[bshacklett]

MVC is something I've never really been able to wrap my head around. I wonder if this is why... All of the guides/articles that I've read on the subject have acted as if MVC was how the entire application was handled.

Could you recommend any references for back-end patterns?

[icebraining]

I like Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture, which includes some domain logic patterns. A common one is SOA, by dividing the backend into services that your UI consumes.