Apple's recently-released software development kit for the iPhone and iPod touch has generally been well-received, but could still place an appreciable obstacle in Sun's path for developing Java for the handsets.

According to Macworld UK, the conditions of Apple's software development kit could impede Sun's plan to put a Java Virtual Machine on the iPhone. Sun executive Eric Klein, vice president of Java marketing, released a statement declaring that Sun would like to negotiate with Apple regarding conditions blocking Sun's intentions.

"Our announcement was based on our excitement to build a JVM for the iPhone and the itouch (iPod touch) as well as our assessment of Apple's publicly available information on the SDK and related business terms," Klein said. "If there are clauses in the iPhone beta SDK license agreement that potentially limit third-party application distribution, then these are items that we want to have a positive discussion with Apple about.

"Sun and Apple have an ongoing relationship around Java SE (Standard Edition) on Mac OS X, and we look forward to further discussions with Apple about a JVM for iPhone and iTouch. Sun definitely plans to deliver a JVM for iPhone and iTouch if at all possible," Klein said.

The iPhone software development kit, in its current incarnation, does not allow for software like a Java Virtual Machine.

"If you go by the agreement that you agree to in order to get the SDK and to be able to put [an application] on the iPhone, you're not allowed to have downloadable executables," said Christopher Allen, founder of iPhoneWebDev. "Basically, they don't want people to go around their process of vetting code in applications by allowing something else to load code in."

Despite announcing these intentions, Apple apparently has not been receptive to the idea of Java on the iPhone. Under Sun's porting plan, Java could be used to build tools to run applications on the iPhone and iPod touch.

As always, let us know what you think of the situation over in the comments or forums.