As a web developer, you may have encountered the following circumstances when testing apps:
- You’ve worked hard on the new feature for your online application, but it’s difficult to launch.
- You have no idea how to test the feature before deploying it to production.
How do you deal with these issues?
Docker is a powerful containerization platform that enables software developers to package their applications and programs into standardised, executable containers. These containers combine the application source code with the necessary operating system libraries, providing a streamlined and efficient way to deploy and manage applications.
Is it possible to create containers without Docker?
You certainly can! Docker makes container development, deployment, and management easier and safer.
Docker is an efficient and incredibly useful toolkit which facilitates the creation, deployment, execution, updating and termination of containers through the utilisation of straightforward instructions and automation which can save time through the use of a single API.
This tutorial discusses how to use Docker containers and Docker-compose to create images, perform tests, and deploy web apps.
Let’s begin.
As a software developer, it is common to work with web servers, databases, web frameworks, and environment variables. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to replicate the entire infrastructure to one’s local computer, particularly when attempting to imitate a large production environment with complex features like caching systems, asynchronous task queuing, and NoSQL databases.
So, how do you deal with this?
Docker has been a revolutionary tool since it was introduced in 2013, offering OS-level virtualization and providing an isolated environment and network for the deployment of software bundles. Docker has certainly achieved its goal of simplifying the process of testing applications locally, making it easier than ever to do so.
How can I use Docker to deploy apps?
Docker allows developers to deploy programs on their local system. But how do you deploy an app’s system requirements?
In order to carry out a container, it is necessary to first create an image. This image will serve as a model for Docker to identify the system requirements needed for the container to properly execute our program. This file is known as a Dockerfile. A Dockerfile defines and installs the system requirements for your program through the use of a specific syntax.
Docker has the capability to build images from existing images, allowing you to take advantage of pre-existing images as the basis for your application’s container image. This technique enables you to leverage the work already done, saving you time and effort in constructing your own image.
There are several open-source photos that you may utilise as a starting point for your image. A comprehensive list may be found here.
Once you have chosen your base image, it is necessary to delineate the instructions for your container to start the program. A full list of commands can be found in the following location.
How can I set up several containers?
We’ve previously gone through the app’s container deployment, which allows us to install dependencies.
But what if you need to link many programs, such as databases, caching systems, or queuing systems, to the same network?
It is evident that, if you are looking to deploy multiple applications, you will need to deploy multiple containers. Fortunately, Docker provides an isolated network for these containers, and this is where Docker-compose comes into play. Docker-compose allows for multiple containers to be deployed, configured, and managed from a single command, making the process of deploying multiple applications much simpler and more efficient.
Docker-compose enables you to build a container stack that operates in a single network or many networks.
Docker-compose can also be utilised if your production cluster is orchestrated using Docker Swarm. To create a deployment using docker-compose, a file known as docker-compose.yml should be generated. This file outlines the containers that will be employed by the Docker multi-container application, utilising the YAML formatting style.
To summarise
For software development teams, the concept of development and production environments can be quite daunting. In the past, it was often a challenge for software engineers to replicate the same conditions that existed in the testing and production environments.
Docker provides the ability to run tests in containers, thus ensuring that any code which works on the development computer will also work when deployed to the client. This feature enables the isolation of tests throughout the development and deployment cycle, ensuring that the same results will be achieved in all environments.
The whole reference for creating a docker-compose file can be found here.
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