Below you'll find a list of possible errors that can occur during compilation or at runtime, together with suggestions for finding the reason of the error. Messages related to opening and closing positions are listed under Log; known issues with brokers are commented on the related page (FXCM, IB, Oanda, MT4, etc...) in this manual.
Error messages must never be ignored. Even when your script runs and produces a result, an error message always indicates that something is seriously wrong and must be fixed. Warning messages can be ignored in some cases, but only when you know and understood their reason.
You can encounter three types of error messages. Compiler errors are simply caused by mistyping something in the script, forgetting a bracket or semicolon, or calling a function the wrong way. The script file and line in question is given in the error message, so the error should be easy to fix. Runtime errors occur while the script is running, either in the message window, or in a separate message box. Some messages are not harmful and can be ignored, others require a decision about whether to continue or to stop the script. If _POS() statements are placed in the script, their argument is displayed at the end of most error messages for identifying the position in the code. Broker message are not coming from Zorro, but from the broker API, for instance when using a wrong symbol or trading outside market hours. The error or warning by the broker is normally displayed and recorded in the Zorro log. In the case of MT4/MT5 the error or warning messages are recorded in the experts log.
Wrong or missing token in the script code. Sometimes the line in question is ok, but some command in the preceding code was incomplete. Examples are an #ifdef without an #endif, or a missing semicolon in the previous line, or an orphaned { } bracket in the previous function. Another not-obvious error is declaring a variable or function with the same name as a predefined system variable, such as Stop or Lots.
Wrong variable type. You've used a numeric operation with wrong parameter types, for instance an AND or OR operation with a float or var type. Or you're using a variable with the same name as a predefined variable - look them up in variables.h. Or you've called a function with a var although it needs a series, or vice versa. Example: "Wrong type POINTER::DOUBLE" means that the code expects a double (or var) and you gave it a pointer (or series) instead.
Function call with a wrong parameter type, for instance with a var when a series or an array is needed.
The given name or type is unknown. A common reason is an #include statement without including <default.c> before. default.c contains all language definitions, but is only automatically included when nothing else is included.
Numerical operation with wrong parameter types, for instance an AND or OR operation with a float or var type. In that case, typecast the expression to the correct type.
A trade was entered with a Stop, TakeProfit, Trail, or Margin value that's unusually high, or low, or at the wrong side of the current price; or with an option or futures contract with no correct or missing Multiplier, strike, or expiration date. The trade can not be executed. Wrong price limits can be caused by a mistake in the script or by wrong margin cost, pip cost, or leverage parameters in the asset list. If it happens during live trading, an alert box will pop up dependent on Verbose settings.
A trade was entered at an unknown parameter; for instance an option contract with no price in the historical data or without calling contractPrice before. In live trading the position will be entered nevertheless, but this message is just to inform that it is not advisable to trade at unknown prices or other parameters.
An indicator or other function was called with wrong parameters.
A date/time function was called with bad data, or the bar with the given time could not be found, or a contract chain had not the current date.
An invalid value or wrong format caused an exception in an expression.
Market hours, weekend, holidays, bar offset, time zone, and BarMode parameters are in conflict with each other at the given bar. For instance, the bar offset enforces bars outside market hours and the BR_MARKET flag suppresses such bars. The bar is then clipped at the bar period. When using BarZone with daily bars, consider that the bar period is one hour smaller or longer when daylight saving changes - this can cause bars outside market hours at those days.
Object or function xxx got invalid data, f.i. a wrong parameter for a pointer or string, or data from a non initialized array, or from an invalid mathematical operation such as a division by zero.
StartDate, EndDate, NumYears, LookBack etc. have been set up in a way that the selected asset has no prices between start and end date. This can also happen when historical data is missing.
A script function returned an invalid value.
A name was too long, too short, or contained spaces or other invalid characters.
The lookback period, simulation period, or price history was not set up correctly. Parameters that affect the bars generation (StartDate, BarPeriod, LookBack, TICKS, LEAN, etc.) were either inconsistent (f.i. a too short LookBack period for a subsequent indicator call), or changed after the bars were generated. Make sure to set up all parameters before calling asset. Use the PRELOAD flag for extremely long lookback periods.
The simulation could not be finished because historical data was missing.
A variable that should remain constant - such as NumWFOCyles - was changed after the initial run. Make sure not to change those parameters at runtime.
An asset was not loaded in the first run of the strategy, for instance due to a missing, skipped, or failed asset call. Make sure that all needed assets are properly initialized and their price data is available - also in [Train] mode that runs only a single cycle of a loop call.
The asset is missing in the asset list (note that asset names are case sensitive). The simulation will still run when historical price data is found, but asset parameters such as spread, margin, lot size, trade costs, trade profit etc. are made up and do not reflect the true values. The asset can not be traded.
Prices are missing or have invalid time stamps. The server did not provide all historical data or no price quote arrived during the last bar. The price functions will then return the values of the previous bar. When this error happened during price history download, it indicates ticks with no valid timestamp or no valid prices.
A function wrote past the maximum index of an array or a series.
A plot function was called with an invalid value, caused by a division by zero, the square root of a negative number, or similar errors in the script.
The plotGraph with the given name had more elements that bars exist on the chart. If you need this many, use another name for the rest of the elements.
The rule generated by a machine learning function is too complex for conversion to a C expression. In case of candlestick patterns, use the FAST pattern detection mode that generates simpler rules, or reduce the number of patterns.
Number or order of optimized parameters differ from run to run. Make sure that optimize is always called in the same order, the number of optimize calls is the always same as the number of optimized parameters, and the PARAMETERS flag is not changed between optimize calls.
Something's wrong with series, loop, or matrix calls in the script. They are called unusually often or at a wrong place. Check all series() or loop() calls and all indicators or functions that internally declare series, such as Volatility, ATR, etc. Don't skip series() or loop() calls with if statements. Don't call them in event-triggered functions such as tmf, tick, or tock (you can use series there, but must then define them globally). The error message tells you at which bar the problem occurs, so the bug should be easy to fix. If you need an extremely large number of series, increase TradesPerBar.
A parameter of a certain portfolio component has a wrong value or could not be loaded from the *.par file. Make sure that the optimize calls or the loop parameters were not changed after training. For asset-dependent parameters, make sure that all assets and algos are selected with loop calls and their optimize calls are inside the inner loop. For asset-independent parameters in a portfolio system, make sure that always the same asset is selected before the optimize call.
The advise or optimize function could not find a trained rule, model, or parameter for the current asset/algo combination. Check the script, then [Train] again.
A price that lies in the future was requested by a price or day function. For the simulation you can suppress this message by setting the PEEK flag. PEEK is not available for real trading unfortunately - even though Zorro is good, it's not this good.
A price or TA function required a higher lookback period than reserved through LookBack (default = 80). When no asset is selected and time periods don't change at runtime, Lookback is automatically adapted in the initial run. Otherwise it must be manually set to the longest possible time period. Setting LookBack to 0 suppresses all lookback adaptions and warnings at the user's risk.
Not enough price bars are available to cover the test period, or even the LookBack period. In the latter case the script won't run. This can have various reasons - for example:
- The market is closed or the price server does not provide sufficient history for live trading (especially with MT4). Download recent price data from other sources and set the PRELOAD flag.
- The historical data has lower resolution than the bar period, f.i. EOD data with 1-hour bars. Get high resolution data.
- A wrong test period setup in the script (see asset). Check all dates and periods in the script.
- Large gaps or overlapping period in a historical data file. Delete it and download it again,
- A too high MinutesPerDay value for one of the used assets.
- A wrong BarMode setting for an asset that is traded at weekends, such as cryptocurrencies.
- A a user-defined bar type that is much larger than the given BarPeriod. Decrease BarPeriod or increase MinutesPerDay for allocating more bars.
Trades are possibly generated in an endless loop or recursion, f.i. by a TMF that enters trades who themselves enter new trades through their TMF. Or a for(trades) loop is nested inside another for(trades) loop.
The script entered more than one trade per bar and asset, which is normally a sign of a script bug - therefore the error message. If you really need a huge number of trades, for instance for unlimited grid trading or for training several advise functions at the same time, set the TradesPerBar variable to the required number of trades per bar and asset.
Zorro could not open a file. The file could be already opened by a different program, or externally deleted, or set to read/only.
Trading was stopped without closing the open trades, then resumed with a different Zorro version. Zorro can only continue trades that the same version has opened. Use the broker platform for closing the trades manually.
Zorro attempted to log in to the broker, but another Zorro instance on the same PC is already connected. For multiple trading sessions and accounts, Zorro S is required.
The script attempted to subscribe or download prices of an asset that is either not offered by the broker, or offered under a different name, or for which no price quotes are available due to market closure or server maintenance at session start. Make sure to log in at a time when prices are available for all assets that you want to trade. Also make sure that the asset has a valid name and symbol, and is subscribed and visible under that symbol in the asset list of the broker platform. If the broker offers the asset under a different name, set up its correct symbol in the asset list. Not all assets are available to all users - for instance, US traders can sometimes not trade commodity or index CFDs that are offered to by the same broker to European traders.
One or several asset parameters, either in the asset list or returned from the broker API, had suspicious, invalid, or zero content. In [Train] or [Test] mode the asset list should be edited and the wrong value fixed. If it happens in [Trade] mode at the start of the script, a possible reason of zero content can be a too long response time of MT4/MT5 servers for uploading previously unused assets (see remarks about MT4 issues). In this case, simply start the script again. If the displayed value is substantially different to the value in the asset list, the backtest does not reflect the connected account, so check and possibly correct the asset list. If it happens within a session, asset parameters returned from the broker API differ by more than 50% from their previous values. Incorrect parameters can cause wrong trade sizes, so check the values if you see this warning in the log or on top of the trading status page.
Historical price data required for an asset was not found, or has no sufficient size or resolution for properly running the simulation. Make sure that all data for an asset is of the same time; a mix of .t1, .t2, and .t6 data, or a part of the data split into years and another part not, won't work. If data is missing, the simulation won't execute. You can download price data from online sources with the Download script. Often used data is also available on the Zorro Download page. If price data for a certain year is not available, create a .t6 file of 0 bytes size with the name of the asset and year (f.i. SPX500_2007.t6). Zorro will then skip that period in the simulation and not display the error message.
Historical price data could not be downloaded from the broker's price server. The server can be offline or does not offer price data for the given asset and time period. For brokers that offer market data permissions, check if you've subscribed the permissions for the assets to be downloaded.
Check if the historical data is consistent (no mix of .t1, .t6, .t8, LEAN mode) and has similar resolution for all used assets. Tick resolution is recommended for testing with bar periods less than one minute. The test will otherwise run with interpolated price data, but won't be very accurate.
A CSV file can not be parsed due to an invalid file format. If the file was recently downloaded (f.i. history.csv), open it with a text editor - it might contain no CSV data, but an error message from the data provider. Otherwise compare the CSV file content with your conversion format string. If in doubt, set Verbose to 7 for checking the source and parse result of the first 2 lines - this normally reveals the format error. The error details:
Bad code - your format string contained an invalid field placeholder.
Bad date - the date code in your format string does not match the date format in the file.
Bad field number - your format string contained invalid field numbers.
Zorro could not allocate a large memory resource - such as the ticks buffer for a simulation in TICKS mode, or the price buffer for a large simulation period. The script cannot be executed. In case of fragmented memory, restart Zorro. If you then get the error again, your script allocates too much memory.
The error message appears when the memory assigned by Windows to a Zorro process (~3 GB, regardless of the PC memory) was either exceeded, or became too fragmented by previous simulation or training runs so that a new buffer of the required size could not be allocated. The memory requirement of a script can be reduced by splitting large asset lists and testing asset subsets separately, by reducing the simulation period (f.i. by setting a EndDate or MaxBars limit), by not setting TICKS, or by using the LEAN or LEANER flags and M1 rather than T1 price data. A formula for calculating the memory requirement per asset can be found under asset.
The executable script was compiled with a previous Zorro version that is incompatible to the current Zorro. The script must be recompiled with the current Zorro version.
A file was not found, could not be opened, or had wrong format. Make sure that the file exists, that it has the correct name, that the Zorro process has access rights to it, and that it is not opened with exclusive access in another application (f.i. a .csv file in Excel). The Windows error number is displayed in parentheses, f.i. (wb:13). Typical error numbers are listed below.
2
No such file or directory
9
Bad file number
11, 12
Not enough memory or resources
13
No access rights, or file opened in another application
16
Device or resource busy
23, 24
Too many files open in system
28
No space left on device
30
Read-only file system
38
Filename too long
If the missing file is a .par, .c, .fac, or .ml file, you possibly have forgotten to train your strategy. If you then still get that error, check which asset was selected before the first optimize or advise call. If no asset was selected, or if a different asset is selected in training and test mode, parameter or rule files have different names and thus cannot be opened.
The function is not available in this script because it requires a different setup, an external plugin, or Zorro S.
An asset list, account list, or other .csv file has a wrong spreadsheet format. Check the file for wrong entries, missing parameters, wrong delimiters, or the like. Every line in a .csv file must have the same number of delimiters - commas or semicolons - and end with a 'new line' character.
Zorro sent an order to the broker API, but received no response due to a server glitch or connection issue right after sending the order. This means that it is unknown whether the position was opened or not. If it was, the trade is orphaned and not under Zorro control. Check in the broker platform if the trade was opened; if so, close it manually.
Zorro closed the trade with the given ID, but the trade was not found in the broker's trade lists. Possibly it was never opened, or was already closed manually or by a margin call or similar event.
A broker command to open or close a trade could not be executed due to a problem of the broker API, such as a server crash or loss of connection. Zorro will attempt to close the trade in regular intervals until the broker's server is online again.
An exitShort/exitLong command for partial closing could not be fully executed because not enough trades were open to close the given number of lots. When partial closing, make sure not to close more lots than are open.
You need Zorro S when your annual profit exceeds $30,000 or your account balance exceeds $7,000.
A trade was rejected by the broker API during a live trading session. The reason can normally be found in the Zorro log or in case of an MTR4/MTR5 connection, in the 'Experts' log. Valid reasons for not opening or closing trades are: not enough funds, not enough free margin, no permission to trade that asset, a too distant or too close order limit, a wrong asset symbol, a closed market, no liquidity / no taker, FIFO violation, NFA rules violation, unsupported hedging (f.i. Oanda), a wrong stop distance, or unsupported partial closing (f.i. some MTR4 / MTR5 brokers). All this, except for funds, liquidity, and permissions, can often be solved or worked around in the script, the asset list, or in case of a Z system, in the Z.ini configuration.
A function in the script crashed due to a wrong operation. Examples are a division by zero, a wrong type or missing variable in a print/printf call, a wrong array index, or exceeding the stack size by declaring huge local arrays. The current run is aborted, possibly causing subsequent errors, f.i. inconsistent series calls. The name of the faulty function is normally displayed. See Troubleshooting about how to fix bugs in your script functions or deal with other sorts of crashes.
All messages beginning with an exclamation mark are sent from the broker API in a live trading session, so their content depends on the broker. On high Verbose settings, some diagnostics can be printed on events such as session start. Other messages can indicate that the connection was temporarily interrupted or a buy/sell order was rejected (see enter/exit). This happens when assets are traded outside their market hours, such as an UK stock index when the London stock exchange is closed. A "Can't close trade" message can also indicate that the NFA flag was not set on a NFA compliant account, or vice versa, the NFA flag was set on an account that is not NFA compliant. Read the comments on the broker related page (FXCM, IB, Oanda, MTR4, ...) in this manual. When trading with the MTR4 bridge, details and reason of error message is printed under the [Experts] and [Journal] tabs of the MTR4 platform.
► latest version online