What is Docker and why is it so popular?

Docker is a new container technology that makes it possible to get far more applications running on the same old servers. Also, it makes easy to package and ship programs. System administrators and cloud IT specialists just love it. But, why does everyone love containers and Dockers?

Most probably, if you are working in an IT sphere you have heard tons of times about containers in general and Docker in particular. All the noise happened when Microsoft, The New York Times, Shopify, Business Insider and others proprietary companies started adopting Docker at a rapidly increasing rate. Later also small businesses rapidly start moving their server applications from virtual machines to containers.

So, why Docker is so popular? A friend of mine - a professional programmer from Magora, London based app development company, explained me that virtual machines hypervisors are “based on emulating virtual hardware, which suggest that they and are not efficient in terms of system requirements. Containers use shared operating systems. That means they are much more efficient than hypervisors in system resource terms.”

Docker can bring together all your software files such as coding, runtime, tools and libraries in one, all-inclusive space. Docker can reduce the operation complexity of launching an application increasing both efficiency and productivity as well as guaranteeing a perfect performance, every time and anywhere - regardless of the setting the software is running in.

Docker helps build better software and in turn, better applications. When your finished app is categorized in Docker containers, there is no need to worry about setting up and maintaining different environments, nor do you need a different tool for each language. With more time on your hands, you can focus on inventing new features for your application, fixing any existing issues and shipping your software.

In other words Docker can be described as a complete toolkit or service in creating containers for your personal application infrastructure. It can also get you more applications running on the same hardware than other technologies it makes it easy for developers to quickly create, ready-to-run containered applications; and it makes managing and deploying applications much easier. Put it all together and I can see why Docker is riding the hype cycle as fast as I can recall ever seeing an enterprise technology go.