How to learn and practice Docker in an easy way
Content
In this story, I’ll short talk about Docker and will share resources for beginners who want to learn Docker. I’ve prepared the practicing part as well which is described in the last part of this story. Happy reading!
What is Docker?
Docker is a set of platform as a service (PaaS) products that use OS-level virtualization to deliver software in packages called containers. The service has both free and premium tiers. The software that hosts the containers is called Docker Engine. It was first started in 2013 and is developed by Docker, Inc.
In simple terms, Docker is a software platform that simplifies the process of building, running, managing, and distributing applications. It does this by virtualizing the operating system of the computer on which it is installed and running.
The key problem that Docker solves
The main feature of Docker is the isolation of the applications. Imagine you have three different Java-based applications that you need to host on a single server. Each of these applications makes use of a different version of Java, as well as the associated libraries and dependencies. Since we cannot have different versions of Java installed on a single server, this prevents us from hosting all three applications on the same computer. It’s visible in the picture below.
Resources for learning Docker from zero
As you know there are many resources on the Internet that you can take and start to learn Docker, e.g the official documentation of the Docker, YouTube tutorials, or even paid courses. In my opinion, there isn’t a need to start learning with the mentioned options. Instead of them, I’m suggesting to start to learn with the following course called Docker for the Absolute Beginner that KodeKloud provides. The course is absolutely free, simply explained, contains demos and labs for each lecture. For launching the course you need to register here.
Practicing with Docker
Obviously, practicing is important in the learning process so I’d like to share an open-source project created by me called Traffic Light Docker Challenge. It’s a set of practice tasks for people who are new to Docker. The exercises of the project are interesting and include the main concepts of Docker. By completing the exercises you will have familiarity with the Nginx web server as well.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading. I hope this story was helpful. If you are interested, check out my other Medium articles.
