## Frequently Asked Questions

##

### Can you make a binary package for Qtstalker ?

Nope. Binary packages are so problematic now that they are a nightmare for maintainers. I will leave it up to the distributions to provide binaries and support them. Besides, learning how to compile from source makes you a better person, brings world peace and makes you more attractive to women.

Qtstalker is now included in the Debian distribution thanks to the efforts of Marco van Zwetselaar. Marco is the maintainer for the binary package.

### What platforms are supported ?

Currently, Linux compatible and FreeBSD systems are supported. Some people have tried with some success on Solaris, IRIX and most unices. I'm afraid I cannot support any other platforms other than Linux compatible systems simply because I do not have the time or resources to maintain other operating systems. So, if you want to port it, I can help as much as I am able. Due to ethical and political feelings, I will not help or support anyone trying to do a win32 port. The goal of this project is not to provide win32 users more gold bars for their prisons. So endith the lesson...

### My favorite indicator(s) are not included in Qtstalker, what can I do ?

Beer and cash tend to work best, but you might also try asking me. I'd be glad to create a plugin for you provided you supply me with a formula and you agree to include it into Qtstalker under the GPL. Another option is if you don't want to GPL your formula, you may contract me to write a proprietary plugin for you for a fee.

Of course, you can always develop the new indicator yourself. Just copy the code from an existing indicator that does similar things. Please consider contributing the new indicator back to this project. Everyone benefits.

### I'm a day trader, how come there is no intraday charting functions ?

There is currently basic support for tick data limited to a HH:MM:SS resolution. However, there are currently no quote plugins that download free tick data. It is left up to the user to provide quotes from a data service on an individual basis. You may use the CSV quote plugin to import ascii files with tick data.

### Does Qtstalker handle stock splits ?

Nope. To keep things simple, there is an easy way to handle splits. Just delete the chart that had a split, create the chart with the yahoo plugin and then update the data. This will pull in all the new corrected data. Nice and simple. Yes, a little more work for the user but reduces overhead and keeps things nice and snappy. NOTE: the yahoo quote plugin allows the user to use the 'adjusted' price, however this is not the actual trading price but an adjusted one for chart sanity.

### Where does the name Qtstalker come from ?

Well if you really must know...The Qt part comes from the GNU/Linux tradition of prefixing an X app with the GUI toolkit used. The stalker part is just cheesy word play stemming from the idea of "stock search" or "stalking stocks". I also just like the word "stalker".

### Why don't you make this into a KDE app ?

I want to keep things as simple, efficient and portable as possible. Qt does everything I need.

### There are alot of plugins I don't use taking up space. How do I get rid of them ?

If you are sure there are plugins you don't need, then all you have to do is delete them from the /usr/lib/qtstalker/* directory. Simple as that. Be sure you don't delete the directory itself, just the plugin *.so file.

### Why don't you use SQL for data storage?

Two reasons, speed and simplicty. Once again I cite the KISS (keep it simple, stupid!) philosophy. You can't beat Db btree functions for ease of use and speed. Using SQL would just add another layer of requirements and major speed penalties. It also means more administration hassles for the user to set up accounts, tables, logs etc. Why complicate things? Each chart is it's own compact, flexible, dynamic, self-contained db. Blows SQL away in this respect.

### Why is the Db 2.7.7 source included ?

To avoid binary format changes in each major revision, I have made this version the stable standard and include the source to keep things as simple as possible for the user. No need to hunt around for packages etc. Just compile and go.

### How about a Mac OS X port?

An attempt was made for version 0.22 before its release, but soon realized it won't happen. There are some major issues with the plugins and GUI flexibility. Firstly, the plugins are unable to be refreshed due to not having an unload option for dynamic libraries. Secondly, GUI flexibility. There are future GUI enhancements that has no counterpart in the mac world. Anyway, they are a corporation that make proprietary products and therefore untrustworthy. SCO to hell...SCO directly to hell...do not pass go.