built in types

The built in types allow you to use various ranges of data in your script to make it more efficient and precise. Depending on the purpose of the types, they can be grouped in the following categories.

Series

The series provide a range of historical price data, whose timeframe you specify in the script parameters. For example:

Index	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
close	15.25	15.46	15.35	15.03	15.02	14.80	15.01	12.87	12.53	12.43
close[1]	nil	15.25	15.46	15.35	15.03	15.02	14.80	15.01	12.87	12.53
close[2]	nil	nil	15.25	15.46	15.35	15.03	15.02	14.80	15.01	12.87
close[3]	nil	nil	nil	15.25	15.46	15.35	15.03	15.02	14.80	15.01

This means that with the close[1] index, the data of the previously closed candle is returned. The close[2] series will return the value of 2 candles back, and so on. This data will help you create scripts based on the analysis of the historical price values.

More details on the Series are here.

Values

Integer

When you need to work with a whole number, you can use the Integer built-in type, which is a 64-bit signed integer value. This type is usually used when declaring the period for the indicator, for example:

indicator_period = input(14, "Indicator Period")

You can also use this built-in type in any script settings, requiring whole numbers, such as:

• The rounded results of the mathematical operations (see Series);
• Price levels;
• Loops, etc.

Numeric

When you need to work with a decimal, you can use the Numeric built-in type, which is a 64-bit floating-point value. With this type, you can declare both integer and decimal values.

For example, you need to declare a decimal variable:

value = 3.14

It is also supported in the mathematical operations:

hlc3 = (high + low + close) / 3

String

The String type supports values in the text format. With this type, you can indicate the titles of the indicators, their components, as well as write messages and notifications within the scripts. To use this type, enclose the text in quotation marks. For example:

instrument { name = "SMA", overlay = true }

Where "SMA" is a string value, and true is a boolean value (See Boolean).

Boolean

The Boolean type contains two opposite values – True and False*. The most basic example of using this type is a visual representation of the indicator in the traderoom. For example:

instrument { name = "ALMA", overlay = true }

Where the true value means the indicator is overlaid on the chart of your indicator. In the example above, it is a line moving along with the asset chart.

The boolean value should be declared in the text format and without quotation marks.

*Lua peculiarities: by default, the condition is considered to be false when its value is false or nil. In some cases, that are explicitly documented, the 0 value is considered to be false.

Visualization

Color

To add color customization to your script, you can use the Color type, declaring the colors in the following formats:

• "#RRGGBB"
• "#RRGGBB"
• "#RRGGBBAA"
• "rgb(255,255,255)"
• "rgb(255,255,255,1.0)"
• HTML color name.

For example:

plot(close, title="Close Price", color=color.blue)

In case you want your indicator to change color depending on the conditions, you can define that logic in the script, for example:

input_group {
    "Candle colors",
    bullish_color = input { default = "#2E77D1", name = "Bullish Candle", type = input.color },
    bearish_color = input { default = "#E74C3C", name = "Bearish Candle", type = input.color }
}

plot_candle(ha_open, ha_high, ha_low, ha_close, "Heikin Ashi Candles", ha_open < ha_close and bullish_color or bearish_color)

In case you would like to use customized colors, the fastest way is to use the rgb and rgba functions.