Overview of Docker

Docker’s basic terms

Most tutorials attempt to explain Docker concepts first. That can be daunting so here’s the (TL;DRToo Long; Didn’t Read) alternative.

• Docker runs an application such as MySQL in a single container. It’s a lightweight virtual machine-like package containing an OS, the application files, and all dependencies.

• Your web application will probably require several containers, e.g., your code (and language runtime), a database, a web server, etc.

• A container is launched from an image. In essence, it’s a container template that defines the OS, installation processes, settings, etc., in a Dockerfile configuration. Any number of containers can be started from the same image.