The Comparison solver compares two inputs, Input A and Input B: whether A is above B, below B, or near B, by a distance you choose.
For example: is the bar entirely above the SMA, is a fast moving average at least 5 points above a slow one, or is volume spiking above its average?
Tip
To compare an indicator with fixed levels instead, use the Threshold solver.
Properties tab
The essential settings for the node.
Modifiers
Buttons for the most common output modifiers. They change only the selected instance of a node on a Logic Board, so they appear only when a node is selected there, not when a solver is selected in the Solvers panel. That keeps the solver’s original output unchanged everywhere else it’s used, much like changing an SMA’s plot color on one chart leaves it unchanged on your other charts.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enable | Turns the node on or off. When it’s off, the node is left out of the system’s calculations. It still looks connected on the Logic Board, but it’s ignored. |
| Invert | Inverts the node’s output. The same calculation as the Inverter function node, without its extra options. |
| Swap | Swaps the outputs: Long becomes Short and Short becomes Long. The same as the Long/Short Modifier function node with Mode: Swap. |
Global Properties
These settings apply to every instance of the solver: change one instance and they all change. To change just one, make a copy of the solver. The copy is a separate solver, with a number added to the end of its name.
Behavior
Turns off the Long or the Short output.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Evaluate | Which outputs the solver calculates. Both: Long and Short. Long only: only Long; the Short output is removed. Short only: only Short; the Long output is removed. |
Input A
The first value the solver evaluates, compared with Input B. Choose a data type in the Type menu; the settings below it change to match.
| Type | What it evaluates |
|---|---|
| Indicator Value | Any installed indicator with a plot or Series<T> output, chosen in the Select Indicator window. The default and most used type. Displacement reads the value from a number of bars back. |
| Price | A bar price (Open, High, Low, Close, or the Body Top, Median or Bottom), optionally processed over a lookback period. |
| Volume | The current bar’s volume. |
| Swing Point Prices | Prices from the latest swing highs and lows. |
| Linear Regression Channel | The upper, middle or lower line of a regression channel. |
| Fixed Value | A single value that never changes. Only useful for solvers with two inputs, such as Comparison. |
Every type and its settings in full: Data type selection.
Input B
The second value, compared with Input A. It has the same data types and settings as Input A.
Output Rules
Output rules decide when the solver gives a Long or Short output. Open the Rules window with the ellipsis (…) button next to Comparison Rules.
The Rules window
Where you define the conditions the solver looks for. One solver can combine several rules, so complex conditions don’t need several solvers.
How the Rules window works
Click a rule’s title bar (the strip that says Fixed or Range) to expand or collapse it.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add Rule menu (top left) | Adds a rule. A Fixed rule is the most common: it compares the Input with a value, or with Input B. A Range rule compares the Input with a lower and upper limit, or with a range of distance between Input A and Input B. To use a Range rule instead of the default Fixed rule, delete the Fixed rule, then add a Range rule. |
| Output Calculation menu (top right) | Decides the output when two or more rules are true at the same time. See below. |
| Settings window (Range rules) | Finer control over the values being evaluated. See below. |
| Delete button | Deletes the rule. Undo brings it back. |
Output Calculation options
| Option | Output |
|---|---|
| First | The output of the first true rule, working down from the top of the list. |
| Largest | The largest output of all the true rules. For fuzzy logic systems. |
| Smallest | The smallest output of all the true rules. For fuzzy logic systems. |
| Average | The average of the outputs of all the true rules. For fuzzy logic systems. |
| Addition | The outputs of all the true rules added together. For fuzzy logic systems. |
Range rule settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Outside / Inside | Whether the rule is true inside the range or outside it. |
| Exclude / Include | Include counts the range limits themselves (>= and <=). Exclude doesn’t (> and <). |
| Fixed Output / Ranged Output | Fixed Output is a simple on/off output: 0, or the value on the far right (usually 1). Ranged Output turns on fuzzy logic: two Output fields appear, and when the Input is between the limits, the output is interpolated linearly between those two values. |
Fixed rules
A Fixed rule identifies when Input A is above, below or equal to Input B, optionally offset by a distance. The sentence above the settings changes to describe the condition as you edit it.
- Input A: its indicator, bar price or value. When both inputs have the same name, “(A)” is added to tell them apart.
- The comparison (see the table below).
- Input B, with “(B)” added when the names match.
- Plus or Minus: adds the offset to Input B or subtracts it. Not shown for = and !=.
- The offset distance.
- The unit for the offset, see Measuring distance.
- The output value when the rule is true. 1 (100% confidence) suits most systems; use a smaller value only when building a fuzzy logic system.
| Comparison | True when Input A is |
|---|---|
| = | equal to Input B |
| != | not equal to Input B |
| > | above Input B (plus or minus the offset) |
| < | below Input B (plus or minus the offset) |
| >= | above or equal to Input B |
| <= | below or equal to Input B |
For example, Low [ > ] SMA [ Plus ] [ 5 ] [ Points ] is true while the bar’s low is at least 5 points above the SMA.
Range rules
A Range rule identifies when Input A is within a distance range of Input B. For example, a Long rule can be true while the low is between 0 and 5 points above the SMA, and a Short rule while the high is between 0 and 5 points below it.
- Input A.
- The smaller distance of the range.
- The larger distance of the range.
- The unit for 2 and 3.
- Input B.
- The output value when Input A is within the range of Input B. 1 suits most systems.
Ranged Output (fuzzy logic, advanced)
With Ranged Output on in the rule’s Settings menu, two Output fields appear, 6 and 7: the output confidence value when Input A is at the smaller distance (2), and when it is at the larger distance (3). In between, the output is interpolated. If one of them is 1, the other should be less. Only use this when building a fuzzy logic system.
Options tab
Secondary settings shared by all nodes.
Weight
Changes the node’s final output value. Only needed when designing a fuzzy logic system, or a fuzzy logic part of a system.
How Weight works
Weight changes only the selected instance of a node on a Logic Board. So the controls appear only when a node is selected there, not when a solver is selected in the Solvers panel: a solver’s original output can’t be changed globally.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Multiply Output | Multiplies the node’s internal Long and Short values (set by the Output Rules on the Properties tab) by this number. The final output still can’t go above 1 (see Slider). |
| Slider | Limits the final output to between 0 and 1. The left handle sets a minimum output, given whether or not the condition is true. The right handle sets the maximum; the output is capped there. |
| Hedge Operation | Applies a formula to the internal value. None: unchanged. Very: squares it (value²). Somewhat: takes the square root (√value). |
Example: two out of three
Three solvers check three indicator conditions, but only two need to be true. Connect them to an Additive logic node and set each solver’s maximum (the slider’s right handle) to 0.5. When any two are true, the Additive node adds 0.5 + 0.5 + 0 = 1, which means the two-out-of-three condition is met.
Description
Free text for describing what the node does or what it’s for. The Description is shared by every instance of the node, unlike Weight, which is set per instance.
Help tab
Shows this page for the selected node, inside BloodHound. Click the node’s image at the top of the page to open it in a bigger window. The built-in web viewer needs NinjaTrader 8.0.26.0 or newer.
Tutorial videos
Example: a trend filter for when the entire bar is above or below the SMA 20 (3 minutes).
Examples
Example 1A: A basic trending state (bar above or below the SMA)
Long while the whole bar is above the SMA 14, Short while it is entirely below.
Settings and chart
Input settings
- Set Input A » Type to Price.
- Set Price Type Long to Low, and Price Type Short to High. For the whole bar to be above the SMA, its low must be above it; otherwise the bar touches the SMA.
- Leave Input B as SMA 14.
Rules window
- No changes needed.
Result
A Long output while the low is above the SMA 14, a Short output while the high is below it, and no output while the bar touches the SMA.
Example 1B: A minimum separation distance
Long while the SMA 14 is at least 5 points above the SMA 50, Short while it is at least 5 points below.
Settings and chart
Input settings
- Leave Input A as SMA 14.
- Set Input B to SMA 50.
Rules window
- Open the Rules window with the ellipsis (…) button next to Comparison Rules, then set the rule as shown. The offset (setting 5) is 5 points.
Result
A Long output while the SMA 14 is 5 points or more above the SMA 50, a Short output while it is 5 points or more below, and no output while they are within 5 points of each other.
Example 1C: An indicator with several plots
Uses the DM indicator’s +DI and -DI plots. A Fixed rule gives clear directional signals, and a Range rule eases the output in and out (0.5 to 1) as the plots separate, to anticipate the start and end of a trend.
Settings and chart
Input settings
- Set Input A to DM » +DI.
- Set Input B to DM » -DI.
Rules window
- Open the Rules window with the ellipsis (…) button next to Comparison Rules, then set the rule as shown.
Result
The indicator’s choppy signals are filtered out: there is no output while the DI plots are within 2 points of each other.
Example 1D: Volume spikes
Long and Short outputs when volume spikes above its moving average. Measuring the distance in ATRs normalizes how big a spike must be.
Settings and chart
Input settings
- Set Input A » Type to Volume.
- Set Input B to VOLMA 14.
Rules window
- Open the Rules window with the ellipsis (…) button next to Comparison Rules, then set the rule as shown.
Result
Outputs on each volume spike above the average.
Example 2: Higher lows and lower highs
Uses the bundled Swing Highs & Lows indicator: Input A reads the current bar, Input B the previous bar, so the solver sees when a swing level steps up or down.
Settings and chart
Input settings
- Set Input A and Input B to the Swing Highs & Lows indicator, with the same plots.
- Change its Number of Swings property as shown.
- Set Input B » Displacement to 1.
Rules window
- No changes needed.
Result
A Long output when the Widest Bottom plot (red) steps higher, a higher low; a Short output when the Widest Top plot (green) steps lower, a lower high.
