Question

Coming from this previous question: Using Obscure and UnObscure…Am I doing this right?

1: Is it mandatory to pause the animation on my page when the app is interrupted by another app or screen lock?

And

2: When the app is deactivated or tombstoned I think all the animation stops by default correct? Or Do I need to stop them explicitly?

Update:
Two questions above yes/no and why? Trial and error would work if something was breaking but my app is working fine with the code I have or if I remove it. I want to know technical/architectural implications.

Answer 1

Here’s my understanding of the guidelines.

First, for 1, let’s separate it out a bit. All interruptions are not equal.

1. Obscure is when you get a phone call and your app is still running but not all of the screen is visible. For games it is recommended that the game automatically pause. For apps it is up to you. Just do what seems right for the state of your app at the time.
2. Screen lock
   1. If you do not run under the lock screen then it’s basically the same as deactivation (see below)
   2. If you do run under the lock screen you are supposed to stop all animations and screen updating. It’s to help conserve battery I believe.
3. When you said “interrupted by another app” did you mean toast? I don’t think you get obscured from toast. Apps can’t interrupt each other AFAIK.

For 2, when you get deactivated you don’t know if you will be fast-app switched, tombstoned, or terminated.

1. In the case of fast-app switching, your animation should continue fine when you are activated and there is no reason I know of to pause the animations manually.
2. If you get tombstoned, or eventually terminated, your animations would have all been stopped anyway. No advantage to manually stopping them in that case either.