# Confused about Ember

**URL:** <https://discuss.emberjs.com/t/confused-about-ember/10485>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [April 19, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://discuss.emberjs.com/t/confused-about-ember/10485 "2016-04-19T16:55:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![James\_Parsons](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.emberjs.com/james_parsons/32/11044_2.png) [@James\_Parsons](https://discuss.emberjs.com/u/James_Parsons)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://discuss.emberjs.com/t/confused-about-ember/10485/1 "2016-04-19T16:55:48Z")

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I have wanted to try Ember out for a long time now, so now I decided to do so, but I am quite confused. I am aware that there is quite a learning curve, but there are some things I’m still having trouble with.

- How do I hook up Ember data with my own backend?

- Is it possible to run an Ember app without using `ember serve`, for example if I want to use my own server or use Ember in a Phonegap app, how do you launch the app then?

- When to use Routes, Controllers, and Components.

Can anyone explain these points to me?

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**Author:** ![Gaurav0](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.emberjs.com/gaurav0/32/4704_2.png) [@Gaurav0](https://discuss.emberjs.com/u/Gaurav0)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://discuss.emberjs.com/t/confused-about-ember/10485/2 "2016-04-19T17:12:30Z")

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> [@James\_Parsons](#):
>
> How do I hook up Ember data with my own backend?

I fail to understand the question here. What problem are you having?

> [@James\_Parsons](#):
>
> Is it possible to run an Ember app without using ember serve, for example if I want to use my own server or use Ember in a Phonegap app, how do you launch the app then?

Yes. If you want to run your Ember app without `ember serve`, use `ember build` and you will find the regular HTML/CSS/JavaScript for your server output in the `dist` directory. `ember serve` is a development server provided for your ease of use.

> [@James\_Parsons](#):
>
> When to use Routes, Controllers, and Components

This is a large topic, and others have already explained it better than I can. You can read:

- [http://emberigniter.com/5-essential-ember-2.0-concepts/](http://emberigniter.com/5-essential-ember-2.0-concepts/)
- [http://emberigniter.com/should-we-use-controllers-ember-2.0/](http://emberigniter.com/should-we-use-controllers-ember-2.0/)
- [https://www.airpair.com/ember.js/posts/top-mistakes-ember-rails](https://www.airpair.com/ember.js/posts/top-mistakes-ember-rails)

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**Author:** ![zoltan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.emberjs.com/zoltan/32/16699_2.png) [@zoltan](https://discuss.emberjs.com/u/zoltan)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://discuss.emberjs.com/t/confused-about-ember/10485/3 "2016-04-20T12:43:20Z")

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I could suggest my free tutorial where you get answers for most of your questions, however it is mainly teach you the Ember Way: [http://yoember.com](http://yoember.com)

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**Author:** ![Ben\_Glancy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9de053/32.png) [@Ben\_Glancy](https://discuss.emberjs.com/u/Ben_Glancy)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://discuss.emberjs.com/t/confused-about-ember/10485/4 "2016-04-21T23:59:30Z")

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A slight warning that localhost is classed as a different domain to localhost:4200 there you might need your server to dish out the CORS header to stop the browser rejecting server replies