Docker is a relatively new way of software delivery. With Docker, all that is needed is the image for the dependencies and software needed, and Docker does the rest. This is huge as before you would need to download and install specific versions of software on each and every computer you wanted to work on, but with Docker, you say you want X, Y, and Z and Docker does the rest for you, making life much easier.
The way Docker does this is through what are called “Containers”. Containers allow developers to package an application with everything that it needs, like dependencies and libraries, and then ship it out as one package. This is where the magic happens, as it means that the application will run on any other machine regardless of any customized settings that machine may have that might differ from the main machine that is being used for writing and testing the application. Docker is, in a way, like a virtual machine in this sense, but instead of running an entire virtual operating system, Docker allows applications to run the same kernel as the system they are running on, and only needs applications to be shipped with things not already on the host computer, instead of having to send out everything. This translates to a big performance increase in the speed of the application and reduces the overall size of the application as well.
Docker is also open source, one of the most important things, in my opinion, software can be these days. This means that anyone can contribute to Docker and modify it to their own needs if they need something Docker does not provide by default. This also means that since anyone can modify it, they can also see the inner workings and ensure that nothing is going on that’s not supposed to, like recording private information to sell to advertisers, for example. Docker makes life easy for developers, allowing them to not have to worry about the system that their program will be running on. Docker also gives flexibility in it’s containers and can reduce the number of systems needed for the program to run.
I choose the above article because it gave a good look into what Docker is and how it is useful for software development in today’s world. It explained the key aspects of Docker and what they are useful for compared to past methods. In addition, the article gave a good analogy to Docker by comparing transporting cargo prior to the standardization of using shipping containers to make transporting good easier, as that roughly translates to what Docker does with their containers.
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