Docker

Docker Compose is an efficient way to locally assemble—or compose, hence the name—a collection of Docker containers. You typically end up with a single file that spawns and connects the different components, handling network and environment configuration. However, this basic setup doesn't scale well as the ecosystem expands. Not only does the number of services grow, but the inherent coupling becomes increasingly complex, expanding the declarative syntax and obscuring the overall intent.

Docker ecosystem is truly amazing. This said, very few users take advantages of all its built-in and often hidden facilities. Idea there is to both increase awareness of such features while providing real world usage.

Docker is a powerful ecosystem that revolutionized software development some time ago. When we focus the discussion on build pipelines, using Docker-based agents to offload build workloads offers many advantages. Black-boxing build environments provides flexibility and scalability, but sacrifices some control. It becomes harder to intervene during the build workflow. Eventually, we end up with mixed feelings—using Docker is great, but it would be even better if we could build more modular pipelines that combine local processing with containerized components.

Creating a Docker image from a dockerfile is an easy task. Even some IDEs provide one-click template to sketch first steps. But it does not mean the end of the journey. To fully unleash Docker power, you must be aware of common pitfalls as well as how one could smartly leverage built-in facilities to craft better containers (smart to compile & tiny to deploy).