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Discussion on: Explain Docker to Me and When Would I Use it?

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Dan Fockler

Docker is like a little self-contained operating system that can run on top of your computer's operating system. The nice thing is that you can write in code what this little OS has installed and how it's configured, so that other people and computers can easily build the exact same little OS that you have. The important thing is that it's portable, can be built in a reproducible way, and it can be run on a developer's computer, a staging environment, or on a production server in the same way.

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Cat

Is it, in a way, a virtual environment, but you can break it without breaking your entire system?

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Dan Fockler

Exactly! You can do whatever you want to a Docker container and (in theory) it should be a nice self-contained environment that won't have any consequences on your computer's OS.