Bloomberg data directly accessed
Author: RuneHS
Creation Date: 10/29/2009 7:18 AM
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RuneHS

#1
Please excuse me for being a newbie (this might have been discussed before - in that case: sorry!): with reference to Bloomberg and Wealth Lab 5 (last version): Is there any way of getting the data Bloomberg directly into Wealth Lab via the WL code, e.g. for the fixed income instrument "TYA comdty" and the associated OHLC (Blm. "px open", "px high", "px low", "px close")?

I get Bloomberg data into WL easily via a text/csv file loader that I build myself using Delphi (Embarcadero), that application accesses Bloomberg data and downloads the data into a format that WL accepts nicely. As we might know, Bloomberg has a couple of tools or activeX components that with little effort gets data into Excel, Delphi, Visual Studio (I guess), etc. I would like to get the data directly WL, too, without having to do that extra data loader step.

Is that doable, is there any exampel code for this for the mentioned ten year note?

RuneHS
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Cone

#2
QUOTE:
Is there any way of getting the data Bloomberg directly into Wealth Lab via the WL code
I'm not sure that I understand what you want by the way the question is stated. If the idea is to run a script to access and operate on the data, it would only be possible to do as a secondary symbol since the primary symbol's chart data is loaded before the script is executed. No example exists for this that accesses the Bloomberg API.

The current Bloomberg adapter for Version 5 (see Get Extensions > Provider) reads static data downloaded by the BBLoader app, part of the Bloomberg Adapter Suite written for WLD Version 4. The adapter for Version 4, however, can provide on-demand chart requests (static data only) from the Bloomberg API.

Longer term, there's a good chance that Bloomberg Static and Streaming adapters will be built for Version 5 - it ultimately requires that a Bloomberg customer finances it. If interested, please create a Support Ticket.
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dansmo

#3
QUOTE:
Longer term, there's a good chance that Bloomberg Static and Streaming adapters will be built for Version 5 - it ultimately requires that a Bloomberg customer finances it. If interested, please create a Support Ticket.


That sounds interesting. Can you please give more details about the potential costs.
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Cone

#4
I haven't estimated it yet, but it will be a complete re-write (C#) and completely integrated with WL Version 5. The former "BBLoader" app would appear as a tab in the Data Manager. The static and fundamental data downloads would be integrated - like Y! for example. This time we're going for static, fundamental, and streaming data from Bloomberg, so you can count on several man-months of work plus Bloomberg fees. (Developer's licenses aren't free anymore, haven't been for years.)
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dansmo

#5
Lets say you had a number of customers who would buy the product. How many would you expect to need to get started? I dont think that I would pay for the development work just to see that others could get it much cheaper afterwards.

If there was a one time license fee I definitely would be interested!
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RuneHS

#6
Hi there, I would be very interested too...

Let us say that I have the Bloomberg application installed on my pc, so I pay for Bloomberg already (I do). Then, there is a range of ways of getting data directly from Bloomberg, bypassing the GUI/application by the way. Mind you, you are entitled to the data, and you pay for it.

You would typically send in "TYZ9 comdty", "price last", dates "from" and "to", and "D" (daily frequency), and back comes the data in a second or two, just like in Excel. "WAPI <GO>" on Bloomberg explains (or I can send you some Delphi code if you like). It did not take me long to develop a Delphi-connection to the Bloomberg DDE and activeX data service (not bragging here, but it really is easy). Daily, monthly or weekly data, or per second (intraday) - available anytime!

So: if you have people subscribing to Bloomberg to start with, how about making the WL talking to Bloomberg directly for those people? It should not take long for a WL system programmer to fix that, given that Bloomberg already supplies the data connection tools (DDE server or activeX component) - should it?

BTW that BBLoader application seems a bit cumbersome, why not make a simple function that sends in what you want and returns a bar series or a static or something?
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Eugene

#7
(Just wanted to drop a note that Bloomberg static data (both EOD and intraday) is available for http download w/o any subscription. One can even find the URI if they search the wl4 site.)
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Cone

#8
Eugene, Bloomberg data for what? Bonds, stocks, futures, fundamentals for all markets in the world?

QUOTE:
I dont think that I would pay for the development work just to see that others could get it much cheaper afterwards.
You'll also own the source code. Previously, we used a profit-sharing arrangement. In the end, it actually was "free" for the "financier", plus he got the source too.

QUOTE:
how about making the WL talking to Bloomberg directly for those people?
That's what we're talking about.

QUOTE:
It should not take long for a WL system programmer to fix that, given that Bloomberg already supplies the data connection tools (DDE server or activeX component) - should it?
If there were no U.I. required then it wouldn't take "long" for static and fundamental adapters. Streaming adapters present more challenges, and U.I.'s can be cumbersome.

QUOTE:
why not make a simple function that sends in what you want and returns a bar series or a static or something?
The Version 4 adpater does that with "on-demand" requests. However, you must create a BB DataSource first so that the context (yellow key and such) is known to pass along with the request.
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Gnubrew

#9
Since this forum entry is 4 years old, may I ask if there is something new at the Bloomberg/WL interface.
Does the latest version of Bloomberg Adapter work with Windows 7/8 (64 bit) and the actual WL version?


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Cone

#10
There are two different extensions for WL 6:

1. BBFree EOD Static/Streaming Provider

2. Bloomberg Static Provider
The one is for Bloomberg customers, but only reads static data from a downloader, which is no longer available for new customers (although we support it on a best-effort basis for legacy customers).

Properly integrating Bloomberg for WL Version 6 is in the plans. We recently discovered that the Bloomberg is opening up their API to 3rd-party developers, and as soon as they make a data simulator available we'll be able to produce an integrated static, streaming, and fundamental provider for Wealth-Lab/Bloomberg customers.
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Eugene

#11
Here's an open source BB simulator:

Bloomberg API Emulator
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