axiom-core-location

Core Location Patterns

Discipline skill for Core Location implementation decisions. Prevents common authorization mistakes, battery drain, and background location failures.

When to Use

• Choosing authorization strategy (When In Use vs Always)
• Deciding monitoring approach (continuous vs significant-change vs CLMonitor)
• Implementing geofencing or background location
• Debugging "location not working" issues
• Reviewing location code for anti-patterns

Related Skills

• axiom-core-location-ref — API reference, code examples
• axiom-core-location-diag — Symptom-based troubleshooting
• axiom-energy — Location as battery subsystem

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Part 1: Anti-Patterns (with Time Costs)

Anti-Pattern 1: Premature Always Authorization

Wrong (30-60% denial rate):

// First launch: "Can we have Always access?"
manager.requestAlwaysAuthorization()

Right (5-10% denial rate):

// Start with When In Use
CLServiceSession(authorization: .whenInUse)

// Later, when user triggers background feature:
CLServiceSession(authorization: .always)

Time cost: 15 min to fix code, but 30-60% of users permanently denied = feature adoption destroyed.

Why: Users deny aggressive requests. Start minimal, upgrade when user understands value.

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Anti-Pattern 2: Continuous Updates for Geofencing

Wrong (10x battery drain):

for try await update in CLLocationUpdate.liveUpdates() {
    if isNearTarget(update.location) {
        triggerGeofence()
    }
}

Right (system-managed, low power):

let monitor = await CLMonitor("Geofences")
let condition = CLMonitor.CircularGeographicCondition(
    center: target, radius: 100
)
await monitor.add(condition, identifier: "Target")

for try await event in monitor.events {
    if event.state == .satisfied { triggerGeofence() }
}

Time cost: 5 min to refactor, saves 10x battery.

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Anti-Pattern 3: Ignoring Stationary Detection

Wrong (wasted battery):

for try await update in CLLocationUpdate.liveUpdates() {
    processLocation(update.location)
    // Never stops, even when device stationary
}