Docker is a platform and tool designed to make it easier to create, deploy, and run applications using containers. Containers are lightweight, portable, and self-sufficient units that package an application and its dependencies, along with the necessary runtime, libraries, and system tools. This enables consistent deployment across different environments, from development to production, without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.
Docker provides a way to package and isolate applications within containers, allowing them to run consistently on any system that supports Docker, regardless of differences in operating systems, configurations, or other dependencies.
Key concepts and components of Docker include:
- Docker Image: A Docker image is a read-only template that contains a set of instructions for creating a runnable instance of an application. Images can be built from a
Dockerfile
, which defines the application and its dependencies.