A Docker container is an isolated runtime instance of a container image with its own filesystem, processes, and resource context.
Docker packages and publishes microservices so they can move from local development toward deployment. It supports different service technology stacks; the example workflow uses Node.js. Running services with Docker also helps standardize development environments against production, making environment-related problems easier to catch before release. section 3.5section 1.11
A practical path starts with one working service:
Install Docker Desktop on your development computer. On Windows, install WSL2 first. section 3.7.1
Check the installation in a terminal with `docker --version`. Version 24.0.5 is an example output, not a required match. section 3.7.2
Package and publish the service, then test it locally both before and after publishing. You can still run an individual service directly on the host when that is more useful. section 3.11section 3.7
Docker Compose builds on this work to run multiple Docker-based services on a development computer. Kubernetes hosts the application in the cloud. Keeping those jobs distinct makes the path from a single service to a deployed application easier to follow. section 3.11section 12.9
How Bootstrapping Microservices, Second Edition: With Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and Terraform covers it
How deep it goes
Teaches installation, verification, and a minimum single-service publishing workflow; defers broader Docker study.
Examples
Uses `docker --version` to verify installation and a single microservice as the starting point for packaging.
What it assumes
Starts with an existing Node.js microservice, then teaches Docker installation and verification; requires WSL2 first on Windows.
What you can do after
Apply it via Docker to package, publish, and locally test a microservice before deployment.
How it connects
Connects Node.js microservices to Docker Compose for local multi-service development and Kubernetes for cloud deployment.
Build Python Web Apps with StreamlitDocker is a platform and toolset for packaging applications with their dependencies into portable images and running them in isolated containers.
Pro ASP.NET Core 7, Tenth EditionA Docker container is an isolated process environment created and run by Docker with its application and dependencies.
containeruses · A software container is an isolated execution environment that packages an application and its dependencies while sharing the host operating system kernel.
Podmanincludes · Podman is a daemonless, open-source container engine for building, running, and managing containers and container images.
docker inspectused by · docker inspect is a Docker command-line tool that displays detailed metadata, configuration, and state information for Docker objects.
declarative programmingkind of · Declarative programming is a programming paradigm that specifies desired results, states, relationships, or rules without prescribing the step-by-step operations that produce them.
container imageproduces · A container image is a packaged filesystem and configuration artifact from which a container can be created and run.
Dockerfileconfigured by · A Dockerfile is a text file containing declarative instructions for building a container image and specifying its contents and runtime metadata.
This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Bootstrapping Microservices, Second Edition: With Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and Terraform. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.
