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For the past decades, technical analysis has been centered on the Line, Bar, and, more recently, Candlestick chart. First generation Line charts displayed only the closing prices and thus, not very informative.
This changed with second generation charts as the Bar chart popularized itself within the technical analysis community and remains so today. Bar charts are more informative compared to Line charts as it displayed not only the closing prices but the open, high, and low prices as well. Theories such as head-and-shoulders, pennants, triangles, double tops/bottoms, and gaps also materialized with Bar charts.
Third generation Candlestick charts helped further establish technical analysis within the Wall Street community. A distinctive color difference between up- and down-days was the theme of Candlestick charts. This proved important as it further helped identify patterns and trends. New theories, such as morning stars, harami crosses, engulfing, and hanging man, were born.
   
But the biggest impediment for technical charting advocates remained: the presence of false breaks (or signals). This was thought to be caused by the absence of certain elements in existing technical charting methods; most notably, the absence of time and volume information.
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