Software
Trader Workstation (abbreviated TWS) is an electronic trading platform built using cross-platform Java desktop application, similar to the company's WebTrader web application, but is extensible through a proprietary API. TWS software prompts to update itself every few weeks, or a .jar file from a consistent URL can be downloaded, which then unpacks to the current version. MobileTrader is a variant intended for personal digital assistants and smartphones.
PaperTrader is a trading platform using Trader Workstation software in a degraded mode, intended either for developers to test a program written for the proprietary Traders Workstation API, or for "paper" traders to experiment with trading in a simulated account, artificially populated with one million dollars, at no cost and with no risk of loss. Any market data subscriptions associated with one's master account are accessible through a paper trading account; a prominent warning appears to remind the user an order is about to be placed in the simulated account.
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