它被hitTest:withEvent:调用,通过对每个子视图调用pointInside:withEvent:决定最终哪个视图来响应此事件。如果 PointInside:withEvent:返回YES,然后子视图的继承树就会被遍历(遍历顺序中最先响应的为:与用户最接近的那个视图。it starts from the top-level subview),即子视图的子视图继续调用递归这个函数,直到找到可以响应的子视图(这个子视图的hitTest:withEvent:会返回self,而不是nil);否则,视图的继承树就会被忽略。
The implementation of hitTest:withEvent: in UIResponder does the following:
It calls pointInside:withEvent: of self
If the return is NO, hitTest:withEvent: returns nil. the end of the story.
If the return is YES, it sends hitTest:withEvent: messages to its subviews. it starts from the top-level subview, and continues to other views until a subview returns a non-nil object, or all subviewsreceive the message.
If a subview returns a non-nil object in the first time, the first hitTest:withEvent: returns that object. the end of the story.
If no subview returns a non-nil object, the first hitTest:withEvent: returns self
This process repeats recursively, so normally the leaf view of the view hierarchy is returned eventually.
However, you might override hitTest:withEvent to do something differently. In many cases, overriding pointInside:withEvent: is simpler and still provides enough options to tweak event handling in your application.