Named lookbacks, thresholds, and streaks for entry rules

Name each decision before the search

A rule-based-entry is a single procedure that turns named rule inputs, market state, and execution constraints into an enter, exit, or stand-aside signal over the system holding period so the whole rule set can be tested together. The archive applies that procedure to a rate-of-change entry. Rate-of-change is a repeatable comparison of current price structure with a prior value on the same scale, used to turn a percent-change condition into a falsifiable multi-week trade hypothesis.

The archive does not leave those conditions as one mixed formula. It names the lookbacks, the magnitude cutoffs, and the confirmation streak as separate inputs. Editorial: that split is what lets a later parameter search test one decision at a time.

Two lookbacks on the same index

The percent-change series measures an electric-utility index against its value a chosen number of weeks earlier, and that week count is treated as an unknown to be solved. That week count is the percent-change-lag, the week count used to measure how far an electric-utility index has moved; it is treated as a searchable input rather than a fixed constant. Thirty-eight weeks is the illustrative lookback attached to that percent-change series.

The direction-lag is a separate week count that only asks whether the same index is above or below its past value. The percent-change lag and the direction lag are defined as two distinct parameters rather than one shared lookback. Index direction is stored as +1 when the current index exceeds its value at the direction lag and as -1 when it is lower.

Thresholds and a same-sign streak

The buy-threshold is the percent-change level that must be reached or exceeded before a buy signal is allowed. The sell-threshold is the percent-change level that must be reached or undershot before a sell signal is allowed. A buy requires the percent-change series to be at or above a buy-percent parameter. A sell requires it to be at or below a sell-percent parameter.

The direction-streak is the required run of consecutive same-sign direction readings before a buy or sell is issued. A buy also requires a specified run of consecutive +1 direction readings, and a sell requires a specified run of consecutive -1 readings.

Editorial: the thresholds ask how far the percent-change series has moved, and the streak asks whether direction has held the same sign long enough. Those are different decisions, so they keep different names.

Abbreviated names still mark separate inputs

The coding environment limits identifier length to 20 characters and forbids spaces, special characters, and reserved words, which forces abbreviated parameter names. Editorial: the abbreviations can be short, but they still have to keep percent-change-lag, direction-lag, buy-threshold, sell-threshold, and direction-streak from collapsing into one identifier.

System-optimization is treating rule inputs as values to be solved for under stated market and execution constraints, then evaluating the resulting signals over the system holding period. Editorial: once each decision has its own name, that search can vary one input at a time instead of one tangled formula.