Apple’s long-delayed and eagerly anticipated SDK for the iPhone has been the source of mirth, merriment and controversy. At the end of February, the company finally confirmed that they were preparing for a release and would reveal information this week. They have now done that, and it seems that no longer will developers need to rely on jailbreaks and other hacks just to get their apps running on the iPhone, kind of.

Today, Apple has released the SDK in beta form claiming they are “excited” about third-party development and what the upcoming version 2.0 of the iPhone software will bring next June (free for iPhone users, at a rate for iPod Touch). This is in stark contrast to their stance during the early days of the iPhone, in which they claimed third-party development would only harm the reliability their customers would come to expect from the unit. Regardless, it is here now, along with a plethora of tools and frameworks that developers can use to begin coding so-called “sanctioned” software for the infamous device.