Does each CALayer have it's own CGContextRef?

Question

I'm trying to figure out the best way to do hit detection on a CALayer containing a non-rectangular path. I am aware of the CGContextPathContainsPoint function but im not sure how to get a reference to the appropriate CGContextRef when I need to do hit detection (like mouse down). Is it safe to retain a reference to the CGContextRef that is passed to the (void)drawLayer:(CALayer *)layer inContext:(CGContextRef)ctx delegate method for purposes of hit detection? I'm not sure if the same CGContextRef could potentially be modified by other layers.

Answer 1

Have the layer own a CGPath and hit-test that. Then you don't have to worry about whether it's safe to retain the context, and you don't have to re-plot the path every time, either.