That's pretty standard, why is this surprising?
I developed replacement firmward for the Archos handheld multimedia player a few years ago. You couldn't even get documents on the chip. The firmware was completely locked down, compressed+encrypted.
These things just make it more fun :)
It's standard in semiconductors and devices. The iPhone is drawing lots of the kinds of developers (web, ISVs, etc) who are not used to that. They cut their teeth on very open/well-documented environments.
Then the answer is for them to get more acquainted to how things work in the real world. Things are closed, things are proprietary. That's business.
Apple hold all the cards because... erm they made the iPhone. It's theirs.
>Things are closed, things are proprietary. That's business.
Agreed (whether you like it or not, i personally don't care for it).
>erm they made the iPhone. It's theirs.
Disagree. I purchased the phone, it's no longer theirs, it's mine.
I respectfully suggest that times change. A generation ago most "real world" programming platforms were closed. The idea of multi-billion-dollar companies routinely depending on free software stacks was almost inconceivable.
Apple makes all potential app developers obey essentially a gag order. Whether it's legally enforceable is an open question, but since they control the platform and app store, Apple have all of the cards.
That means: no books, no libraries, no websites, NOTHING because of a fear of being banned from the platform.