developerworks has a nice series on learning how to build application back ends with xml and xslt:
Building an adaptable Web app front end with XML and XSL
“Using XML to describe parts of a Web app user interface can make it easy to convert the UI for
multiple devices via XSL style sheets. The article describes using XML data and XSL style sheets to build
the user interface of complex Web applications. A Web calendar sample application demonstrates the
basic techniques and concepts. The article also includes more than two dozen code samples that you can easily extend for your specific requirements.”
Extensions to the basic framework
“This article, a sequel to the author’s December article on Web application front ends,
describes extensions to the basic framework for XML data and XSL style sheets. It focuses on the
back end this time, covering National Language Support (NLS), enhancements of the view
structure, and performance issues. While the first article demonstrated the basic architecture for
building Web applications using XML and XSLT, this article shows you how to make the
applications ready to go online.”