Build a deterministic price-time matcher that makes every fill and residual auditable.
The decision this tutorial makes visible
Price-time priority is the baseline mental model for many central limit order books. Implementations fail when they sort asks in the wrong direction, skip price checks, or use wall-clock time instead of the engine sequence.
The precise question is: Which resting orders receive an aggressor when better prices rank first and equal-price orders rank by arrival sequence?
A practitioner needs to know what the diagnostic does and does not justify. A builder needs a contract that can be reproduced from the same point-in-time inputs in Python, TypeScript, a visual, and a browser lab.
Intuition before notation
Price answers whether an order is economically first; time answers which order at that same price receives quantity first.
The result depends on the declared algorithm scope, input clocks, units, equality and rounding policies, and unsupported-state treatment. Change one of those and the output represents a different decision even when its field name is unchanged.
Scope and nearby methods
The canonical model handles one incoming market or limit order against displayed opposite-side limit orders. It sorts the best executable price first and uses ascending arrival sequence only within an equal price.
| Variant | Definition | Best use | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canonical price-time | Best price then oldest sequence | Displayed CLOB education | No participant or hidden overlays |
| Price-size-time | Best price, larger size, then time | Block and selected venue models | Rewards displayed size |
| Pro-rata | Best price then proportional quantity | Selected derivatives products | Timestamp is not the primary share rule |
What is sourced, selected, synthetic, and derived
| Role | Material claim | Evidence | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourced fact | Eurex defines price/time allocation as best-price priority followed by older priority time within one price; CME separately identifies FIFO as a matching family. | S1 (Eurex price/time definition) and S2 (CME FIFO taxonomy) | The actual product algorithm and overlays remain venue- and configuration-specific. |
| Implementation choice | The canonical model handles one incoming market or limit order against displayed opposite-side limit orders. It sorts the best executable price first and uses ascending arrival sequence only within an equal price. | Frozen package definition | This selection is not presented as a universal exchange rule. |
| Synthetic teaching input | All order IDs, quantities, prices, and sequence numbers in the fixture are repository-authored. | datasets/canonical-input.json | They are not observed participant orders or licensed venue data. |
| Author-derived calculation | The synthetic 650-share buy fills S-1 for 200 and S-2 for 300 at 100.00, then S-3 for 150 at 100.05. S-1 precedes S-2 only because both share a price and sequence 10 is older than 20. | Formula, fixture, independent arithmetic, and Python/TypeScript parity | Correct allocation does not prove execution quality or future fill likelihood. |
The authoritative sources support only the exact facts named in the claim ledger. They do not certify the synthetic numbers in this tutorial. The repository fixture is deliberately invented for auditability, and the displayed output is author-derived under the selected implementation choice.
Formula, symbols, and numerical policy
rank_buy_resting=(-price,sequence); rank_sell_resting=(price,sequence); fill_i=min(incoming_leaves,resting_leaves_i)
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit | Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q | incoming requested quantity | shares/contracts | strictly positive |
| q_i | open resting quantity of order i | shares/contracts | positive before match |
| p_i | resting limit price | price | best executable price first |
| s_i | engine arrival sequence | integer | ascending within equal price |
- Use exact tick-normalized price comparisons with a 1e-12 implementation tolerance.
- Allocate only integer multiples of lot_size.
- Do not round allocation shares until the declared lot-apportionment step.
- Preserve null average price when no quantity executes.
Read the formula in the same order as the algorithm. Validate identity, ordering, units, and supported state first. Apply the selected equality and window rules second. Calculate with unrounded numeric values. Round only at the declared presentation boundary, and preserve null as a diagnostic rather than coercing it to zero.
Build the algorithm
- Validate identity, side, price, quantity, and sequence
- Sort opposite interest best price first
- Break equal-price ties by ascending arrival sequence
- Fill until the aggressor is complete or price no longer crosses
- Return fills, residual, average price, and final book
Production-minded operational checklist
- Resolve venue, product, instrument, session, and matching-algorithm configuration.
- Validate tick, lot, side, price, open quantity, identity, and engine sequence.
- Apply price priority before the declared within-price allocation rule.
- Reconcile aggressor leaves, resting residuals, and every emitted fill.
- Persist the rule version and diagnostics needed for deterministic replay.
The checklist is intentionally strict: an explicit rejection is safer than a plausible output built from stale, malformed, or unsupported state.
Worked synthetic example
The canonical fixture is synthetic teaching data, not an observed control
event, customer order, or broker execution. Its primary author-derived output,
filled_quantity, is 650.0. The complete input and output
are in datasets/canonical-input.json and datasets/expected-output.json.
The synthetic 650-share buy fills S-1 for 200 and S-2 for 300 at 100.00, then S-3 for 150 at 100.05. S-1 precedes S-2 only because both share a price and sequence 10 is older than 20.
Counterfactual checkpoint
Same price, reversed engine sequence. Keep both resting orders at the same price but reverse their authoritative arrival sequences. The output changes because price chooses the level and sequence alone chooses the queue inside that level.
The structured result retains state and diagnostics in addition to the primary number. That makes the calculation independently reviewable and prevents a partial, null, rejected, or venue-bounded outcome from being mistaken for an unqualified value.
Boundary and counterexample workbook
The playground computes every scenario at 61 deterministic parameter states.
The table uses the declared focus step and states whether that focus reproduces
the canonical fixture. The full state ledger and compressed transition
segments are in datasets/scenario-results.json.
| Scenario | Review focus | Purpose | State | Primary output | Diagnostic | Decision segments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canonical multi-level sweep | Step 30 · canonical fixture | A buy walks two FIFO orders at the best ask before reaching worse prices. | filled | 650.0 filled | 3 fills · avg 100.01154 · residual 0.0 | 4 |
| Equal-price FIFO queue | Step 30 · comparison focus | All resting orders share one price so only arrival sequence changes the fill order. | filled | 650.0 filled | 3 fills · avg 100.00000 · residual 0.0 | 4 |
| Limit-price boundary | Step 30 · canonical fixture | The next worse price is exactly at or just beyond the declared limit. | filled | 650.0 filled | 3 fills · avg 100.01154 · residual 0.0 | 5 |
| Insufficient displayed capacity | Step 30 · comparison focus | Incoming quantity eventually exceeds every executable resting order. | filled | 1300.0 filled | 4 fills · avg 100.04615 · residual 0.0 | 3 |
| Sell-side symmetry | Step 30 · comparison focus | A sell aggressor ranks the highest bid first and uses FIFO within equal bids. | filled | 650.0 filled | 3 fills · avg 99.99231 · residual 0.0 | 4 |
| Sequence-sensitive queue | Step 30 · comparison focus | Equal-price quantities reveal which older order consumes the boundary fill. | filled | 650.0 filled | 3 fills · avg 100.00385 · residual 0.0 | 3 |
| Market-order comparison | Step 30 · canonical fixture | A market order has no price boundary but still obeys price-time ranking. | filled | 650.0 filled | 3 fills · avg 100.01154 · residual 0.0 | 4 |
These rows are not backtest observations. They are controlled counterexamples that expose how one driver changes the state, output, or reason code while the rest of the contract stays fixed.
Visualize the boundary
Open this SVG at full size, or use the guided playground to compare the seven topic-specific canonical, boundary, policy, and failure scenarios.
The Mermaid flow answers where the selected calculation sits in the processing sequence. The SVG keeps the formula, output, decision boundary, and invariant visible together. The lab lets the reader step through the same structured states without changing the underlying definition.
Implementation walkthrough
The Python and TypeScript references begin with the same validation contract, reject malformed and unsupported state before calculation, preserve declared ordering and rounding policies, and return structured diagnostics rather than one context-free number.
The main implementation branches are:
- Better executable price exists — Match it first, because Price priority dominates all same-side queue rules.
- Same price has multiple orders — Use oldest arrival sequence, because Canonical FIFO tie-break.
- Next price violates incoming limit — Stop matching, because Limit price is a hard execution boundary.
Neither reference silently fetches data, mutates caller-owned inputs outside the declared engine behavior, guesses hidden state, or substitutes a provider default. Shared JSON fixtures make value, null, state, and reason-code drift visible across languages.
Testing and validation
Definition tests compare every canonical field, reject malformed state, and exercise the material boundary. Family validation recomputes every playground state from the reference function. Independent arithmetic is recorded beside the fixture rather than inferred only from implementation output.
The audit must preserve these invariants:
- Filled plus residual incoming quantity equals requested quantity.
- No resting allocation exceeds that order's open quantity.
- The sum of per-order allocations equals allocated quantity.
- Every fill obeys price priority before the selected within-price rule.
Passing definition and parity checks proves that the implementation matches the selected contract. It does not prove production performance, universal applicability, or a later market outcome.
Failure modes and misuse
- A venue or product may use participant, customer, market-maker, top-order, threshold, hidden, reserve, or implied-liquidity overlays.
- Public depth does not reveal every private priority attribute or future cancellation.
- Definition fidelity does not establish latency performance, fill probability, or trading value.
Debugging order
When a result looks surprising, inspect the state in this order:
- Confirm identifiers, scope, side, and decision clock.
- Confirm units, ordering, and point-in-time inputs.
- Confirm equality, rounding, null, and reset policies.
- Recalculate the invariant and declared scenario focus before changing code.
Evidence and historical boundary
Historical decision: deferred. A named continuous-book reconstruction would require sequence-complete licensed order events, exact product algorithm parameters, participant and order attributes, gap and correction policy, clock provenance, and redistribution rights. Synthetic orders expose every allocation without inventing inaccessible queue state.
The primary sources are Eurex matching principles, CME matching overview. They support the source roles listed in the research ledger, not a redistributable historical observation, a private participant decision, production conformance certification, execution-quality result, profitability claim, or prediction claim.
Summary and next topic
You can now reproduce a price-time match and prove its conservation rules. The learning flow is: Marketable-Order Multi-Level Sweep → Price-Time Priority → Pro-Rata Matching. Carry the result forward only with its scope, clock, state, and evidence label.
Rendered from the canonical Mermaid sources linked by this article.
Price-Time Priority calculation flow
This flow identifies the selected calculation stages and the structured output.
Takeaway: Price chooses the level; time chooses the queue inside that level.
ReferencesPrimary sources and evidence notesExpand the source trail, evidence role, and limitations behind the engineering choices.
Expand the source trail, evidence role, and limitations behind the engineering choices.
S1 — Matching principles
- Organization or authors: Eurex Frankfurt AG
- Source type: Official exchange methodology page
- Publication or effective date: Current page accessed 2026-07-30
- Version: Current online version
- URL or DOI: https://www.eurex.com/ex-en/trade/order-book-trading/matching-principles
- Accessed: 2026-07-30
- Jurisdiction: Eurex derivatives markets
- Supports: Price/time allocation, pro-rata allocation, quantity sorting, time-priority ties, and time-pro-rata as distinct allocation methods.
- Limitations: Product configuration and overlays determine the actual allocation method; the page does not define this package fixture.
S2 — Matching Algorithm Overview
- Organization or authors: CME Group
- Source type: Official exchange educational and systems overview
- Publication or effective date: Current page accessed 2026-07-30
- Version: Current online version
- URL or DOI: https://www.cmegroup.com/education/matching-algorithm-overview
- Accessed: 2026-07-30
- Jurisdiction: CME Group derivatives markets
- Supports: FIFO, pro-rata, configurable, threshold, top-order, and market-maker allocation families.
- Limitations: Product-specific parameters and current assignments must be read from the applicable reference data and rules.
Evidence boundary
The sources establish the exact rule, interface, protocol, or research context named above. They do not verify the repository-authored synthetic fixture, thresholds, empirical usefulness, execution probability, or profitability. Package-selected choices remain labeled as implementation choices wherever they are used.
Full dependency-light reference implementations in both supported languages.
export type JsonObject = Record<string, any>;
function num(name: string, value: unknown, positive = false): number {
if (typeof value !== "number" || !Number.isFinite(value)) throw new TypeError(`${name} must be a finite number`);
if (positive && value <= 0) throw new RangeError(`${name} must be positive`);
return value;
}
function integer(name: string, value: unknown, nonnegative = false): number {
const result = num(name, value);
if (!Number.isInteger(result)) throw new RangeError(`${name} must be an integer`);
if (nonnegative && result < 0) throw new RangeError(`${name} must be nonnegative`);
return result;
}
function text(name: string, value: unknown): string {
if (typeof value !== "string" || !value.trim()) throw new TypeError(`${name} must be a non-empty string`);
return value;
}
function multiple(name: string, value: number, lot: number): void {
if (Math.abs(value / lot - Math.round(value / lot)) > 1e-9) throw new RangeError(`${name} must be an integer multiple of lot_size`);
}
function parseResting(raw: unknown, expectedSide: string | null = null): JsonObject[] {
if (!Array.isArray(raw) || raw.length === 0) throw new RangeError("resting_orders must be a non-empty list");
const ids = new Set<string>(), sequences = new Set<number>();
return raw.map((item, index) => {
if (!item || typeof item !== "object") throw new TypeError(`resting_orders[${index}] must be an object`);
const order = item as JsonObject, orderId = text(`resting_orders[${index}].order_id`, order.order_id);
if (ids.has(orderId)) throw new RangeError("order_id values must be unique"); ids.add(orderId);
const side = text(`resting_orders[${index}].side`, order.side);
if (!["buy", "sell"].includes(side)) throw new RangeError("order side must be buy or sell");
if (expectedSide && side !== expectedSide) throw new RangeError("all resting orders must be on the opposite side");
const sequence = integer(`resting_orders[${index}].arrival_sequence`, order.arrival_sequence, true);
if (sequences.has(sequence)) throw new RangeError("arrival_sequence values must be unique"); sequences.add(sequence);
return {
order_id: orderId,
side,
price: num(`resting_orders[${index}].price`, order.price, true),
remaining_quantity: num(`resting_orders[${index}].remaining_quantity`, order.remaining_quantity, true),
arrival_sequence: sequence,
};
});
}
export function priceTimePriority(incomingRaw: unknown, restingRaw: unknown): JsonObject {
if (!incomingRaw || typeof incomingRaw !== "object") throw new TypeError("incoming_order must be an object");
const incoming = incomingRaw as JsonObject;
const orderId = text("incoming_order.order_id", incoming.order_id), side = text("incoming_order.side", incoming.side);
if (!["buy", "sell"].includes(side)) throw new RangeError("incoming side must be buy or sell");
const orderType = text("incoming_order.order_type", incoming.order_type);
if (!["market", "limit"].includes(orderType)) throw new RangeError("order_type must be market or limit");
const quantity = num("incoming_order.quantity", incoming.quantity, true);
let limitPrice: number | null = null;
if (orderType === "limit") limitPrice = num("incoming_order.limit_price", incoming.limit_price, true);
else if (incoming.limit_price != null) throw new RangeError("market order must not carry limit_price");
const opposite = side === "buy" ? "sell" : "buy";
const book = parseResting(restingRaw, opposite);
if (book.some(order => order.order_id === orderId)) throw new RangeError("incoming and resting order IDs must be unique");
book.sort((a, b) => side === "buy" ? a.price - b.price || a.arrival_sequence - b.arrival_sequence : b.price - a.price || a.arrival_sequence - b.arrival_sequence);
let remaining = quantity, notional = 0;
const fills: JsonObject[] = [];
for (const order of book) {
const marketable = limitPrice == null || (side === "buy" ? order.price <= limitPrice : order.price >= limitPrice);
if (!marketable) break;
const fill = Math.min(remaining, order.remaining_quantity);
if (fill <= 0) continue;
order.remaining_quantity -= fill; remaining -= fill; notional += fill * order.price;
fills.push({resting_order_id: order.order_id, price: order.price, quantity: fill, arrival_sequence: order.arrival_sequence});
if (remaining <= 1e-12) { remaining = 0; break; }
}
const filled = quantity - remaining;
return {
model: "single-venue-price-time-priority", incoming_order_id: orderId, requested_quantity: quantity,
filled_quantity: filled, residual_quantity: remaining, average_fill_price: filled ? notional / filled : null,
fill_count: fills.length, fills, final_resting_orders: book.filter(order => order.remaining_quantity > 0),
state: remaining === 0 ? "filled" : filled ? "partially-filled" : "unfilled",
};
}
function singlePriceInputs(incomingRaw: unknown, priceRaw: unknown, lotRaw: unknown, restingRaw: unknown): [number, number, number, JsonObject[]] {
const incoming = num("incoming_quantity", incomingRaw, true), price = num("price", priceRaw, true), lot = num("lot_size", lotRaw, true);
multiple("incoming_quantity", incoming, lot);
const orders = parseResting(restingRaw), side = orders[0].side;
orders.forEach(order => {
if (order.side !== side) throw new RangeError("single-price allocation requires one resting side");
if (Math.abs(order.price - price) > 1e-12) throw new RangeError("every resting order must be at price");
multiple("remaining_quantity", order.remaining_quantity, lot);
});
return [incoming, price, lot, orders];
}
function proRataUnits(orders: JsonObject[], allocationUnits: number, lot: number): Record<string, number> {
const capacities: Record<string, number> = {};
orders.forEach(order => capacities[order.order_id] = Math.round(order.remaining_quantity / lot));
const totalCapacity = Object.values(capacities).reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0), units = Math.min(allocationUnits, totalCapacity);
if (units <= 0) return Object.fromEntries(orders.map(order => [order.order_id, 0]));
const raw: Record<string, number> = {}, allocated: Record<string, number> = {};
orders.forEach(order => {
raw[order.order_id] = units * capacities[order.order_id] / totalCapacity;
allocated[order.order_id] = Math.min(capacities[order.order_id], Math.floor(raw[order.order_id]));
});
let remainder = units - Object.values(allocated).reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0);
const rank = [...orders].sort((a, b) => {
const fa = raw[a.order_id] - Math.floor(raw[a.order_id]), fb = raw[b.order_id] - Math.floor(raw[b.order_id]);
return fb - fa || capacities[b.order_id] - capacities[a.order_id] || a.arrival_sequence - b.arrival_sequence;
});
while (remainder > 0) {
let progressed = false;
for (const order of rank) {
if (allocated[order.order_id] < capacities[order.order_id]) {
allocated[order.order_id] += 1; remainder -= 1; progressed = true;
if (remainder === 0) break;
}
}
if (!progressed) break;
}
return allocated;
}
export function proRataMatching(incomingRaw: unknown, priceRaw: unknown, lotRaw: unknown, restingRaw: unknown): JsonObject {
const [incoming, price, lot, orders] = singlePriceInputs(incomingRaw, priceRaw, lotRaw, restingRaw);
const executable = Math.min(incoming, orders.reduce((sum, order) => sum + order.remaining_quantity, 0));
const units = proRataUnits(orders, Math.round(executable / lot), lot);
const allocations = [...orders].sort((a, b) => a.arrival_sequence - b.arrival_sequence).map(order => {
const quantity = units[order.order_id] * lot;
return {order_id: order.order_id, resting_quantity: order.remaining_quantity, allocated_quantity: quantity, remaining_quantity: order.remaining_quantity - quantity, arrival_sequence: order.arrival_sequence};
});
const allocated = allocations.reduce((sum, row) => sum + row.allocated_quantity, 0);
return {model: "single-price-lot-aware-pro-rata", price, lot_size: lot, incoming_quantity: incoming, executable_quantity: executable, allocated_quantity: allocated, unfilled_quantity: incoming - allocated, allocations, state: allocated === incoming ? "fully-allocated" : "partially-allocated"};
}
export function sizeTimePriority(incomingRaw: unknown, priceRaw: unknown, lotRaw: unknown, restingRaw: unknown): JsonObject {
const [incoming, price, lot, orders] = singlePriceInputs(incomingRaw, priceRaw, lotRaw, restingRaw);
const ranked = [...orders].sort((a, b) => b.remaining_quantity - a.remaining_quantity || a.arrival_sequence - b.arrival_sequence);
let remaining = incoming;
const allocations: JsonObject[] = [];
for (let index = 0; index < ranked.length; index += 1) {
const order = ranked[index], quantity = Math.min(remaining, order.remaining_quantity);
remaining -= quantity;
allocations.push({rank: index + 1, order_id: order.order_id, resting_quantity: order.remaining_quantity, allocated_quantity: quantity, remaining_quantity: order.remaining_quantity - quantity, arrival_sequence: order.arrival_sequence});
if (remaining <= 1e-12) { remaining = 0; break; }
}
const allocated = incoming - remaining;
return {model: "single-price-size-then-time-priority", price, lot_size: lot, incoming_quantity: incoming, allocated_quantity: allocated, unfilled_quantity: remaining, ranked_order_ids: ranked.map(order => order.order_id), allocations, state: remaining === 0 ? "fully-allocated" : "partially-allocated"};
}
export function hybridProRataTime(incomingRaw: unknown, priceRaw: unknown, lotRaw: unknown, fractionRaw: unknown, restingRaw: unknown): JsonObject {
const [incoming, price, lot, orders] = singlePriceInputs(incomingRaw, priceRaw, lotRaw, restingRaw);
const fraction = num("fifo_fraction", fractionRaw);
if (fraction < 0 || fraction > 1) throw new RangeError("fifo_fraction must be between zero and one");
const executable = Math.min(incoming, orders.reduce((sum, order) => sum + order.remaining_quantity, 0));
const totalUnits = Math.round(executable / lot), fifoUnits = Math.floor(totalUnits * fraction + 1e-12);
const fifoAlloc: Record<string, number> = Object.fromEntries(orders.map(order => [order.order_id, 0]));
let fifoRemaining = fifoUnits;
for (const order of [...orders].sort((a, b) => a.arrival_sequence - b.arrival_sequence)) {
const capacity = Math.round(order.remaining_quantity / lot), take = Math.min(fifoRemaining, capacity);
fifoAlloc[order.order_id] = take; fifoRemaining -= take;
if (fifoRemaining === 0) break;
}
const residual = orders.flatMap(order => {
const residualUnits = Math.round(order.remaining_quantity / lot) - fifoAlloc[order.order_id];
return residualUnits > 0 ? [{...order, remaining_quantity: residualUnits * lot}] : [];
});
const proUnits = totalUnits - fifoUnits, proAlloc = residual.length ? proRataUnits(residual, proUnits, lot) : {};
const allocations = [...orders].sort((a, b) => a.arrival_sequence - b.arrival_sequence).map(order => {
const fifoQuantity = fifoAlloc[order.order_id] * lot, proQuantity = (proAlloc[order.order_id] || 0) * lot, total = fifoQuantity + proQuantity;
return {order_id: order.order_id, resting_quantity: order.remaining_quantity, fifo_quantity: fifoQuantity, pro_rata_quantity: proQuantity, allocated_quantity: total, remaining_quantity: order.remaining_quantity - total, arrival_sequence: order.arrival_sequence};
});
const allocated = allocations.reduce((sum, row) => sum + row.allocated_quantity, 0);
return {model: "single-price-fifo-pro-rata-split", price, lot_size: lot, fifo_fraction: fraction, incoming_quantity: incoming, executable_quantity: executable, fifo_target_quantity: fifoUnits * lot, pro_rata_target_quantity: proUnits * lot, allocated_quantity: allocated, unfilled_quantity: incoming - allocated, allocations, state: allocated === incoming ? "fully-allocated" : "partially-allocated"};
}
export function calculate(topicId: string, inputs: JsonObject): JsonObject {
if (!inputs || typeof inputs !== "object" || Array.isArray(inputs)) throw new TypeError("inputs must be an object");
if (topicId === "D12-F01-A01") return priceTimePriority(inputs.incoming_order, inputs.resting_orders);
if (topicId === "D12-F01-A02") return proRataMatching(inputs.incoming_quantity, inputs.price, inputs.lot_size, inputs.resting_orders);
if (topicId === "D12-F01-A03") return sizeTimePriority(inputs.incoming_quantity, inputs.price, inputs.lot_size, inputs.resting_orders);
if (topicId === "D12-F01-A04") return hybridProRataTime(inputs.incoming_quantity, inputs.price, inputs.lot_size, inputs.fifo_fraction, inputs.resting_orders);
throw new RangeError(`unsupported topic_id: ${topicId}`);
}
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