A novel graphical UI design for futures trading

This paper presents a novel graphical user interface for futures trading. It combines real time market chart and order submission and manipulation into one chart frame, providing an extra edge on trading compared to traditional grid-based trading interface. A general graphical user interface class is designed and implemented using C++ and Qwt plot and can be used for trading any futures products of any exchanges. A trading application program is developed based on this class for trading futures products in Chinese Futures Exchanges and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). It tends out wider adaptability of this class. The design ideas and implementation details are provided in this paper. It reveals a new era of trading interface, graphical trading interface. This is the trend of new trading software design in the coming years.