What is UIResponder Chain?

Ans : 

Apps receive and handle events using responder objects. A responder object is any instance of the UIResponder class, and common subclasses include UIView, UIViewController, and UIApplication. UIKit manages most responder-related behavior automatically, including how events are delivered from one responder to the next.

Example : 

For every event, UIKit designates a first responder and sends the event to that object first. The first responder varies based on the type of event. 

UIKit uses view-based hit testing to determine where touch events occur. Specifically, UIKit compares the touch location to the bounds of view objects in the view hierarchy. The hitTest:withEvent: method of UIViewwalks the view hierarchy, looking for the deepest subview that contains the specified touch. That view becomes the first responder for the touch event. 

If a touch location is outside of a view’s bounds, the hitTest:withEvent: method ignores that view and all of its subviews. As a result, when a view’s clipsToBounds property is NO, subviews outside of that view’s bounds are not returned even if they happen to contain the touch.

UIResponder Chain

• If the view is the root view of a view controller, the next responder is the view controller. 
• If the view is not the root view of a view controller, the next responder is the view’s superview. 
• If the view controller’s view is the root view of a window, the next responder is the window object. 
• If the view controller was presented by another view controller, the next responder is the presenting view controller. 
• UIWindow. The window’s next responder is the application object. 
• UIApplication. The app object’s next responder is the app delegate, but only if the app delegate is an instance of UIResponder and is not a view, view controller, or the app object itself.