#90secondFIX

If you’ve tuned into our videos before, you’ve probably heard Chris talk about digital specs and say something less than flattering about pdf. In this week’s #90secondFIX, Chris Lees tackles the question “What’s wrong with PDF anyway?”

In this week’s #90secondFIX, Chris Lees explores how to get the most out of PDF and XML FIX documentation. Where having accurate PDF and XML documentation is good, how can we take it a step further and make it easier to manage internally, and easier to understand for your customers.

In today’s #90secondFIX, Chris Lees answers the question of why the FIX protocol has so much variability to it. The FIX protocol itself is flexible by design. Trading venues, investment banks, they all compete based on functionality, and therefore the protocol needs enough consistency to allow people to understand what is being articulated,

FIX Algorithmic Trading Definition Language, better known as FIXatdl, is a standard for the exchange of meta-information developed in the mid-2000s to address the problems around algorithmic trading definition. An algo is driven by a series of parameters that the bank needs its customers to send in. How do you define these things? How do you convey exactly what the parameters are? What the valid values are? How should they be laid out on a particular UI section, for example?

How can you improve your FIX conformance testing? Chris Lees shares his 10 top tips. Organize your conformance test really clearly. Make sure they’re in well-defined sections that are easy to remove. Tie them to customer capabilities as you go through things with your customer. You’ll understand what they’re capable of; track those things as you go…

What is FIX API conformance or certification, and why do you need it? When someone’s trying to connect to your API for the first time, it’s important to test the connection to ensure that they can talk to your API correctly and effectively. Doing this in the UAT, or a customer test environment prevents any issues from arising prior to going into production.