Docker is a platform for packaging applications and their dependencies into standardized units called containers, ensuring consistent behavior across environments.
Why It Matters
Docker eliminates "works on my machine" problems by packaging everything needed to run your application—code, runtime, libraries—into a portable container.
When to Use This
- Ensuring consistent development across team environments
- Deploying applications with all dependencies
- Running multiple isolated services on one server
- Scaling applications horizontally
Examples
- Docker container running Laravel, PHP, Nginx, and MySQL together
- Development environment matching production exactly
- Running microservices that communicate via Docker networking