AwesomeOscillatorHistogram

The difference between the AwesomeOscillator and its sma_period-bar SMA — a configurable generalisation of the AcceleratorOscillator.

Quick reference

Field	Value
Family	Price Oscillators
Input type	Candle (uses high and low for the median price)
Output type	f64
Output range	unbounded around zero
Default parameters	fast = 5, slow = 34, sma_period = 5
Warmup period	slow + sma_period − 1 (38 for defaults)
Interpretation	Positive bars: AO is rising (bullish acceleration). Negative bars: AO is falling.

Formula

median     = (high + low) / 2
AO         = SMA(median, fast) − SMA(median, slow)
AOHist     = AO − SMA(AO, sma_period)

With Williams' default (5, 34, 5) this collapses to the existing AcceleratorOscillator exactly; for any other parameterisation it is the more flexible variant. The histogram measures the acceleration of momentum — the rate of change of the AO itself.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Constraint	Source
fast	usize	5	>= 1, < slow	AwesomeOscillatorHistogram::new (awesome_oscillator_histogram.rs:50)
slow	usize	34	>= 1, > fast	awesome_oscillator_histogram.rs:50
sma_period	usize	5	>= 1	awesome_oscillator_histogram.rs:50

Any zero period returns [Error::PeriodZero]; fast >= slow returns [Error::InvalidPeriod]. AwesomeOscillatorHistogram::classic() returns (5, 34, 5). Python defaults come from the pyo3 signature; the Node constructor takes all three arguments explicitly.

Inputs / Outputs

use wickra::{Indicator, AwesomeOscillatorHistogram, Candle};
// AwesomeOscillatorHistogram: Input = Candle, Output = f64
const _: fn(&mut AwesomeOscillatorHistogram, Candle) -> Option<f64> = <AwesomeOscillatorHistogram as Indicator>::update;

Only high and low are read (the AO uses the median price), so both bindings take just those two series.

• Python. update(candle) returns float | None; batch(high, low) returns a 1-D float64 np.ndarray with NaN warmup.
• Node. update(high, low) returns number | null; batch(high, low) returns an Array<number> with NaN warmup.

Warmup

warmup_period() returns slow + sma_period − 1. The AO emits at slow candles; the SMA of the AO series then needs sma_period − 1 further AO values to fill its window. For the defaults that is 34 + 5 − 1 = 38. Pinned by warmup_emits_first_value_at_warmup_period ((2, 4, 3) → warmup 6: candles 1–5 return None, candle 6 emits).

Edge cases

• Constant series. A flat median drives AO to 0; the SMA of 0 is 0; the histogram is 0 (test constant_series_converges_to_zero).
• Equivalence to AcceleratorOscillator. At (5, 34, 5) the histogram reproduces AcceleratorOscillator.
• Reset. reset() resets both the AO and the SMA.

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{AwesomeOscillatorHistogram, BatchExt, Candle, Indicator};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let candles: Vec<Candle> = (0..80)
        .map(|i| {
            let p = 100.0 + (f64::from(i) * 0.3).sin() * 5.0;
            Candle::new(p, p + 0.5, p - 0.5, p, 1.0, i64::from(i)).unwrap()
        })
        .collect();
    let mut h = AwesomeOscillatorHistogram::classic(); // (5, 34, 5)
    for v in h.batch(&candles).into_iter().flatten() {
        println!("{v:.4}");
    }
    Ok(())
}

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

h = ta.AwesomeOscillatorHistogram(5, 34, 5)
out = h.batch(high, low)  # 1-D series, NaN for the first 37 rows

Node

const ta = require('wickra');
const h = new ta.AwesomeOscillatorHistogram(5, 34, 5);
const v = h.update(101.5, 99.5); // null during warmup, else a number

Interpretation

Where the AwesomeOscillator measures momentum, its histogram measures acceleration — momentum's first derivative:

1. Zero line. A cross from negative to positive marks momentum starting to accelerate upward (Williams' "saucer" / first green bar); the reverse for a downturn.
2. Early warning. Because it differentiates the AO, the histogram turns before the AO itself crosses zero — an earlier (and noisier) signal.

Common pitfalls

• Treating it as momentum. It is the change in momentum; a positive histogram with a falling AO means momentum is still negative but decelerating, not yet bullish.
• Re-deriving AcceleratorOscillator. If you only want Williams' (5, 34, 5) setting, AcceleratorOscillator is the dedicated, identical indicator.

References

• Bill Williams, New Trading Dimensions, Wiley, 1998 — the Awesome and Accelerator oscillators. The configurable-SMA histogram is Wickra's generalisation of Williams' fixed (5, 34, 5) Accelerator.

See also

• AwesomeOscillator — the momentum line.
• AcceleratorOscillator — the fixed (5, 34, 5) equivalent.
• Alligator — Williams' trend filter.