What these phrases mean:
xs @ _*
ps @ _*
Copied from documentation:
assemblyMergeStrategy in assembly := {
case PathList("javax", "servlet", xs @ _*) => MergeStrategy.first
case PathList(ps @ _*) if ps.last endsWith ".html" => MergeStrategy.first
case "application.conf" => MergeStrategy.concat
case "unwanted.txt" => MergeStrategy.discard
case x =>
val oldStrategy = (assemblyMergeStrategy in assembly).value
oldStrategy(x)
}