App Thinning and Slicing

What is app thinning? (iOS, tvOS, watchOS)

The App Store and operating system optimize the installation of iOS, tvOS, and watchOS apps by tailoring app delivery to the capabilities of the user’s particular device and operating system versions, with minimal footprint. This optimization, called app thinning, lets you create apps that use the most device features, occupy minimum disk space, and accommodate future updates that can be applied by Apple. Faster downloads and more space for other apps and content provides a better user experience.

Slicing (iOS, tvOS)

Slicing is the process of creating and delivering variants of the app bundle for different target devices and operating system versions. A variant contains only the executable architecture and resources that are needed for the target device and operating system version. You continue to develop and upload full versions of your app to App Store Connect. The App Store will create and deliver different variants based on the devices and operating system versions your app supports. Use asset catalogs so that the App Store can select images, GPU resources, and other data appropriate for each variant. When the user installs an app, a variant for the user’s device and operating system version is downloaded and installed.

Xcode simulates slicing during development so you can create and test variants locally. Xcode slices your app when you build and run your app on a device or in Simulator. When you create an archive, Xcode includes the full version of your app but allows you to export variants from the archive.

Note: Sliced apps are supported on devices running iOS and tvOS 9.0 and later. Otherwise, the App Store delivers universal variants to customers. Universal variants are also delivered through Mobile Device Management (MDM), apps purchased in volume through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager, or apps downloaded using iTunes 12.6 or earlier.

Bitcode

Bitcode is an intermediate representation of a compiled program. Apps you upload to App Store Connect that contain bitcode will be compiled and linked on the App Store. Including bitcode will allow Apple to re-optimize your app binaryin the future without the need to submit a new version of your app to the App Store.

For iOS apps, bitcode is the default, but optional. For watchOS and tvOS apps, bitcode is required. If you provide bitcode, all apps and frameworks in the app bundle (all targets in the project) need to include bitcode.

Xcode hides your app’s symbols by default, so they are not readable by Apple. When you upload your app to App Store Connect, you have the option of including symbols. Including symbols allows Apple to provide crash reports for your app when you distribute your app using TestFlight or distribute your app through the App Store. If you’d like to collect and symbolication crash reports yourself, you don’t have to upload symbols. Instead, you can download the bitcode compilation dSYM files after you distribute your app.

On-Demand Resources (iOS, tvOS)

On-demand resources are resources—such as images and sounds—that you can tag with keywords and request in groups, by tag. The App Store hosts the resources on Apple servers and manages the downloads for you. The App Store also slices on-demand resources, further optimizing variants of the app.

On-demand resources provide a better user experience:

  • App sizes are smaller so apps download faster, improving the first-time launch experience.

  • On-demand resources download in the background, as needed, while the user explores your app.

  • The operating system purges on-demand resources when they are no longer needed and disk space is low.

For example, an app may divide resources into levels and request the next level of resources only when the app anticipates that the user will move to that level. Similarly, the app can request In-App Purchase resources only when the user makes the corresponding in-app purchase.

Note: If you distribute your app to registered devices (outside of the App Store), you must host the on-demand resources yourself.

To set up on-demand resources in your app, read On-Demand Resources Guide and NSBundleResourceRequest.

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Every story in the world has one of these six basic plots

Researchers analysed over 1700 novels to reveal six story types – but can they be applied to our most-loved tales? Miriam Quick takes a look.

“My prettiest contribution to the culture” was how the novelist Kurt Vonnegut described his old master’s thesis in anthropology, “which was rejected because it was so simple and looked like too much fun”. The thesis sank without a trace, but Vonnegut continued throughout his life to promote the big idea behind it, which was: “stories have shapes which can be drawn on graph paper”.


1. Rags to riches – a steady rise from bad to good fortune

2. Riches to rags – a fall from good to bad, a tragedy

3. Icarus – a rise then a fall in fortune

4. Oedipus – a fall, a rise then a fall again

5. Cinderella – rise, fall, rise

6. Man in a hole – fall, rise

The Seven Basic Plots

The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories is a 2004 book by Christopher Booker containing a Jung-influenced analysis of stories and their psychological meaning. Booker worked on the book for thirty-four years.

Overcoming the monster

Definition: The protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force (often evil) that threatens the protagonist and/or protagonist's homeland.

Examples: Perseus, Theseus, Beowulf, Dracula, The War of the Worlds, Nicholas Nickleby, The Guns of Navarone, Seven Samurai (The Magnificent Seven), James Bond, Jaws, Star Wars, Naruto.

Rags to riches

Definition: The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, and/or a mate, loses it all and gains it back, growing as a person as a result.

Examples: Cinderella, Aladdin, Jane Eyre, A Little Princess, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Moll Flanders, The Red and the Black, The Prince and the Pauper, The Ugly Duckling, The Gold Rush, The Jerk.

The quest

Definition: The protagonist and companions set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the way. 

Examples: The Iliad, The Pilgrim's Progress, The Lord of the Rings, King Solomon's Mines, The Divine Comedy, Watership Down, The Aeneid, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Voyage and return

Definition: The protagonist goes to a strange land and, after overcoming the threats it poses or learning important lessons unique to that location, they return with experience.

Examples:  Ramayana, Odyssey, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Orpheus, The Time Machine, Peter Rabbit, The Hobbit,  Brideshead Revisited, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Gone with the Wind, The Third Man, The Lion King, Back to the Future, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Gulliver's Travels, Peter Pan, The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Comedy

Definition: Light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.[2] Booker stresses that comedy is more than humor. It refers to a pattern where the conflict becomes more and more confusing, but is at last made plain in a single clarifying event. The majority of romance films fall into this category.

Examples: The Wasps, Aurularia, The Arbitration, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, The Alchemist, Bridget Jones's Diary, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Big Lebowski.

Tragedy

Definition: The protagonist is a hero with a major character flaw or great mistake which is ultimately their undoing. Their unfortunate end evokes pity at their folly and the fall of a fundamentally good character.

Examples: Anna Karenina, Bonnie and Clyde, Carmen, Citizen Kane, John Dillinger, Jules et Jim, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Madame Bovary, Oedipus Rex, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Romeo and Juliet, Hamilton, The Great Gatsby.

Rebirth

Definition: An event forces the main character to change their ways and often become a better individual.

Examples: Pride and Prejudice, The Frog Prince, Beauty and the Beast, The Snow Queen, A Christmas Carol, The Secret Garden, Peer Gynt, Groundhog Day.

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was first proposed by Georges Polti in 1895 to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful of non-French authors. In his introduction, Polti claims to be continuing the work of Carlo Gozzi, who also identified 36 situations.

The 36 situations

Each situation is stated, then followed by the necessary elements for each situation and a brief description.

  1. Supplication

    • a persecutor; a suppliant; a power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.

    • The suppliant appeals to the power in authority for deliverance from the persecutor. The power in authority may be a distinct person or be merely an attribute of the persecutor, e.g. a weapon suspended in their hand. The suppliant may also be two persons, the Persecuted and the Intercessor, an example of which is Esther interceding to the king on behalf of the Jews for deliverance from the king's chief advisor.

  2. Deliverance

    • an unfortunate; a threatener; a rescuer

    • The unfortunate has caused a conflict, and the threatener is to carry out justice, but the rescuer saves the unfortunate. Examples: Ifigenia in Tauride, Deliverance

  3. Crime pursued by vengeance

    • a criminal; an avenger

    • The criminal commits a crime that will not see justice, so the avenger seeks justice by punishing the criminal. Example: The Count of Monte Cristo

  4. Vengeance taken for kin upon kin

    • Guilty Kinsman; an Avenging Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim, a relative of both.

    • Two entities, the Guilty and the Avenging Kinsmen, are put into conflict over wrongdoing to the Victim, who is allied to both. Example: Hamlet

  5. Pursuit

  6. Disaster

    • a vanquished power; a victorious enemy or a messenger

    • The vanquished power falls from their place after being defeated by the victorious enemy or being informed of such a defeat by the messenger. Example: Agamemnon (play)

  7. Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune

    • an unfortunate; a master or a misfortune

    • The unfortunate suffers from misfortune and/or at the hands of the master. Example: Job (biblical figure)

  8. Revolt

    • a tyrant; a conspirator

    • The tyrant, a cruel power, is plotted against by the conspirator. Example: Julius Caesar (play)

  9. Daring enterprise

  10. Abduction

    • an abductor; the abducted; a guardian

    • The abductor takes the abducted from the guardian. Example: Helen of Troy

  11. The enigma

    • a problem; an interrogator; a seeker

    • The interrogator poses a problem to the seeker and gives a seeker better ability to reach the seeker's goals. Example: Oedipus and the Sphinx

  12. Obtaining

    • (a Solicitor & an adversary who is refusing) or (an arbitrator & opposing parties)

    • The solicitor is at odds with the adversary who refuses to give the solicitor an object in the possession of the adversary, or an arbitrator decides who gets the object desired by opposing parties (the solicitor and the adversary). Example: Apple of Discord

  13. Enmity of kin

    • a Malevolent Kinsman; a Hated or a reciprocally-hating Kinsman

    • The Malevolent Kinsman and the Hated or a second Malevolent Kinsman conspire together. Example: As You Like It

  14. Rivalry of kin

    • the Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object of Rivalry

    • The Object of Rivalry chooses the Preferred Kinsman over the Rejected Kinsman. Example: Wuthering Heights

  15. Murderous adultery

  16. Madness

  17. Fatal imprudence

    • the Imprudent; a Victim or an Object Lost

    • The Imprudent, by neglect or ignorance, loses the Object Lost or wrongs the Victim.

  18. Involuntary crimes of love

    • a Lover; a Beloved; a Revealer

    • The Lover and the Beloved have unknowingly broken a taboo through their romantic relationship, and the Revealer reveals this to them Example: Oedipus, Jocasta and the messenger from Corinth.

  19. Slaying of kin unrecognized

    • the Slayer; an Unrecognized Victim

    • The Slayer kills the Unrecognized Victim. Example: Oedipus and Laius

  20. Self-sacrifice for an ideal

  21. Self-sacrifice for kin

    • a Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed

    • The Hero sacrifices a Person or Thing for their Kinsman, which is then taken by the Creditor. Example: The gospel

  22. All sacrificed for passion

    • a Lover; an Object of fatal Passion; the Person/Thing sacrificed

    • A Lover sacrifices a Person or Thing for the Object of their Passion, which is then lost forever.

  23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones

    • a Hero; a Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice

    • The Hero wrongs the Beloved Victim because of the Necessity for their Sacrifice.

  24. Rivalry of superior vs. inferior

    • a Superior Rival; an Inferior Rival; the Object of Rivalry

    • An Inferior Rival bests a Superior Rival and wins the Object of Rivalry.

  25. Adultery

    • two Adulterers; a Deceived Spouse

    • Two Adulterers conspire against the Deceived Spouse.

  26. Crimes of love

    • a Lover; the Beloved

    • A Lover and the Beloved break a taboo by initiating a romantic relationship Example: Sigmund and his sister in The Valkyrie

  27. Discovery of the dishonour of a loved one

    • a Discoverer; the Guilty One

    • The Discoverer discovers the wrongdoing committed by the Guilty One.

  28. Obstacles to love

    • two Lovers; an Obstacle

    • Two Lovers face an Obstacle together. Example: Romeo and Juliet

  29. An enemy loved

    • a Lover; the Beloved Enemy; the Hater

    • The allied Lover and Hater have diametrically opposed attitudes towards the Beloved Enemy.

  30. Ambition

    • an Ambitious Person; a Thing Coveted; an Adversary

    • The Ambitious Person seeks the Thing Coveted and is opposed by the Adversary. Example: Macbeth

  31. Conflict with a god

    • a Mortal; an Immortal

    • The Mortal and the Immortal enter a conflict.

  32. Mistaken jealousy

    • a Jealous One; an Object of whose Possession He is Jealous; a Supposed Accomplice; a Cause or an Author of the Mistake

    • The Jealous One falls victim to the Cause or the Author of the Mistake and becomes jealous of the Object and becomes conflicted with the Supposed Accomplice.

  33. Erroneous judgment

    • a Mistaken One; a Victim of the Mistake; a Cause or Author of the Mistake; the Guilty One

    • The Mistaken One falls victim to the Cause or the Author of the Mistake and passes judgment against the Victim of the Mistake when it should be passed against the Guilty One instead.

  34. Remorse

    • a Culprit; a Victim or the Sin; an Interrogator

    • The Culprit wrongs the Victim or commits the Sin, and is at odds with the Interrogator who seeks to understand the situation. Example: The Bourne Supremacy

  35. Recovery of a lost one

  36. Loss of loved ones

    • a Kinsman Slain; a Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner

    • The killing of the Kinsman Slain by the Executioner is witnessed by the Kinsman. Example: Braveheart

According to This 1919 Writing Guide, There Are Only 37 Possible Stories

The 96-year-old manual is called Ten Million Photoplay Plots, and it organizes dramatic situations "without sub-classifications and classified according to their various natures." It was one of many books written by Wycliff Aber Hill, a prolific peddler of advice-on-writing books, and apparently, a connoisseur of plot. Hill also wrote Ten Million Photography Plots. And if those 20 million weren't enough, he also wrote several volumes of The Plot Genie.

COVID home care

While you're ill, ask a friend, family member or neighbour to check up on you. Arrange a regular call or talk through a doorway (not face to face) so they can check how you're doing.

Treating a high temperature

If you have a high temperature, it can help to:

  • get lots of rest

  • drink plenty of fluids (water is best) to avoid dehydration – drink enough so your pee is light yellow and clear

  • take paracetamol or ibuprofen if you feel uncomfortable

worth considering:

The fever paradox

Fever can be deadly, but in moderation it could have some surprising upsides…

bacteria and viruses find it easier to replicate and infect cells at temperatures below 37°C. “By increasing your body temperature, you may be slowing down the ability of a virus to multiply,” says Davis.

By increasing your body temperature, you may be slowing the ability of a virus to multiply

It also seems that the immune system works more efficiently when the body gets hotter. Immune cells that act as first responders to infection, such as dendritic cells, macrophages and neutrophils, have been shown to arrive at the scene faster, and have an improved capacity to engulf and destroy infectious agents at 38°C to 40°C. Fever also seems to make these cells better at recruiting and activating T-cells, which coordinate longer-term “adaptive” immune responses, such as antibody production. And T-cells and antibody-producing B-cells also better respond to instructions from the immune system at these temperatures.

Treating a cough

If you have a cough, it's best to avoid lying on your back. Lie on your side or sit upright instead.

To help ease a cough, try having a teaspoon of honey. But do not give honey to babies under 12 months.

If this does not help, you could contact a pharmacist for advice about cough treatments.

Things to try if you're feeling breathless

If you're feeling breathless, it can help to keep your room cool.

Try turning the heating down or opening a window. Do not use a fan as it may spread the virus.

You could also try:

  • breathing slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth, with your lips together like you're gently blowing out a candle

  • sitting upright in a chair

  • relaxing your shoulders, so you're not hunched

  • leaning forward slightly – support yourself by putting your hands on your knees or on something stable like a chair

Try not to panic if you're feeling breathless. This can make it worse.

Emergency warning signs

Carefully monitor yourself or your loved one for worsening symptoms. If symptoms appear to be getting worse, call the doctor.

A pulse oximeter is a plastic clip that attaches to a finger. The device can help check breathing by measuring how much oxygen is in the blood. A reading of less than 92% might increase the need for hospitalization. If the doctor recommends a pulse oximeter, make sure you understand how to use the device properly and when a reading should prompt a call to the doctor.

If you or the person with COVID-19 experiences emergency warning signs, medical attention is needed immediately. Call 911 or your local emergency number if the sick person can't be woken up or you notice any emergency signs, including:

  • Trouble breathing

  • Persistent chest pain or pressure

  • New confusion

  • Bluish lips or face

  • Inability to stay awake

  • Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips or nail beds — depending on skin tone


Hershey kisses unvaccinated employees goodbye

The Hershey Co. has begun firing office workers who have declined to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

On the way out the door, the candy manufacturer is asking the fired employees to sign a nine-page confidentiality and release agreement that would remove their rights to sue the company or talk about their experience.