Programming An EA

I'm finding it takes a lot more time to program an EA than I would expect. Alternately, perhaps I am dumb enough to think that I could just throw together some ideas and have a profit machine?

Anyway, after another night of testing I have some new software that is able to detect or indicate various conditions.

I'm hoping that doing enough visual testing will clue me in enough, personally, to the mechanics of price movement, correction and reversal and then allow me to find a way to codify that knowledge. It's pretty tough. However, I guess it's also sort of a holy grail quest. Invent your own money machine -- how often does that happen?

Anyway, some of the things I'm starting to look for are indications that represent shifts in market sentiment on various chart times. Is this curve smooth? Is the rate of change increasing or decreasing? Was that supported on the next higher time frame?