Are you going to build the application or website and want to deploy it onto the cloud? Wait!!! Docker will help you to easily deploy, manage, and run the application. In this article, we will learn about the docker, docker container, the reason to use the docker container, and vocabulary used in the docker.

What is Docker?

The docker is free for every application developer as it is open-source software. Developers can run the docker software on Linux, Windows, Mac, or any other operating system. By using docker, users can package the application with required dependencies, and other components. In such a way, users can separate the application from the infrastructure.

The docker was released in 2013, and after that docker has dominated the market. Nowadays, many industries such as finance, Devops, ITservices, and Healthcare are using docker to simplify the process of application development. However, users can use the docker with the different development cycles, but they must use it while deploying the application.

The docker is interesting for an application developer. Let’s go forward and look at the docker container.

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What is Docker Container?

In the industry, most companies are using virtual machines for the development of applications. However, containers are working as virtual machines but it is far better than virtual machines. Virtual machines run on the guest operating system which is run by the host operating system on the hardware.

The best thing about the docker container is that it doesn’t need a guest operating system to work as a virtual machine. Every virtual machine needs a separate guest operating system but all containers can share the resources of the single host operating system. Due to these features of containers, we can develop and deploy the application with full cost optimization.

Also, containers are portable from one development environment to another environment. Now, let’s look at the reasons to use the docker containers.

Why we should use Docker container?

As we have talked about containers in the above section, it allows packaging the application. We all know that at the end of the cloud service providers, they deployed many applications with a single infrastructure and hardware. Furthermore, a single application has many resources to use which are also deployed with their code. Now, What if we don’t separate the resources of one application from another application? maybe arise many problems. Right!!! So, It’s important to make a container of your application and deploy it.

Containers help to improve the efficiency of the developing, and application management team. Also, it doesn’t need a guest operating system to run which makes application development cost-efficient.

Containers are well known for their rapidity. It is a lightweight package of the application so that you can create a container image of the application in a couple of seconds. Also, when you need to fix the bugs and upgrade the application, it can be done in a matter of seconds. As easy and rapid to create the container, it is also easy to destroy the docker containers in a couple of seconds.

Containers improve the scalability of the application. Users can create multiple instances of the container to distribute the application load among different containers. We can scale the containers according to our needs.

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Vocabalary used for docker

Let’s look at some commonly used words while using the docker.

• Docker file: To build the docker continers, you must need to executes some commands. It stores the required instructions and command to create the new docker container.
• Container image: It is a one kind of file which users can use to execute the code of application resides into the container.
• Docker build: The docker file containes the instructuions to build a new docker container and docker build command allows to execute that instructions.
• Docker engine: When you create the continer, it is important to track the workflow of the container. You can tracke the building, management, and running process of the docker container using the docker engine. To host the docker images, containers, and networks, docker engine creates the server side daemon process.
• Docker Hub: As we know, we can export the docker containers from one development environment to another development environment. It helps you to share the continer with your fellow developer or comapny.
• Docker run: By using the docker run command, you can create the container from the particular image file and also start it at a time. So, basically it helps to create and start container with single command.
• Docker registory: While developing the application, users need to store the image files of teh containers and anothe resources. So, users can use docker repository to store image files and keep track of the different versions of every stored images.
• Docker pull: If you want to clone any images or group of images, docker pull command helps you.

Other vocabalary

• Tags: It is a tag which you can assign to set of images or any specific image.
• Namespace: When you create the container, namespace also created automatically with it. It provides the layer of isolation.
• Orchestrator: It is a tool to manage the continer in the production mode. Kubernets is the most popular example of the orchestrator.
• Swarm: As kubernets is the orchestrator itself, Swarm is the orchestrator of the docker.

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Summing up thoughts

In this blog, we have looked at the basics of the docker and docker containers. One of the reasons to use the docker container and images is to simplify the development and production process. Nowadays, many industries are using Docker and Kubernetes to manage applications via containers as it makes it easy.

If you are a beginner with docker, install the docker and learn about basic terminology for a quick start. After that, you can start to make a simple application. As a software developer, you must have a basic knowledge of the docker containers as most of the organizations are using them.

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