Getting Started
The command you just ran¶
Congratulations! You have started the container for this tutorial! Let's first explain the command that you just ran. In case you forgot, here's the command:
docker run --name=makeen-labs -d -p 8080:80 maghbari/makeen-labs:1.2
You'll notice a few flags being used. Here's some more info on them:
-d- run the container in detached mode (in the background)-p 8080:80- map port 8080 of the host to port 80 in the containermaghbari/makeen-labs:1.2- the image to us
The Docker Dashboard¶
Before going any further, we want to highlight the Docker Dashboard, which gives you a quick view of the containers running on your machine. It provides you access to container logs, lets you get a shell inside the container, and allows you to easily manage container lifecycle (stop, remove, etc.).
What is a container?¶
Now that you've successfully run a container, let's ask ourselves what is a container? Simply put, a container is another process on your machine that has been isolated from all other processes on the host machine. Features that have been in Linux for a long time. Docker has worked to make these capabilities approachable and easy to use.
What is a container image?¶
When running a container, it uses an isolated filesystem. This custom filesystem is provided by a container image. Since the image contains the container's filesystem, it must include everything needed to run the application - all dependencies, configuration, scripts, binaries, etc. The image also contains other configuration for the container, such as environment variables, a default command to run, and other metadata.
We'll dive deeper into images later on, covering topics such as layering, best practices, and more.