How do permissions work in the Android Market? I've been told that the permissions for an app are there to inform me the types of things the app has permission to do. If this is right, can a developer 'forget' a permission and get away with using something anyway.  I'm just curious for the security of my device.  I know that Google does not police it's market as strict as Apple so I was wondering if a app could 'forget' to claim a permission but use that feature anyway?

This is not a programming question - its about the trustworthiness of permissions
The permissions are entered by the developer, yes.  But the Android OS only grants those specific permissions, and no others.  Therefore an app could try to do something it wasn't allowed to, but it would fail (barring a security exploit).  See http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/security/security.html#permissions for more details.