Automatic Trading Development with Python, PyQt QRadioButton and QGroupBox

An automated trading system is effective for trading various financial products such as stocks, foreign exchange, and cryptocurrencies.
In this article, we will explain how to build an automated trading UI using Python’s PyQt library.
In particular, we will implement a feature that allows users to easily select options using QRadioButton and QGroupBox.

What is PyQt?

PyQt is a Qt GUI framework for Python that helps you easily build GUIs for complex applications.
By leveraging Qt’s powerful features, you can create desktop applications and it provides various widgets to facilitate UI development.

Introduction to QRadioButton and QGroupBox

– QRadioButton: QRadioButton is a radio button that allows users to select one option among multiple choices.
It is typically provided by grouping related options together and is designed to allow only one selection at a time.

– QGroupBox: QGroupBox helps to visually present groups of widgets to the user more clearly.
Widgets within the group can be controlled as a single unit, which clarifies the UI structure and provides direction to the user.

Basic Structure of the Automated Trading System

An automated trading system typically includes the following components:

  • Data collection: Collect market data from stocks, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, etc.
  • Strategy implementation: Define and implement trading strategies
  • Order execution: Process orders in real-time
  • UI composition: Interface for user interaction

Environment Setup

To use PyQt, you first need to install the required libraries. You can install them by entering the command as follows. 

pip install PyQt5

Example of Using QRadioButton and QGroupBox

Below is an example code of a basic PyQt application utilizing QRadioButton and QGroupBox.
This application is designed to allow users to select one of the trading options (buy or sell).

Example Code


import sys
from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication, QWidget, QVBoxLayout, QGroupBox, QRadioButton, QPushButton, QLabel

class TradingApp(QWidget):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.setWindowTitle('Automated Trading System')
        self.setGeometry(100, 100, 300, 250)
        self.initUI()
    
    def initUI(self):
        layout = QVBoxLayout()

        # Create QGroupBox
        self.groupbox = QGroupBox('Trading Options')
        self.radio_buy = QRadioButton('Buy')
        self.radio_sell = QRadioButton('Sell')

        # Add QRadioButton to QGroupBox
        self.groupbox_layout = QVBoxLayout()
        self.groupbox_layout.addWidget(self.radio_buy)
        self.groupbox_layout.addWidget(self.radio_sell)
        self.groupbox.setLayout(self.groupbox_layout)

        # Button to display selected option
        self.button = QPushButton('Confirm Selection')
        self.button.clicked.connect(self.show_selection)

        # Add widgets to layout
        layout.addWidget(self.groupbox)
        layout.addWidget(self.button)

        # Set layout
        self.setLayout(layout)
        self.label = QLabel('Selected Option: None')
        layout.addWidget(self.label)
    
    def show_selection(self):
        if self.radio_buy.isChecked():
            self.label.setText('Selected Option: Buy')
        elif self.radio_sell.isChecked():
            self.label.setText('Selected Option: Sell')
        else:
            self.label.setText('Selected Option: None')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app = QApplication(sys.argv)
    window = TradingApp()
    window.show()
    sys.exit(app.exec_())

The above code creates a basic PyQt application that provides a UI for selecting trading options. The user can select either the ‘Buy’ or ‘Sell’ option and, upon clicking the ‘Confirm Selection’ button, the selected option will be displayed on the screen.

Code Explanation

– TradingApp Class: Inherits from QWidget to define the basic application.
The __init__ method sets the window title and size, and calls the initUI method.

– initUI Method: Initializes and arranges the UI elements. It adds a QGroupBox and two QRadioButtons.

– show_selection Method: Changes the text of the QLabel based on the user’s selected option.

Execution Result

Running the code will create a basic UI as shown below. Users can choose between buy or sell, and the chosen option will be displayed in the QLabel upon clicking the button.

Automated Trading UI Example

Moving Forward

Based on the above example, you can add more features to the automated trading system.
For example, you can automatically execute algorithms based on the selected trading option or carry out trades based on user-defined conditions.
Additionally, you can implement features to add real-time data feeds or perform trades on specific stocks.

The next step is to add logic for trading based on user input. For instance, after allowing the user to input buy and sell prices for a specific stock,
try writing algorithms that automatically execute trades based on those conditions. In this process, you can use APIs to connect to the real market.

Conclusion

In this article, we learned how to construct the UI for an automated trading program using PyQt,
and we explored the basic usage of QRadioButton and QGroupBox.
By implementing separate data collection and algorithm processing parts, you can create a practical automated trading system.
In the future, try to challenge yourself with the use of various libraries and APIs for a more advanced automated trading system.

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