# How to Build a Web App with and without Rails Libraries

DevFeed: [How to Build a Web App with and without Rails Libraries](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-to-build-a-web-app-with-and-without-rails-libraries-1335.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://shopify.engineering/building-web-app-ruby-rails>)

Author: Maple Ong

Published: 2021-03-26T16:18:36Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Shopify Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/shopify-engineering.md>), [Shopify Engineering - Shopify Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/shopify-engineering-shopify-engineering.md>)

Topics: [web applications](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/web-applications.md>), [Rails](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/rails.md>), [Ruby](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ruby.md>), [Framework](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/framework.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/networking.md>), [HTTP](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/http.md>)

Tags: [building](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/building.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data.md>), [how-to](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/how-to.md>), [ruby](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ruby.md>), [ruby-on-rails](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ruby-on-rails.md>), [tutorial](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tutorial.md>), [web-app](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/web-app.md>)

## AI overview

This tutorial explains how web applications work by building a functional application from the ground up with standard Ruby libraries, then replacing parts of the implementation with Ruby on Rails libraries. It covers TCP and HTTP, persistent data stores, Rack, and Rails components including Action Controller, Action Dispatch, Active Record, and Action View.

## Source excerpt

How would we build a web application only using the standard Ruby libraries? In this article, I'll break down the key foundational concepts of how a web application works while building one from the ground up. If we can build a web application only using Ruby libraries, why would we need web server interfaces like Rack and web applications like Ruby on Rails? By the end of this article, you'll gain a new appreciation for Rails and its magic.