github.com/damirazo/docker@v1.9.0/README.md (about)

     1  Docker: the container engine [![Release](https://img.shields.io/github/release/docker/docker.svg)](https://github.com/docker/docker/releases/latest)
     2  ============================
     3  
     4  Docker is an open source project to pack, ship and run any application
     5  as a lightweight container.
     6  
     7  Docker containers are both *hardware-agnostic* and *platform-agnostic*.
     8  This means they can run anywhere, from your laptop to the largest
     9  cloud compute instance and everything in between - and they don't require
    10  you to use a particular language, framework or packaging system. That
    11  makes them great building blocks for deploying and scaling web apps,
    12  databases, and backend services without depending on a particular stack
    13  or provider.
    14  
    15  Docker began as an open-source implementation of the deployment engine which
    16  powers [dotCloud](https://www.dotcloud.com), a popular Platform-as-a-Service.
    17  It benefits directly from the experience accumulated over several years
    18  of large-scale operation and support of hundreds of thousands of
    19  applications and databases.
    20  
    21  ![Docker L](docs/static_files/docker-logo-compressed.png "Docker")
    22  
    23  ## Security Disclosure
    24  
    25  Security is very important to us. If you have any issue regarding security, 
    26  please disclose the information responsibly by sending an email to 
    27  security@docker.com and not by creating a github issue.
    28  
    29  ## Better than VMs
    30  
    31  A common method for distributing applications and sandboxing their
    32  execution is to use virtual machines, or VMs. Typical VM formats are
    33  VMware's vmdk, Oracle VirtualBox's vdi, and Amazon EC2's ami. In theory
    34  these formats should allow every developer to automatically package
    35  their application into a "machine" for easy distribution and deployment.
    36  In practice, that almost never happens, for a few reasons:
    37  
    38    * *Size*: VMs are very large which makes them impractical to store
    39       and transfer.
    40    * *Performance*: running VMs consumes significant CPU and memory,
    41      which makes them impractical in many scenarios, for example local
    42      development of multi-tier applications, and large-scale deployment
    43      of cpu and memory-intensive applications on large numbers of
    44      machines.
    45    * *Portability*: competing VM environments don't play well with each
    46       other. Although conversion tools do exist, they are limited and
    47       add even more overhead.
    48    * *Hardware-centric*: VMs were designed with machine operators in
    49      mind, not software developers. As a result, they offer very
    50      limited tooling for what developers need most: building, testing
    51      and running their software. For example, VMs offer no facilities
    52      for application versioning, monitoring, configuration, logging or
    53      service discovery.
    54  
    55  By contrast, Docker relies on a different sandboxing method known as
    56  *containerization*. Unlike traditional virtualization, containerization
    57  takes place at the kernel level. Most modern operating system kernels
    58  now support the primitives necessary for containerization, including
    59  Linux with [openvz](https://openvz.org),
    60  [vserver](http://linux-vserver.org) and more recently
    61  [lxc](https://linuxcontainers.org/), Solaris with
    62  [zones](https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26502_01/html/E29024/preface-1.html#scrolltoc),
    63  and FreeBSD with
    64  [Jails](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/jails.html).
    65  
    66  Docker builds on top of these low-level primitives to offer developers a
    67  portable format and runtime environment that solves all four problems.
    68  Docker containers are small (and their transfer can be optimized with
    69  layers), they have basically zero memory and cpu overhead, they are
    70  completely portable, and are designed from the ground up with an
    71  application-centric design.
    72  
    73  Perhaps best of all, because Docker operates at the OS level, it can still be
    74  run inside a VM!
    75  
    76  ## Plays well with others
    77  
    78  Docker does not require you to buy into a particular programming
    79  language, framework, packaging system, or configuration language.
    80  
    81  Is your application a Unix process? Does it use files, tcp connections,
    82  environment variables, standard Unix streams and command-line arguments
    83  as inputs and outputs? Then Docker can run it.
    84  
    85  Can your application's build be expressed as a sequence of such
    86  commands? Then Docker can build it.
    87  
    88  ## Escape dependency hell
    89  
    90  A common problem for developers is the difficulty of managing all
    91  their application's dependencies in a simple and automated way.
    92  
    93  This is usually difficult for several reasons:
    94  
    95    * *Cross-platform dependencies*. Modern applications often depend on
    96      a combination of system libraries and binaries, language-specific
    97      packages, framework-specific modules, internal components
    98      developed for another project, etc. These dependencies live in
    99      different "worlds" and require different tools - these tools
   100      typically don't work well with each other, requiring awkward
   101      custom integrations.
   102  
   103    * *Conflicting dependencies*. Different applications may depend on
   104      different versions of the same dependency. Packaging tools handle
   105      these situations with various degrees of ease - but they all
   106      handle them in different and incompatible ways, which again forces
   107      the developer to do extra work.
   108  
   109    * *Custom dependencies*. A developer may need to prepare a custom
   110      version of their application's dependency. Some packaging systems
   111      can handle custom versions of a dependency, others can't - and all
   112      of them handle it differently.
   113  
   114  
   115  Docker solves the problem of dependency hell by giving the developer a simple
   116  way to express *all* their application's dependencies in one place, while
   117  streamlining the process of assembling them. If this makes you think of
   118  [XKCD 927](https://xkcd.com/927/), don't worry. Docker doesn't
   119  *replace* your favorite packaging systems. It simply orchestrates
   120  their use in a simple and repeatable way. How does it do that? With
   121  layers.
   122  
   123  Docker defines a build as running a sequence of Unix commands, one
   124  after the other, in the same container. Build commands modify the
   125  contents of the container (usually by installing new files on the
   126  filesystem), the next command modifies it some more, etc. Since each
   127  build command inherits the result of the previous commands, the
   128  *order* in which the commands are executed expresses *dependencies*.
   129  
   130  Here's a typical Docker build process:
   131  
   132  ```bash
   133  FROM ubuntu:12.04
   134  RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y python python-pip curl
   135  RUN curl -sSL https://github.com/shykes/helloflask/archive/master.tar.gz | tar -xzv
   136  RUN cd helloflask-master && pip install -r requirements.txt
   137  ```
   138  
   139  Note that Docker doesn't care *how* dependencies are built - as long
   140  as they can be built by running a Unix command in a container.
   141  
   142  
   143  Getting started
   144  ===============
   145  
   146  Docker can be installed on your local machine as well as servers - both
   147  bare metal and virtualized.  It is available as a binary on most modern
   148  Linux systems, or as a VM on Windows, Mac and other systems.
   149  
   150  We also offer an [interactive tutorial](https://www.docker.com/tryit/)
   151  for quickly learning the basics of using Docker.
   152  
   153  For up-to-date install instructions, see the [Docs](https://docs.docker.com).
   154  
   155  Usage examples
   156  ==============
   157  
   158  Docker can be used to run short-lived commands, long-running daemons
   159  (app servers, databases, etc.), interactive shell sessions, etc.
   160  
   161  You can find a [list of real-world
   162  examples](https://docs.docker.com/examples/) in the
   163  documentation.
   164  
   165  Under the hood
   166  --------------
   167  
   168  Under the hood, Docker is built on the following components:
   169  
   170  * The
   171    [cgroups](https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/cgroups/cgroups.txt)
   172    and
   173    [namespaces](http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man7/namespaces.7.html)
   174    capabilities of the Linux kernel
   175  * The [Go](https://golang.org) programming language
   176  * The [Docker Image Specification](https://github.com/docker/docker/blob/master/image/spec/v1.md)
   177  * The [Libcontainer Specification](https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/blob/master/libcontainer/SPEC.md)
   178  
   179  Contributing to Docker [![GoDoc](https://godoc.org/github.com/docker/docker?status.svg)](https://godoc.org/github.com/docker/docker)
   180  ======================
   181  
   182  | **Master** (Linux) | **Experimental** (linux) | **Windows** | **FreeBSD** |
   183  |------------------|----------------------|---------|---------|
   184  | [![Jenkins Build Status](https://jenkins.dockerproject.org/view/Docker/job/Docker%20Master/badge/icon)](https://jenkins.dockerproject.org/view/Docker/job/Docker%20Master/) | [![Jenkins Build Status](https://jenkins.dockerproject.org/view/Docker/job/Docker%20Master%20%28experimental%29/badge/icon)](https://jenkins.dockerproject.org/view/Docker/job/Docker%20Master%20%28experimental%29/) | [![Build Status](http://jenkins.dockerproject.org/job/Docker%20Master%20(windows)/badge/icon)](http://jenkins.dockerproject.org/job/Docker%20Master%20(windows)/) | [![Build Status](http://jenkins.dockerproject.org/job/Docker%20Master%20(freebsd)/badge/icon)](http://jenkins.dockerproject.org/job/Docker%20Master%20(freebsd)/) |
   185  
   186  Want to hack on Docker? Awesome! We have [instructions to help you get
   187  started contributing code or documentation](https://docs.docker.com/project/who-written-for/).
   188  
   189  These instructions are probably not perfect, please let us know if anything
   190  feels wrong or incomplete. Better yet, submit a PR and improve them yourself.
   191  
   192  Getting the development builds
   193  ==============================
   194  
   195  Want to run Docker from a master build? You can download 
   196  master builds at [master.dockerproject.org](https://master.dockerproject.org). 
   197  They are updated with each commit merged into the master branch.
   198  
   199  Don't know how to use that super cool new feature in the master build? Check
   200  out the master docs at
   201  [docs.master.dockerproject.org](http://docs.master.dockerproject.org).
   202  
   203  How the project is run
   204  ======================
   205  
   206  Docker is a very, very active project. If you want to learn more about how it is run,
   207  or want to get more involved, the best place to start is [the project directory](https://github.com/docker/docker/tree/master/project).
   208  
   209  We are always open to suggestions on process improvements, and are always looking for more maintainers.
   210  
   211  ### Talking to other Docker users and contributors
   212  
   213  <table class="tg">
   214    <col width="45%">
   215    <col width="65%">
   216    <tr>
   217      <td>Internet&nbsp;Relay&nbsp;Chat&nbsp;(IRC)</td>
   218      <td>
   219        <p>
   220          IRC a direct line to our most knowledgeable Docker users; we have
   221          both the  <code>#docker</code> and <code>#docker-dev</code> group on
   222          <strong>irc.freenode.net</strong>.
   223          IRC is a rich chat protocol but it can overwhelm new users. You can search
   224          <a href="https://botbot.me/freenode/docker/#" target="_blank">our chat archives</a>.
   225        </p>
   226        Read our <a href="https://docs.docker.com/project/get-help/#irc-quickstart" target="_blank">IRC quickstart guide</a> for an easy way to get started.
   227      </td>
   228    </tr>
   229    <tr>
   230      <td>Google Groups</td>
   231      <td>
   232        There are two groups.
   233        <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/docker-user" target="_blank">Docker-user</a>
   234        is for people using Docker containers.
   235        The <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/docker-dev" target="_blank">docker-dev</a>
   236        group is for contributors and other people contributing to the Docker
   237        project.
   238      </td>
   239    </tr>
   240    <tr>
   241      <td>Twitter</td>
   242      <td>
   243        You can follow <a href="https://twitter.com/docker/" target="_blank">Docker's Twitter feed</a>
   244        to get updates on our products. You can also tweet us questions or just
   245        share blogs or stories.
   246      </td>
   247    </tr>
   248    <tr>
   249      <td>Stack Overflow</td>
   250      <td>
   251        Stack Overflow has over 7000 Docker questions listed. We regularly
   252        monitor <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/search?tab=newest&q=docker" target="_blank">Docker questions</a>
   253        and so do many other knowledgeable Docker users.
   254      </td>
   255    </tr>
   256  </table>
   257  
   258  ### Legal
   259  
   260  *Brought to you courtesy of our legal counsel. For more context,
   261  please see the [NOTICE](https://github.com/docker/docker/blob/master/NOTICE) document in this repo.*
   262  
   263  Use and transfer of Docker may be subject to certain restrictions by the
   264  United States and other governments.
   265  
   266  It is your responsibility to ensure that your use and/or transfer does not
   267  violate applicable laws.
   268  
   269  For more information, please see https://www.bis.doc.gov
   270  
   271  
   272  Licensing
   273  =========
   274  Docker is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See
   275  [LICENSE](https://github.com/docker/docker/blob/master/LICENSE) for the full
   276  license text.
   277  
   278  Other Docker Related Projects
   279  =============================
   280  There are a number of projects under development that are based on Docker's
   281  core technology. These projects expand the tooling built around the
   282  Docker platform to broaden its application and utility.
   283  
   284  * [Docker Registry](https://github.com/docker/distribution): Registry 
   285  server for Docker (hosting/delivery of repositories and images)
   286  * [Docker Machine](https://github.com/docker/machine): Machine management 
   287  for a container-centric world
   288  * [Docker Swarm](https://github.com/docker/swarm): A Docker-native clustering 
   289  system
   290  * [Docker Compose](https://github.com/docker/compose) (formerly Fig): 
   291  Define and run multi-container apps
   292  * [Kitematic](https://github.com/kitematic/kitematic): The easiest way to use 
   293  Docker on Mac and Windows
   294  
   295  If you know of another project underway that should be listed here, please help 
   296  us keep this list up-to-date by submitting a PR.
   297  
   298  Awesome-Docker
   299  ==============
   300  You can find more projects, tools and articles related to Docker on the [awesome-docker list](https://github.com/veggiemonk/awesome-docker). Add your project there.