
  Find the ticker symbol here, and add it to Ticker Tape.
• I added a ticker, but there's no data. Why?
  You probably need an exhange extension at the end of the ticker. Find the correct ticker symbol here.
• Where can I get a list of indices?
  Here for US indices, or here for major world indices.
• Where can I get a list of currency exchange symbols?
  Here
• How do I get the price of Gold, Crude, Lean Hogs, and other commodities futures?
  Use the symbols found here
• What stock exchanges are available in Ticker Tape?
  A list of them is here.
• How long are the quotes delayed?
  This depends on the exchange. The delays are listed here. Most indices are real-time.
• How much data is downloaded?
  Quotes: ~80 bytes per ticker (~480 bytes for a full list)
  Charts: ~2.5KB each
• Can Ticker Tape do [insert feature here]?
  Yes, of course it can. The next version will do your laundry too.
• I installed it on my non-VGA device, and it looks funny.
  Ticker Tape was initially designed for VGA. This *is*, after all, a forum for Diamonds. The latest version has been tweaked to support QVGA, but there might be some areas that still need work. It does not and will not have support for square-screen devices.

Future Features

• Custom symbols for "Compare To" charts
• Implement settings for download rate in off-market hours
• Search feature to find ticker symbols
• Adjust times based on regional settings
• D-pad navigation in menu and other places.
• Ability to rearrange/insert lists and tickers
• Advanced ticker properties, such as notes, held positions, and alarms
• Ability run in a TF3D tab - THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE POSSIBLE AT THIS POINT - See this post
• More adjustments for non-VGA resolutions
• Import/export lists

Revision History

Version 0.5.1 - Nov 24 2008 (minor update)

• Added swipe (gesture) to switch between lists.
• Added Exit button to menu.
• Changed application icon.
• Tweaked menu item borders to look better.
• Rearranged menu a little to accomodate more items now and in the future.

Version 0.5 - Nov 9 2008

• Optimized menu for speed.
• Implemented settings for download behavior and chart caching.
• Replaced price change calculations with downloaded values.
• Tap chart to show fullscreen.
• Some tweaks for various resolutions.

Version 0.4 - Nov 4 2008

• Fixed the keyboard issue.
• Fixed a problem where ticker data was not displayed when the previous closing price was not available.
• Fixed the percent change calculation.
• Added support for 3 decimal places.
• Enabled comparison charts (limited ... this will be explanded later).
• Other minor UI tweaks

Version 0.3 - Nov 2 2008

• Enabled use of D-pad for naviagation on main screen
• Fixed numeric displays for various regional settings
• Added integration with AppToDate
• Fixed issue with (some?) tickers that are reported in non-US currencies
• (NOTE: the above fix should take care of all the crashes reported so far, as they were all related to the issue of either non-US currency, or symbols that weren't found)
• Changed application icon (happy now th1nm1nt? )
• Other minor UI tweaks

Version 0.2.1 - Oct 31 2008

• Enabled everything except "Compare To" and "Settings"
• Bug fix when adding symbols that don't exist

Version 0.1 - Oct 31 2008

• Initial "concept" release

[alken00]

keep working... I have faith

[stpete111]

GeckoDev, I'm still waiting for a decent stock app and this looks very promising. I'll be an avid supporter if you keep developing.

My only suggestion, and you've probably already thought of this, would be to include enough options in settings for what happens over the data connection based on the usage of the app.

For example: have checkboxes/choices in settings for options like such as:

-Continue streaming in realtime when program is minimized
-Prompt user that data is still streaming when program is minimized or unfocused after: (then add choices for 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, etc)
-Do not download any data when program is minimized
-Only update manually
-Update every: (choices of times)

You get the idea, something like that. The point being that those of us that don't have unlimited data connections, warnings and settings should be there to prevent accidental overages of data usage. A streaming stock app would be a very easy app to end up forgetting is on and using data and causing overages, whereas at least with a broswer, you're most likely eventually just going to end up parked on one page with no further data being streamed, if you accidentally leave the browser open.

[anthony_kwok]

It seems great, I willing to wait for this.

[mugglesquop]

very nice, looks good as a start

will be following this thread

[gerazzo]

exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks

[GeckoDev]

Originally Posted by stpete111 -Continue streaming in realtime when program is minimized -Prompt user that data is still streaming when program is minimized or unfocused after: (then add choices for 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, etc) -Do not download any data when program is minimized -Only update manually -Update every: (choices of times)

I like those options. I had planned on the last two already, but the first few for what to do when minimized are great ideas.

And here I thought I was taking a day off ...

[nosro]

I have been searching for a suitable charting program for over three years. I have tried them all and consider all of them unsuitable. I have had to make my own local HTML files with links to www.stockcharts.com/avantgo mobile charts to deal with the shortcoming.

This Apple-like program would be awesome. If you put this on Handango, I would buy it.

Recommendation: as a first attempt, you could do a lot worse than the Apple interface, so I say stick with it for the first version.

Are you using Yahoo! data for this? I prefer Bloomberg, but Yahoo is OK.

[GeckoDev]

Originally Posted by nosro Are you using Yahoo! data for this? I prefer Bloomberg, but Yahoo is OK.

Yes, Yahoo is the only free feed I know of. The Bloomberg feed costs several thousand in subscription fees. Some apps out there screen-scrape to get their data, but I think that approach is prone to error, so I'm just getting the raw data, which is why it downloads so few bytes.

The problem with the Yahoo feed is the delay, even though I'm telling it to send me real-time quotes. It appears to ignore that part (except for indexes). Does anyone know of a free feed that provides real-time data?